Budgeting and Financial Planning

This course teaches you how to create, manage, and analyze budgets and financial plans that align with organizational strategy. Budgeting is a fundamental management accounting skill that connects financial planning with operational execution.

You will begin with budgeting fundamentals: the purpose and benefits of budgeting, different budgeting approaches, and the budget development process. The course covers the complete master budget including sales budgets, production budgets, direct materials and labor budgets, manufacturing overhead budgets, selling and administrative expense budgets, and the budgeted financial statements.

Cash flow forecasting is covered in depth, teaching you how to project cash inflows and outflows, manage working capital requirements, and ensure adequate liquidity. Capital budgeting techniques including payback period, NPV, IRR, and profitability index are covered with practical examples relevant to real business investment decisions.

Advanced topics include zero-based budgeting, activity-based budgeting, rolling forecasts, and beyond-budgeting concepts. You will learn flexible budgeting and comprehensive variance analysis to evaluate actual performance against plans. The course also covers the behavioral aspects of budgeting, including how to manage budget negotiations, address budget gaming, and create a culture of accountability. Practical exercises using Excel templates ensure you can immediately apply these skills in your workplace.