Introduction
Setting & Controlling Budgets properly and accurately is fundamental to every successful business. This seminar shows how budgeting is linked to strategy, costing and performance measurement. The purpose of the seminar is to clarify the jargon and methodology of budgeting within the areas of managerial accounting and performance measurement.
Key learning objectives include:
- Strategic planning
- The linkages between planning, budgeting, costing and performance measurement
- The features of budgetary control
- Cost analysis: fixed vs. variable costs (CVP analysis); direct vs. indirect costs (traditional method and activity-based costing)
- The role of full costing and contribution margin
- Advantages and disadvantages of budgeting
Course Objectives of Setting & Controlling Budgets
- Link finance and operation for budgeting purposes and strategy execution
- Learn how to build a comprehensive performance measurement system
- Master traditional techniques and recent best practices
- Develop an understanding of the corporate budgeting process
- Be able to interpret the financial impact of strategic directions
- Understand the problems of overheads allocation and how Activity-Based Analysis may aid decision-making and pricing strategies
Training Methodology of Setting & Controlling Budgets
The seminar is based on a combination of interactive activities - group and individual exercises, case studies, and discussions.
The environment will be a supportive one in which individuals with varying degrees of experience will be encouraged to share the approaches they currently use as well as try out new ones that they encounter in the seminar. The seminar speaker will be on hand to answer any questions a delegate may have and to act as a facilitator for building and applying new approaches.
Organizational Impact of Setting & Controlling Budgets
- A better understanding of the strategic planning process
- Cost and budgeting awareness will be enhanced
- Higher chances to select a budgetary system that works
- Broadened knowledge of performance management techniques
- A better attitude to link cost and budgeting to strategy and performance measurement
- A deeper understanding of cause and effect relationship for budgeting purposes
Personal Impact of Setting & Controlling Budgets
- Delegates will understand the budgeting methods most useful to them
- They will understand how to construct a relevant and efficient budget
- They will learn to evaluate the usefulness of costing techniques in accurately calculating and ensuring profitability
- They will reinforce and expand their knowledge by linking budgeting to strategy and performance measurement
- They will broaden their understanding by linking financial and operational issues
- They will have a better awareness of non-financial implications of budgeting
Course Outlines of Setting & Controlling Budgets
DAY 1
Strategic and Financial Planning
- Financial vs. managerial accounting
- Exploring the linkages between strategy, budgeting, costing and performance measurement
- Understanding what strategic planning is and why it is important
- Mission; Vision; Strategy; Goals and Objectives
- The outside environment and the internal context: SWOT and PESTEL analysis
- What is happening in your company
- Looking for the drivers of value creation
- Examples and cases
DAY 2
The Framework for Budgeting
- What is a budget - why create a budget?
- The budgeting framework
- Various types of budgets
- The budgeting process and the human side of budgeting
- Sales forecasting and budgeting schedules
- What is the budgeting process in your company?
- Top-down vs. bottom-up budget; incremental vs. zero-based
- Examples of budgetary schedules
DAY 3
Cost Analysis for Budgeting
- What is costing? Defining costs
- Cost behavior – Fixed and variable
- Breakeven models - The Equation Method
- The contribution margin concept
- Direct and indirect costs
- Traditional vs. Activity Based Costing
- Product vs. period costs
- Case study and examples
DAY 4
Budgeting: case study day - Controlling the budget variances
- What is the situation in your organization?
- Is budgeting organized by department and/or projects?
- Budget variance analysis
- Describe the difference between a static budget and a flexible budget
- Compute flexible-budget variances and sales-volume variances
- Explain why standard costs are often used in variance analysis
- Integrate continuous improvement into variance analysis
- Case study, examples and exercises
DAY 5
Beyond Budgeting: Broadening Performance Measurement Systems
- Advantages and disadvantages of budgeting
- How to improve budgeting in your organization
- What next? Beyond the Budget…
- The Balanced Scorecard: linking Strategy to budgeting to Performance Measurement
- Financial perspective, Customer perspective
- Internal Business Process perspective, Learning and growth perspective
- Developing and adapting the scorecard
- Case study illustration
About London
The UK capital of London is a city that combines the old and the new. It is as equally famous for the latest fashion and innovation as it is for its impressive heritage. London's attractions range from the Royal Palace to the DIY atmosphere of its markets. It is also a picturesque city of parks and of course, the majestic Thames River. The city extends for miles beyond its ancient core and each neighborhood has its own charming atmosphere for visitors to explore. London also wears its status as a world city proudly and the influence of different cultures is plain to see in the food and fashion of the capital.
Things to do and places to visit in London
With so many attractions in London, anyone can find something to delight them. Art lovers will enjoy the world-renowned museums and galleries, most of which are free. Sports fans are spoilt for choice by the city's array of football clubs. Theatre and music fans have a vast list of venues to visit, whilst shopaholics have Harrods, Oxford Street, Camden and much more to look forward to after arranging flights to London.
Some unmissable London attractions include:
- Seeing priceless masterpieces in the Tate Britain or the National Gallery.
- Watching the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace.
- Visiting Trafalgar Square's famous monument.
- Marveling at the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London.
- Getting a bird's eye view of the city from the London Eye.
- Tasting one of Brick Lane's famous curries.
- Browsing the exclusive shops of Knightsbridge.
- Visiting a market – Spitalfields for antiques, Camden for clothes or Borough Market for street food.
- Admiring design from around the world in the Victoria and Albert Museum.
- Looking for clues at the home of fiction's most famous detective, Sherlock Holmes.
- Strolling through one of the lovely parks, including Hyde Park, St James' Park or Kew Gardens.
- Eating Britain's most famous dish, fish and chips.
- Watching the street performers in Covent Garden.
- Enjoying the views at a South Bank cafe.