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Finance and Accounting Courses


Preparing Budgets

Introduction:

Budgets are an essential financial tool, which aid, planning, decision making, resource allocation, coordination, and control.

Without the necessary skills Budgets can be badly prepared and/or implemented leading to poor decisions, mid-use of vital resources, poor coordination, and a lack of control or even too much control resulting in missed opportunities.

This program provides participants with the skills necessary for the effective preparation and implementation of budgets

Targeted Groups:

  • Finance Managers
  • Finance Controllers Treasurers
  • Inventory Managers
  • Financial Professionals
  • R&D Professionals
  • General Accounting Professionals
  • The Staff Person who will be responsible for entering data into the budget system or training others how to enter information
  • Those who want to gain control of the firm's financial standing and obtain a firm grasp on the numbers side of their job
  • Anyone who wants to understand the basics of budgeting

Course Objectives:

At the end of this course the participants will be able to:

  • Develop the skills to Plan Budgets within a sound Strategic Plan
  • Develop the skills to Prepare Budgets using:
  • Appropriate Forecasting Techniques including Time Series Models,
  • Understand the Exponential Smoothing, Regression and Correlation Analysis and Costing Methods such as Activity Based Costing
  • Develop the skills to effectively implement Budgets
  • Become aware of the problems/limitations of budgets and the conditions required for their success
  • Integrate the budgeting process with the development of the company’s long-term strategic vision

Targeted Competencies:

  • Integrating the planning process with the budgeting cycle
  • Forecasting using various models including Time Series Models, Exponential
  • Smoothing, Regression and Correlation Analysis using Excel and leading software/models
  • Sales Budgets
  • Production Budgets
  • Cash Budgets
  • Capital Budgets

Course Content:

Unit 1: Budgeting and Its Role Within the Management Process:

  • The Role of Budgeting within Management Accounting
  • Linking Costing and Budgeting to Strategy and Performance Measurement
  • The Process of Value Creation: Implications for Budgeting
  • What is a budget and why costing is fundamental?
  • Budgets - The Financial Expression of the Operating Plan
  • Linking Financial and Operational Issues
  • Behavioral Implications of Budgeting

Unit 2: Costs Analysis for Budgetary Purposes:

  • Costing for Budgeting: Why?
  • Cost Terms and Purposes
  • Fixed and Variable Costs
  • Cost, Volume, Profit (CVP) Relationships
  • The Key Concept of Contribution Margin
  • Direct and Indirect Cost – The Allocation Problem
  • Traditional Methods vs. Activity-Based Costing (ABC)

Unit 3: The Framework for Budgeting:

  • Elements of the Budgeting Framework
  • Key Concepts and Terminology
  • Advantages and Disadvantages - critical issues to be discussed
  • Overview of the Financial Statements
  • Balance Sheet, Income Statement, and the Statement of Cash Flows
  • Introducing Cost Analysis for Decision-making
  • The Importance of Understanding Full Costs

Unit 4: Flexed Budgets and Variance Analysis:

  • Budgeting for Management Control Purposes
  • Explain Why Standard Costs are used in Variance Analysis
  • Describe the difference between a Fixed Budget and a Flexed Budget
  • Compute Flexed Budget Variances and Sales Volume Variances
  • How to interpret variance analysis?
  • Integrate continuous improvement into Variance Analysis
  • Is budgeting enough?

Unit 5: Beyond Budgeting: Broadening Performance Measurement Systems:

  • Shortcomings of Traditional approaches to Budgeting and Measurement
  • Linking Financial to Operational Issues
  • Linking Strategy to Performance Measurement
  • The Balanced Scorecard and Six Sigma
  • Financial Perspective
  • Customer Perspective
  • Internal Business Process Perspective
  • Learning and Growth Perspective
  • Developing and Adapting the Scorecard

Finance and Accounting Courses
Preparing Budgets (FA2036)

 

Mercury dynamic schedule is constantly reviewed and updated to ensure that every category is being addressed at least once a month, if not once every week. Please check the training courses listed below and if you do not find the subject you are interested in, email us or give us a call and we will do our best to assist.

Istanbul Office (Turkey)

training@mercury-training.com +905395991206

London (UK)

training@mercury-training.com +447481362802

Amman (Jordan)

training@mercury-training.com +962785666966