How to prepare budgets and control costs

Part of the budgeting series for managers

This course has been designed to provide non-financial managers with essential tools and techniques for managing budgets and controlling costs. The course takes a practical approach using real life examples and plain english explanations. After attending the course you'll be able to make smart financial decisions that improve organisational performance and value for money.

Objectives:

After completing this course you will be able to:

Understand the objectives of budgeting, forecasting and financial reporting and how these relate to organisational goals and expectations
Prepare budgets using a range of methods: Top down budgets; bottom up budgets; zero based budgets; incremental budgets
Budget internally by projects and cost centres as well as externally by customers and products (activity based costing/ budgeting)
Classify costs into twenty different categories and know how to manage them
Understand the difference between direct and indirect costs and how overhead costs are allocated to front line areas
Interpret cost centre reports and know what actions are necessary to manage costs
Confidently phase budgets across the months of the year and prepare year end forecasts
Understand contribution margin and best ways to manage around limiting factors
Make budgeting a valuable tool for driving your organisation's future and achieving your management goals

Our training is:

Competency based: we enable participants to apply what they have learned when they return to work
Professionally designed to cater for all learning styles, with a mix of activities
Based on accelerated learning techniques to engage participants
Fully evaluated for continuous improvement
Customised for an agency's specific needs and issues and financial systems and processes