Integrating Budgeting,
Forecasting & Business Planning

Why Choose this Online Training Course?

This finance & accounting online training course will provide not only the theoretical background but also the necessary skills to build world class standards into your planning, budgeting, performance measurement and reporting system. The online training course will concentrate on imparting to delegates how to learn the concepts, processes, and techniques of budgeting and business planning in order to be better able to carry out their budgeting and business planning tasks and responsibilities.

By combining techniques analysis, problems and examples with real case studies the training course provides delegates with key cost awareness and budgetary skills, which is essential in managing and controlling processes/projects in times of increasing global competition where the budgets are inextricably linked with both strategy formulation and cost analysis.

This COPEX online training course will feature:

• Budgets and Strategy in Today’s International Environment
• The Business Plan and Budget Development
• Analysing the Applicability of Historical Data Using Excel®
• Using Activity-Based Budgeting and Cost Analysis Techniques
• Capital Budgeting and Project Appraisal

The Structure

This comprehensive training course consists of two modules which can be booked as a 5-Day Online Training event, or as individual, 3-Day or 2-Day online training courses.

Module 1: An Integrated Approach to Financial and Business Planning

Module 2: Forecasting and Cost Analysis Techniques

What are the Goals?

By the end of this COPEX online training course, participants will be able to:

• Build an integrated planning, budgeting and reporting process
• Understand costs behaviour more accurately
• Deliver more timely and useful information to decision makers
• Improve you the budgeting/financial skills required for better decision-making
• Appreciate the need to link projects within budgets

Who is this Online Training Course for?

This COPEX online training course is designed for anyone involved in the budget and business planning process within their organisation. It is equally appropriate for those who manage projects and who wish to have a greater understanding of how budgets, business plans, and projects interlink.

This online training course is suitable to a wide range of professionals who have budgetary control and are involved in the business planning process, including, but not limited to:

• Professionals who require a more in-depth understanding of integrated planning & budgeting techniques
• Accountants responsible for budget preparation & management reporting
• Financial Planners and Cost Analysts
• Line heads with direct planning and budgeting responsibility
• Professional Advisers, Account Personnel and Business Consultants

How will this Online Training Course be Presented?

This online course will utilise a variety of proven online adult learning techniques to ensure maximum understanding, comprehension, and retention of the information presented. This includes stimulating presentations supporting each of the topics together with interactive trainer lead sessions of discussion. This course will be taught online using a suitable platform.

Module 1: An Integrated Approach to Financial and Business Planning

• Organisational planning frameworks for strategic and tactical approaches to business planning
• The international business environment
• Corporate objectives and key value drivers, and development of business and financial plans
• Operating budgets, zero-based budgets, activity-based budgets
• The cash flow budget
• Flexed budgets and variance analysis for budgetary control
• Identification of the various types of capital projects and capital budgeting
• The time value of money impact on future values of cash flows and capital project evaluation
• WACC and ROI as benchmarks and the ‘hurdle rate’ for capital projects
• Capital project evaluation using ARR and payback, and DCF techniques of NPV, IRR, MIRR

Module 2: Forecasting and Cost Analysis Techniques

• Problems associated with forecasting
• Use of historical data to help predict the future
• Consideration of alternative forecasting techniques
• Development of time series models
• Regression analysis as a predictor and an estimator
• Use of exponential smoothing as a data analysis tool
• Cost behavior, cost analysis and cost-volume-profit analysis
• Alternative methods of costing: full absorption costing and marginal costing
• Process analysis, defining key activities and key cost drivers
• Activity based costing (ABC) and activity-based budgeting (ABB)

The Certificate

• A COPEX e-Certificate for delegates who attend and complete the online training course

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