Budgeting: The Complete Guide

Day 1: Introduction to Budgeting Fundamentals

• The essence of budgeting: Definitions and its role in financial planning.
• The link between budgeting, strategy, and organisational objectives.
• Overview of the budgeting process: Planning, preparation, and execution.
• Activity: Identifying common budgeting challenges and pitfalls.

Day 2: Budget Preparation & Forecasting

• Steps in budget preparation: From data collection to approval.
• Techniques of forecasting: Quantitative and qualitative methods.
• Practical exercise: Creating a basic budget from scratch.
• Role of historical data in accurate budget forecasting.

Day 3: Types of Budgets & Their Applications

• Operating vs. Capital budgets.
• Zero-based budgeting, Incremental budgeting, and Activity-based budgeting.
• Flex budgets and rolling forecasts.
• Case Study Analysis: Different budgeting approaches in real-world scenarios.

Day 4: Monitoring & Performance Analysis

• Importance of budgetary controls and variance analysis.
• Techniques to evaluate budgetary performance.
• Addressing discrepancies: What to do when actuals differ from the budget.

Workshop: Analysing a budget variance report and recommending actions.

Day 5: Cultivating a Proactive Budgeting Culture

• The role of collaboration and communication in successful budgeting.
• Embracing technology: Introduction to budgeting software and tools.
• Encouraging continuous feedback and improvement in the budgeting process.
• Wrap-up, interactive Q&A, feedback session, and certificate distribution.