Budget Preparation and Planning Expertise

Introduction:

The Budget Preparation and Planning Expertise Program is a non-degree course designed to equip participants with the competence to understand and manage budgeting systems within organizations. This course covers essential areas such as costing for decisions, budget preparation, and performance measurement. Participants will gain the skills to develop effective budgetary provisions, understand cost aspects, and create actionable business strategies. This program is ideal for those seeking to enhance their budgeting skills and excel in economic forecasting and performance management.

Objectives:

Upon completing the Budget Preparation and Planning Expertise course, participants will be able to:

• Understand critical success factors for analyzing and comprehending business processes.
• Develop a process for cost analysis to support budgeting.
• Acquire event planning and financial skills to optimize decision-making.
• Source and utilize financial and operational data essential for budgeting.
• Employ techniques to measure and manage organizational performance effectively.
• Grasp and apply costing and budgeting concepts coherently.
• Appreciate the necessity of a systematic costing and budgeting approach.
• Determine the total costs of outputs, goods, and services.
• Use both traditional and new managerial methods for the budgeting process.
• Integrate finance and operations for effective budgeting and strategy execution.

Training Methodology:

• Interactive lectures
• Case studies
• Group discussions
• Workshops
• Simulation activities
• Role-playing scenarios

Course Outline:

Unit 1: The Budgeting Process and Management Processes

• The relevance of budgeting in management accounting
• Importance of linking costing and budgeting to strategy and performance
• The value-creating process: budget creation
• Understanding budgets and their relevance to costing
• Budgets as financial manifestations of operational plans
• Integrating analytical and reporting with financial and operational issues
• Aspects of budgeting

Unit 2: Structure of Budgeting

• Ingredients of the planning and budgeting process
• Basic definitions and important vocabulary
• Competitive advantage identification
• Components of financial statements: assets, liabilities, capital statement, income, and fund flow statement
• Introduction to cost analysis for management decisions
• Internal decision-making based on total cost framework

Unit 3: Cost Assignment for Purposes of Budgeting

• Budgeting for costing: Reasons and concepts
• Cost concepts and classifications
• Fixed and variable costs
• Cost, profit, and volume relationships: measurement and management
• Contribution margin concept and profitability
• Direct and indirect costs
• Basic systems and Activity-Based Costing (ABC)

Unit 4: Flexible Budgets and Variance Analysis

• Controlling with budgets
• Differences between static and flexible budgets
• Adjusting budgetary terms: flexibility
• Importance of standard costs in performance evaluation and variance usage
• Handling variance analysis
• Continuous improvement in variance analysis
• Budget sufficiency considerations

Unit 5: Beyond Budgeting: Expanding Performance Measurement Systems

• Drawbacks of traditional budgeting and measurement approaches
• Financial and operational issues: resource matters
• Balanced scorecards and Six Sigma
• Strategy execution tied to performance measurement
• Financial perspective of customers
• Internal business process perspective: budget preparations, learning, and growth
• Development and evolution of scorecards