Budgeting, Forecasting and the Planning Process

This day introduces strategic financial planning and financing fundamentals. Participants explore how budgeting, forecasting, and planning processes connect to organisational strategy and performance measurement. The topics covered will include:   

• This day introduces strategic financial planning and financing fundamentals. Participants explore how budgeting, forecasting, and planning processes connect to organisational strategy and performance measurement.
  The topics covered will include:   
• Strategic Analysis, Strategic choices and evaluation, and Strategic implementation
• The Links between Strategy, Forecasting, Planning, Budgeting, Performance Measurement
• Strategic capability and avoiding the Spiral of Death
• Shareholder Wealth maximisation, Corporate and Shareholder value creation
• Financial Strategy, Dividend Policy, the Agency Problem and Corporate Governance
• Long-term Financing
  • Debt and Equity, Cost of Equity using Dividend Growth and Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM), Cost of Debt, Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC)
• Capital Structure Optimisation Models to minimise WACC
• Using Strategy Maps to link strategies to Performance Measurement: The Balanced Scorecard

This day focuses on forecasting techniques, financial planning tools, and risk analysis. Participants examine tools to forecast revenues, cash flows, and use Excel modelling to support decision-making. The topics covered will include  

• The Financial Planning Process and Modelling using Excel
• Statistical Forecasting Tools and Techniques
  • Time series, moving averages, exponential smoothing, Pareto Analysis, trend progression, linear regression, correlation
• Forecasting long- and short-term sales revenues, and sales pricing
  • Porter’s generic strategy of cost leadership and differentiation, Bowman’s strategy clock, full cost pricing, marginal cost pricing, target cost pricing, life-cycle costing, kaizen costing, value-based pricing
• Using Excel for Optimum Product mix decisions
• Short-term Financing, Working Capital, and the Cash Operating Cycle
• Direct and Indirect Cash Flow Analysis and Cash Flow Forecasting using Excel
• Uncertainty and Risk
  • Business Risk
  • Financial Risk
  • Systematic Risk
  • Unsystematic Risk
• The Choices available to minimise and mitigate risk

This day develops understanding of cost behaviour and allocation. Participants explore cost concepts, activity-based costing, and use Excel tools for cost-volume-profit analysis. The topics covered will include:   

• Cost Behaviour and Activities
• Fixed and Variable Costs, Direct and Indirect Costs
• Product Costs and Period Costs
• Cost Allocation and Absorption of Overheads
• Absorption or Full Costing
• Marginal Costing
• Cost-Volume-Profit (CVP) and ‘what-if’ analysis using Excel
• Activity Based Costing (ABC) and Activity Based Management (ABM)

This day centres on the budgeting process, control methods, and performance improvement techniques. Participants examine how to prepare budgets, conduct variance analysis, and integrate improvement thinking. The topics covered will include:

• To Budget or Not – Purposes and Reasons for Budgets
• Stages in the Budget Preparation Process
• Preparation of the Master Budget
• Activity Based Budgeting (ABB)
• Responsibility Accounting and Variance Analysis
  • Standard costing, flexed budgets, budgetary control to measure organisational and management performance
• Advantages, Disadvantages and Behavioural Aspects of Budgeting
• The Conflict between Performance Improvement and the Costing System
• Lean thinking and integrating continuous performance improvement into the Budget Process

This day focuses on using time value of money and capital budgeting tools to appraise projects. Participants explore techniques such as NPV, IRR, and scenario analysis to support investment decisions. The topics covered will include:   

• The Time Value of Money
• Future Values
• Present Values
• Discounted Cash Flow (DCF)
• Capital investment Project Appraisal
  • Accounting Rate of Return (ARR), payback, Net Present Value (NPV), Internal Rate of Return (IRR), Modified Internal Rate of Return (MIRR), Discounted Payback, Equivalent Annual Cost (EAC)
• Project Risk
  • Sensitivity Analysis, simulation, scenario analysis, NPV break-even
• Capital Rationing
• Capital Budgeting and the Profitability Index (PI)