Budget Analysis and Forecasting Training

Overview

To achieve excellence, planning is crucial! Budgeting and forecasting are part of a successful planning process that is driven to achieve the goals of your organisation. This training session builds on good practice with case studies based on real case corporate scenarios.

This course is designed keeping in view – that many professionals are responsible for budgets & forecasts, but never took any courses to learn the fundamental principles of budgeting and forecasting.

This hands-on intensive course target professionals from finance as well as non-financial background, who need to understand the fundamental budgeting principles and forecasting methods, budget process, and want to improve their financial literacy.

Course Outline

Can you survive and thrive without a budget?

Background
Budget and business plan
Budget and forecast
Budget and the business strategy
Budgeting process
The planning cycle
Potential problems

How do you build a budget in a climate of uncertainty?

Developing from operational budgets to financial budgets
Process/steps
Types of budgets : Fixed , Flexed, Rolling
Methods of budgeting : Incremental Vs Zero based budgeting

Budget & Forecast – Key to optimization

Approaches to budgeting : – Top down – Bottom up – Iterative
Planning programming budgeting system
Behavioural aspects in budgeting
Forecasting versus budgeting

Master Budgets – from A to Z

Process flow of an organization
Anticipating and budgeting for revenues
Estimating expenditure
Understanding costs
Operational budgets
Sales – Production – Raw Materials – Labour
Financial budgets
Statement of financial Performance – financial Position – Cash flows

Cash Budgeting – no cash no budget!

Myth of “Profit”
Cash Flow Versus Profit
Cash Conversion Cycle
Managing Surplus
Operating , Investing & Financing Activities
Analysing Business Performance Using Cash Flow Statement

Capital Budgeting – have you looked at all the feasible options?

Incorporating capital investment decisions into the budget and planning process
Capital investment evaluation techniques
Importance of Cost of Capital
Payback period
Net present value
Internal Rate of Return
What to rely NRV or IRR

Controlling and monitoring a budget, is it worthwhile?

Analyzing discrepancies
Variance analysis
Analyzing budget errors
Investigating unexpected variances
Making necessary adjustments
Lessons learned

Budgeting – an effective tool for performance management?

Managing financial performance at corporate level
Financial statements ( Statement of Position; Income Statement; Cash flow statement)
Ratio analysis using financial statements
Profitability
Liquidity
Gearing
Investor ratios
EBITDA