Budgeting, Cost Control And Forecasting

Effective budget forecasting and management is an essential part of the job for the modern-day manager, yet the techniques and methods necessary for success are often left for people to work out for themselves. As the physicist Neils Bohr said: 'Forecasting is difficult, particularly when it's about the future!'

It is very important that budget holders appreciate the function of the budget and understand how it affects the rest of the business operation and strategy. There are many established practices, processes, techniques and nuances that can only be truly understood through effective training.

This highly practical and interactive one-day course will clearly explain the purpose of the budget in controlling costs and forecasting financial and operational performance and planning.

This course will help you to:

• Understand the purpose of budgets and their impact on the organisation
• Appreciate the place of the budget in strategic planning
• Understand the motivational effects of budgets and how you can apply them to your business
• Understand how to use budgets for planning and for control
• Develop an awareness ot the ‘true cost’
• Use different methodologies for budgeting and costing
• Think beyond the budget and adapt as financial decisions become operationalised

Course Content:

• The function of the budget in a financial context
• The basic principles of accounting
• Financial Statements – a refresher
• Strategic planning, budgeting costing and management control
• What is a budget and its role for achieving organisational purpose
• The different types of budget
• Limitations of the budget
• The master budget and its schedules
• Motivational aspects of budgeting
• Linkage between budgeting and costing
• Cost terms and methodologies
• Budgets and performance measurement as tools for communications
• Imperative of value creation: toward value based budgeting
• Static budget vs variable budget
• Flexible budget variances and sales volume variances as decision making tools