Introduction to Strategic Budgeting and Forecasting

Overview:

Supercharge your financial management skills with this interactive workshop that introduces you to the concept of Strategic Budgeting and Forecasting. Discover the secrets to creating effective budgets and variance reporting frameworks that drive success. Learn to analyze revenue and cost drivers, improve forecasting accuracy, and track performance with powerful variance reporting.

This course equips you with practical techniques and best practices to adopt a strategic approach and it is ideal for professionals involved in budgeting and forecasting. This introductory course is relevant as it empowers you to better use strategic budgeting to drive success and contribute to strategic decision-making.

Throughout the session you will collaborate in small groups to develop a realistic budget for a sample company. This method delivers a holistic learning experience, bridging theory with practical insights.

Course Content:

In this course, you will gain knowledge about the following topics:

• Principles Behind Best Practice Financial Management: Foundational concepts and practices of effective financial management within organizations
• The Importance of Budgeting within a Strategic Framework: How budgeting aligns with and supports overall strategic objectives
• Building a Robust Budgeting Process: Developing and implementing a comprehensive budgeting process tailored to organizational needs and goals
• Analyzing Revenue and Cost Drivers for Performance Forecasting: Utilizing analytical skills to project future financial performance based on key revenue and cost indicators
• Effective Variance Reporting for Tracking Performance: Implementing variance reporting methods to monitor and assess performance against budgeted figures and make informed adjustments
• Integrating Budgeting with Performance Management: Connecting budgeting processes with performance management systems to ensure alignment and drive organizational performance

Learning Objectives:

Upon completing this course, you should be able to:

• Apply the fundamentals of budgeting within the financial management profession
• Develop accurate and realistic budgets that align with organizational goals and objectives
• Analyzing and interpreting financial data to monitor budget performance and identify areas for improvement
• Understand the importance of budgeting as a tool for resource allocation, cost control, and decision-making
• Improve the budgeting process by applying best practices and technique, including forecasting, variance analysis, and budgeting for different business scenarios

Who Will Benefit:

This is an introductory level course that is suited for individuals that are:

• New to budgeting
• Growing in their career