COURSE OVERVIEW
What is Budgeting and Cost Control? Budgeting and cost control include estimation of costs, the establishment of an agreed budget, and management of actual costs against that budget. To ensure successful financial management of a department or and even the entire organisation, it is essential to plan and prepare a realistic budget and ensure compliance with the approved budget. Furthermore, to ensure this compliance, operational costs must be monitored and controlled so as to ensure financial discipline.
What is Cost Estimation? A cost estimate is a guesstimate or approximate of the cost of a program, project, or operation. The cost estimate is a product in the cost estimating process. The cost estimate has a single total value and might have identifiable component values. It is, therefore, necessary to understand how costs behave so that realistic plans can be produced, and suitable resources can be made available to the business.
In this Zoe Training Couse on “Cost Estimation, Budgeting and Cost Control”, you will learn to practise and implement effective cost reduction strategies to keep expenses down and increase profits. You will master the most extensively used budgeting techniques for planning, monitoring and controlling costs.
Course Objectives
Upon completing this Cost Estimation, Budgeting and Cost Control Certification Course successfully, participants will be able to:
- Understand the impact of budgeting in achieving your organizational goals
- Make better business decisions centred on financial planning and analysis
- Identify and recognise key performance indicators for effective and focused decision making
- Learn how to integrate budgeting and forecasting and associate these with your business strategy
- Develop means to increase profitability and performance through streamlined planning and reporting
- Gain greater insight into all the principles of Corporate Finance and See the “big picture” of the organization
- Increase managerial collaboration on business planning and decision-making using budgetary controls and performance review
TRAINING METHODOLOGY
This collaborative Cost Estimation, Budgeting and Cost Control Certification Course will comprise of the following training methods:
- Lectures
- Seminars & Presentations
- Group Discussions
- Practical Assignments and Hands-on experience
- Application of broad and extensive excel based case studies and real-life examples
Just like all our other courses, this training program also follows the ‘Do-Review-Learn-Apply’ model.
Organisational Benefits
Companies who nominate their employees to participate in this Cost Estimation, Budgeting and Cost Control Certification Course can benefit in the following ways:
- Cost control for sustaining and growing profitability
- Handling and controlling the different types of business costs
- Implementing appropriate budgeting techniques for better cost control
- Cost control measures that may jeopardise other strategic interests
- Modern and prevailing roles and responsibilities of a finance department
- Paying notice and attention to your cash flow and being innovative
Personal Benefits
Individuals who participate in this Cost Estimation, Budgeting and Cost Control Certification Course can gain from it in the following ways:
- Use the essential concepts of accounting, budgets and finance
- Apply the procedure of unit cost measurements in performance-based budgeting
- Maintain and support strategic cost control
- Appreciate the significance of reducing unnecessary costs
- Identify correct outputs for an organizational unit or programme component
- Determine and apply the costs estimated to create those outputs and calculate a cost per unit of output
- Use best practices to design written budget justifications
WHO SHOULD ATTEND?
This training course is suitable for a broad range of professionals, especially those with direct or indirect budget responsibilities within a team, a department or a division. The training course is also appropriate for those who are required to run budgetary plans and responsible for the cost and strategic analysis.
COURSE OUTLINE
The course covers the following areas important to understand and practise Cost Estimation, Budgeting and Cost Control
Module 1: Budgeting within a Strategic Framework
- Objectives and Importance of Budgeting
- Translating Strategy into Business Plan
- A Guide to Better Budgets
- Group Discussions & Activities
Module 2: Budgeting Process
- Process Flow of an Organization
- Framework in Manufacturing, Service and Retail Industry
- Budgeting in Small/Large Companies
- Top Down Vs. Bottom-Up Involvement
- Sources of Information
- Revenue and Cost Drivers
- Relationship between Activities, Resources, Costs, and Cost Drivers
- Where to Start with Budgeting?
- Building the Budget
- Operating Budgets vs. Financial Budgets
- Operating Budgets: Revenue, Production, Direct Material/Labour, SG&A Budgets, Budgeted Income Statement
- Financial Budgets: Capex, Cash Budgets, Budgeted Balance Sheet, Budgeted Statement of Cash Flows
- Detailed dive in Revenue and Overhead Budgeting (Estimation Techniques)
- Fixed Vs. Variable Cost Considerations
- Identifying Relevant Cost Drivers
- Consolidated Picture: The Master Budget
- Exercises and Analysis
Module 3: Practical Guide to Developing Budgets
- Common Budgeting Approaches/Models
- Incremental, Zero Based, Formula Based, Activity Based, Hybrid
- Fixed vs. Flexible Budget, Imposed vs. Participatory, Static vs. Rolling Budget
- Benefits and Criticisms of Budgets
- Behavioural Aspects in Budgeting
- Get Buy-in to the Budget
- Beyond Budgeting: The Drive towards Shareholder Value Creation
- Modelling a Master Budget and Analysis with an Excel Case Study
- Exercises and Analysis
Module 4: Tracking Budget Performance
- Variance Analysis: Budget vs. Actual (Control Process)
- Monthly Variances with Qualitative Inputs for Management
- Cost & Schedule Variances
- Control Ratios
- How to Review Budget?
- Exercises and Analysis
Module 5: Applied Budgeting Tools and Optimisation Techniques
- Decision-Making Tools with Excel:
- Scenario Manager
- Goal Seek
- Data Table (Sensitivity Analysis)
- Solver Technique
- Breakeven Analysis
- How to allow for Uncertainty: Risk Analysis
- Exercises and Analysis
