Advanced Budgeting & Forecasting

Section One: Budgets in Today’s International environment

• Organizational Planning and Control Framework
• The Product / Information / Decision Support Cycle
• Strategic, Tactical, and Operational Forecasts
• The recognition of risk in Models
• Using Budget Models for Simulation Purposes
• The Drive toward Shareholder Value (EVA®)
• The Strategic Plan
• The purpose of planning and budgeting in business
• Defining the strategic approach to business planning
• Defining strategic assumptions
• Building the strategic planning model using financial data
• Various strategic and tactical approaches to business planning
• Defining the Decision-Support model: Assumptions/Goals and Key Success Factors

Section Two: Analysing the Historical Data Using Excel

• Recognizing the Basic Patterns Inherent in Historical Data
• Using the Exploratory Data Analysis Tools Available in Excel®
• Development of Time Series Models using histograms, moving averages, exponential smoothing, and regression analysis
• Using Regression Analysis as a predictor and estimator
• Mastering the use of Exponential Smoothing as a Data Analysis tool
• Single Regression vs. Multiple Regression
• Validation of Time Series Analysis

Section Three: Approaches to Budget Development

• Types of Budgets
• Zero Base Budgeting
• Activity-based Budgeting
• Rolling Budgets
• Operational Unit Budgeting
• Programme budgeting
• Developing the Cash Budget
• Using Activity-based Budgeting
• Developing the ABB application model
• Budgeting for Processes rather than Departments
• Defining Key Cost Drivers
• Defining Key Activities
• Development of ABB Cost Standards
• Developing the Activity-Based Budget

Section Four: Strategic and Operational Cost Analysis Techniques

• Identifying fixed, variable and semi-variable costs
• Application of Regression in the development of budgets
• Building the financial simulation model using articulated financial statements
• Building the financial simulation model using simulation
• Developing Manufacturing Standards
• Material Standard Development
• Labour Standard Development
• Factory and Corporate Overhead Standard Development
• Variance Analysis

Section Five: Defining and Testing Optimisation Techniques in Models Using Excel

• Basic Structure of All Optimisation Models
• Different Forms and Applications of Optimization Models
• Developing a Financial Optimisation Model
• Performing Sensitivity Analysis of an Optimisation Model
• Interpreting the Solution of an Optimisation Model to a Non-technical Manager