Course Objectives
Effective Budgeting and Cost Control - Virtual Learning
Course Objectives
By the end of the course, participants will be able to:
Defend the importance of linking an organization's budget with its strategic plan
Demonstrate how the budget relates to the key financial statements: balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow
Prepare the key elements of an operating and capital budget and evaluate the different budgeting approaches used
Apply cost control tools, analyze management variance reports and take proper corrective action
Target Audience
All managers, supervisors and analysts who prepare or use management budgets.
Target Competencies
Interpreting financial statements
Planning and budgeting
Cost control
Course Outline
Planning and the functions of managementThe critical functions of managementAligning the budget with the strategy of the organizationRoad map to strategyBudget as a planning toolControl: the missing linkPlanning pitfalls
The key financial statementsThe accounting systemThe income statementThe balance sheetThe cash flow statement
Budgeting: process and approachesThe advantages of budgetingThe budget processRolling budgetsThe master budgetOperating and capital budgetsThe budgeted financial statementsApproaches to budgeting:Incremental budgetingZero based budgetingFlexible budgetingKaizen budgeting and continuous improvementActivity based budgetingCharacteristics of an effective budgetProblems in budgeting
Cost controlBudget as a control toolThe control processCharacteristics of an effective control systemResponsibility reportingVariance analysis: identifying the components of varianceVariance analysis: taking the corrective action