Course Objectives: 

• Improve their ability to think strategically and participate in the integration of the organization’s strategic management and budgeting processes
• Use forecasting techniques most appropriate to their organization’s strategic planning and budgeting
• Apply the techniques that relate to the key principles of financial management: shareholder wealth maximization; cash flow; time value of money; risk
• Appreciate the behavior of costs and identify the costing methods that may best be used in financial planning, budgeting and budgetary control
• Use best practice to develop operating budgets, capital expenditure budgets, and cash flow budgets and forecasts in line with organizational strategic objectives

What will be covered?

• Strategic Management and Financing
• 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

Financial Planning, Forecasting, and Risk Analysis

• 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 minimize and mitigate risk

Cost Analysis Techniques

• Cost Behavior 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)

Budgeting, Budgetary Control and Performance Improvement

• 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

Project Appraisal and Capital Budgeting

• 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)

Who should attend?

This Budgeting, Forecasting and the Planning Process training programme is designed to be suitable for anyone involved in budgeting and planning in companies, corporations, and governmental, education, and health service organisations. It is equally valuable for those working in finance and accounting, costing, and treasury departments, and all other financial and non-financial professionals who have budget responsibility or are involved in the planning process, for example:

• Line Managers
• Project Managers
• Professional Advisers and consultants who would like to further develop their strategic thinking and decision-making, and refresh and update their skill-sets relating to planning, forecasting and budgeting, and their linkages

Training Methodology:

This Budgeting, Forecasting and the Planning Process training seminar will combine the presentation of analytical techniques, examples and case studies. Relevant worked examples will illustrate the learning points and tools and techniques in a real-world environment. Group discussion will promote exchange of experiences and ideas.

The interactive team case studies and exercises will reinforce the application of topics covered. These are supported with the help and advice of your Instructor and his extensive practical experience and knowledge of strategic planning, forecasting and budgeting. Difficult mathematical concepts are minimised wherever possible and handled in a visual way that is easy to understand – our aim is for this to be an enjoyable learning experience.

Prerequisites (if any): 

• Relevant experience 

Language:

• Arabic/English

Competencies covered:

• Strategic Financial Planning, Forecasting & Budgeting
• Excel and other Forecasting Techniques 
• Traditional and Modern Costing Systems 
• Best Practice in Budgeting.