Budgeting, Planning, and Contract Management Essentials

Introduction:

The thesis covers a comprehensive seminar on Budgeting, Planning, and Contracting Management. This course equips participants with advanced skills to integrate world-class standards into their budgeting, planning, management, and reporting systems. It enhances traditional financial planning tools and introduces new methods for measuring and reporting performance and shareholder value.

The course also focuses on risk management in budget planning, capital budgeting, manufacturing costs, profit objectives, and cash flow management. The second week is dedicated to contract management, from preparation and awarding to administration and performance monitoring.

The training encompasses methodologies and best practices in contracting management, covering the full lifecycle from contract conception to completion.

Objectives:

Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:

• Build integrated systems for planning, budgeting, and reporting.
• Improve budgeting and financial decision-making skills.
• Understand cost behavior and patterns.
• Provide timely and useful information for decision-making.
• Explain costing and budgeting terminology.
• Enhance management capabilities.
• Utilize forecasting and budgeting techniques effectively.
• Address overhead problems using Activity-Based Analysis.
• Implement organizational changes and cost reduction strategies.
• Ensure robust business planning, budgeting, and management reporting processes.
• Understand contracting principles and stages.
• Prepare contracts, including scope development and sourcing.
• Recognize contract types and their impact on risk allocation.
• Develop criteria for inviting, receiving, and evaluating bids.
• Apply contract administration tools and techniques.
• Resolve disputes using collaborative and alternative methods.

Training Methodology:

• Hands-On Workshops
• Acting
• Team Work
• Simulations
• Expert Panel
• Learning by Doing
• Classroom Practice

Course Outline:

Unit 1: Budgets and Strategy in an International Setting Today

• Framework for organizational planning
• Product/information/decision action cycle
• Strategic, tactical, and operational forecasting
• Strategic patterns of business planning

Unit 2: The Business Plan and Budget Development

• Constructing a business plan
• Assessment of key value drivers
• Budgeting according to activities and programs
• Continuous budgeting and cash budget creation

Unit 3: Historical Data Analysis on Excel

• Forecasting problems
• Predictive analysis using historical data
• Sales volume and time series models
• Regression analysis and exponential smoothing

Unit 4: Focus on Activity-Based Budget and Cost Management

• Investigating cost structure and breaking even
• Activity-based costing
• Resource allocation to processes
• Preparing an Activity-Based Budget

Unit 5: Capital Planning and Evaluation of Projects

• Categories of capital projects
• Assessing capital projects
• Time value of money
• Performance targets (WACC and ROIC)
• Capital investment assessment using NPV, IRR, ARR, and Payback methods

Unit 6: Basic Principles of Contracts

• Definition and components of a contract
• Tools in contract administration
• Stages of contract and objectives

Unit 7: Preparing a Contract

• Contracting process and management
• Developing a contracting approach
• Contract drafting and evaluation criteria
• Sourcing and request for proposals

Unit 8: Categories of Contracts & Their Application in Practice

• Firm price contracts
• Time and material contracts
• Payment conditions

Unit 9: How to Conduct Tenders?

• Tendering rules and phases
• Bid evaluation
• Expert review and life cycle costs
• Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT) criteria

Unit 10: Operation of Contract

• Contract administration
• Contract management software
• Functions of contract managers
• Substantial completion and final payment

Unit 11: Statements and Changes

• Breakdown of contracts
• Money breaches and remedies
• Modifications and change management
• Dispute resolution methods (negotiation, mediation, arbitration)