Managing Budgets

Course Description:

Do you want to be able to understand, create and manage budgets?
Do you need to fit your budget to your organisation's strategic plan?

Managers need to be able to understand budgets, whether for a specific project or a team budget. This course enables you to understand why budgets are important. Emphasis will be placed on setting a zero budget, and the importance of planning, controlling and reviewing the budget to ensure it is a meaningful activity.

Seasonalising or profiling the expenditure will be considered and participants will have the opportunity to acquire and practice these budgeting skills.

You will benefit from this course if you manage a budget or would like a greater understanding of budget management.

By the end of the course you will be able to:

• Understand why budgets are important
• Use budgets as a management tool
• Understand the forecasting and budgeting process
• Present clear information and the main variables
• Reconcile actual expenditure with budgeted expenditure
• Identify cost saving opportunities
• Provide information on which decisions can be made
• Know the principles of the nature of costs, overheads and break-even analysis
• Have produced a personal action plan for implementation back at the workplace

This course includes the following modules:

Course Topics

• Personal objectives for the course.
• The essence of managing budgets.
• The budgeting process.
• Benefits of budgeting.
• Budgeting techniques.
• Measuring the performance of resources.
• Fixed and variable costs.
• Calculating the break even point.
• Variance analysis.
• Expenditure.
• Cash flow projections.
• Managing your accounts.
• Completion of a personal action plan.