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Budgeting, Forecasting and the Planning Process

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Accounting, Finance & Budgeting
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Course Overview

This training program equips participants with the theoretical foundation and practical skills needed to build world-class budgeting, forecasting, and strategic planning processes.
Strategy represents the long-term roadmap an organization follows to achieve its overarching goals.
Throughout this program, participants will learn how to create a cohesive framework that aligns strategic objectives with annual budgets, targets, and performance expectations.
A budget serves as a short-term financial plan that translates strategic priorities into measurable operational activities.
This program provides the tools and forecasting techniques necessary to develop effective budgets, as well as the skills to use control budgets and variance analysis to identify opportunities for improving financial performance.
 

Course Objectives

By the end of participants will learn how to:

  • Improve their ability to think strategically and participate in the integration of the organisation’s strategic management and budgeting processes
  • Use forecasting techniques most appropriate to their organisation’s strategic planning and budgeting
  • Apply the techniques that relate to the key principles of financial management: shareholder wealth maximisation, 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 organisational strategic objectives

Course Audience

It is particularly valuable for:

  • Line Managers
  • Project Managers
  • Professional advisers and consultants seeking to strengthen strategic thinking, enhance decision-making, and update their skills in planning, forecasting, budgeting, and their interrelated processes

Course Methodology

This training program combines analytical techniques with practical examples and case studies.
Worked examples are used throughout to demonstrate key concepts and show how various tools and methods are applied in real world situations. Group discussions encourage the exchange of ideas and professional experiences.
Interactive team exercises and case studies are designed to reinforce the topics covered, supported by guidance from the instructor and their extensive expertise in strategic planning, forecasting, and budgeting. Complex mathematical concepts are minimized and presented visually to ensure clarity and ease of understanding. The goal is to create an engaging and enjoyable learning experience for all participants.

Course Outline

Day 1 :

Strategic Management and Financing

  • Foundations of strategic management
  • Strategic analysis, evaluation of strategic options, and implementation
  • Integrating strategy with forecasting, planning, budgeting, and performance measurement
  • Strategic capability and avoiding performance decline
  • Creating shareholder value and enhancing corporate value
  • Financial strategy, dividend policy, agency theory, and corporate governance
  • Long-term financing decisions
  • Debt vs. equity, cost of equity (Dividend Growth & CAPM), cost of debt, Weighted Average Cost of Capital (WACC)
  • Capital structure optimization to minimize WACC
  • Using strategy maps to link strategy with performance measurement (Balanced Scorecard)

Day 2 :

Financial Planning, Forecasting & Risk Analysis

  • The financial planning process and modeling using Excel
  • Statistical forecasting tools and techniques
  • Time series, moving averages, exponential smoothing, Pareto analysis, trends, linear regression, correlation
  • Forecasting sales revenue and pricing (short- and long-term)
  • Pricing strategies: cost leadership, differentiation, strategy clock, full cost pricing, marginal pricing, target costing, life-cycle costing, kaizen costing, value-based pricing
  • Using Excel to determine the optimal product mix
  • Short-term financing and working capital management
  • The cash operating cycle
  • Direct and indirect cash flow analysis and cash flow forecasting using Excel
  • Understanding uncertainty and risk
    • Business risk
    • Financial risk
    • Systematic vs. unsystematic risk
  • Risk mitigation and techniques to minimize exposure
Day 3 :
Cost Analysis Techniques
  • Cost behavior and activity analysis
  • Fixed vs. variable costs, direct vs. indirect costs
  • Product costs vs. period costs
  • Cost allocation and overhead absorption
  • Full (absorption) costing and marginal costing
  • Cost-Volume-Profit (CVP) analysis and scenario ("what-if") modeling using Excel
  • Activity-Based Costing (ABC) and Activity-Based Management (ABM)
Day 4 :
Budgeting, Control & Performance Improvement
  • The purpose and role of budgets
  • Stages in the budgeting process
  • Preparing the master budget
  • Activity-Based Budgeting (ABB)
  • Responsibility accounting and variance analysis
  • Standard costing, flexible budgets, and budgetary control for measuring performance
  • Advantages, disadvantages, and behavioral considerations in budgeting
  • Conflicts between performance improvement and costing systems
  • Lean thinking and integrating continuous improvement into the budgeting cycle
Day 5 :
Project Appraisal & Capital Budgeting
  • Time value of money concepts
    • Future values
    • Present values
    • Discounted cash flow (DCF)
  • Capital investment evaluation
    • Accounting Rate of Return (ARR)
    • Payback and discounted payback
    • Net Present Value (NPV)
    • Internal Rate of Return (IRR)
    • Modified IRR (MIRR)
    • Equivalent Annual Cost (EAC)
  • Assessing project risk
    • Sensitivity analysis
    • Simulation
    • Scenario analysis
    • NPV break-even analysis
  • Capital rationing and investment prioritization
  • Capital budgeting decisions and the Profitability Index (PI)

Certificates

Upon successful completion of this training program, participants will be formally awarded a HighPoint Certificate, recognizing their demonstrated knowledge and competencies in the subject matter. This certificate serves as an official testament to their proficiency and commitment to professional development

London - UK
22-26 Dec 2025
$5950

Training Schedule and Fees

London - UK
15-19 Dec 2025
$5950
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