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Training Course Summary:

This intensive one day course will help participants to understand the jargon and methodology around financial planning, budgeting to enable their organisation to move forward

By the end of this course you will be able to:

Plan and forecast at a business level.
Distinguish between different cost systems.
Evaluate cash and profits for corporate strategies.
Develop an understanding of the corporate budgeting process.
Read, understand and interpret master budgets.
Work more productively with colleagues from the finance department.
Prepare and monitor business performance and identify cost savings.
Appreciate the importance of reducing unnecessary costs and working towards increased corporate

Who Should Attend:

Suitable for non-finance managers, small to medium enterprise executives, budget holders with some experience and cost centre managers who either are involved in or need to gain an understanding of planning, budgeting and controlling at a corporate or business level. If you are a budget holder looking for techniques to monitor your budget, please refer to our course ‘Managing Budgets Effectively.’

Training Course Overview/Content:

The Need to Plan

Understanding what strategic planning is and why it is important
Clarify the difference between mission statement, goals and objectives
The outside environment: the need to understand the economic cycle
SWOT and PESTEL analysis
Financial Planning - Elements of Costing and Cost Strategies

The nature and behaviour of costs, fixed, variable, semi-variable, direct and indirect costs
Standard and actual costing - the difference
Understanding overheads
Activity base costing ABC
Full cost pricing and managerial costing
Preparing the Business Estimates

The purpose of forecasts for the business
The limiting factors
Break-even analysis
How to predict sale revenues - different approaches
Using the three financial statements for forecasting
Budgeting - The Corporate Budgeting Process

Understanding the benefit of budgeting to an organisation
Budgets’ forms and purposes; the master budget
The different types of budgets - fixed, flexed and zero based
Preparing, coordinating and monitoring a budget
Presenting a Business Budget

Giving clear information
Presenting the main variables
Getting agreement
Putting it clearly onto paper
Tracking Expenditure

Reconciling actual with budgeted expenditure
Identifying cost saving opportunities
Looking for volume discounts
Phasing expenditure to help cash flow
Reporting on the Master Budget

Preparing a report
Providing the information to make decisions
Personal Development

Action planning - the essential next steps
Continuous professional development - what next?