Advanced Budgeting and Cost Management: Estimating, Budgeting and Cost Control

The programme

Programme overview

The Advanced Budgeting and Cost Management seminar provides participants with key cost awareness and budgetary skills, which are essential for managing and controlling resources in times of increasing global competition, where budgets are inextricably linked with both the achievement of strategic objectives and the evaluation of future plans and initiatives.

This seminar enables participants to:

• Discuss the modern system of cost analysis for budgeting purposes
• Explore the best practices required to manage multiple organisational performances
• Link budgeting and costing with strategy execution
• Understand the critical factors that impact business processes
• Master the budgeting and financial skills required for better decision-making
• Identify sources of financial and operational data to support the budgeting process

Who should attend

Who is this programme for?

• Financial Directors
• Chief Financial Officers
• Finance Managers and Financial Controllers
• Budget Officers
• Finance Officers
• Group Finance Managers
• Management Accountants
• Financial Accountants
• Graduates and Management Trainees
• Anyone Who Wants to Refine and Advance Their Budgeting and Costing Knowledge

Learning outcomes

What you will learn

• Understand the importance of a well-defined costing and budgeting process
• Link finance and operations for budgeting purposes and strategy execution
• Master traditional techniques and recent best practices in budgeting and cost management, including where AI now strengthens cost-driver analysis and performance tracking
• Refine costing and budgeting terminology used in business
• Determine full costs of outputs for the goods and services provided
• Learn how to build a comprehensive performance measurement system for business risk

Explore the programme

Detailed programme outline

• Financial vs. managerial accounting: where you get information for decision-making
• Why budgeting and costing are so important to managing your company
• Towards a cross-functional process view of the organisation
• Understanding your processes: integrating financial and non-financial aspects
• The link between strategy, planning, budgeting, and cost management
• Discussion: identifying and discussing the key budgeting/costing issues for your own organisation
• The budgeting framework and its role within the management process
• Behavioural implications of budgeting
• The role of budgeting within management accounting
• The value of budgeting in your company
• Key concepts and terminology
• Advantages and disadvantages: critical issues to be discussed
• Overview of the financial statements — balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow
• Case discussion and examples
• Cost concepts and terminology
• Different costs for different purposes
• Fixed vs. variable costs: the Cost-Volume-Profit (CVP) analysis model
• Contribution margin analysis
• Period vs. product costs: inventory evaluation and control
• Case study and discussions
• Traditional vs. advanced techniques in cost control
• Under-costing and over-costing: the consequences for profitability
• How to refine a costing system
• Indirect vs. direct costs: traditional cost allocation systems vs. Activity-Based Costing
• Cost drivers: linking resources, activities, and management, including how AI now supports cost-driver analysis by identifying patterns across large transaction datasets more quickly than manual review
• Introducing Activity-Based Budgeting and Management
• Case study analysis, examples, and videos
• Broadening the performance measurement systems
• Shortcomings of traditional approaches to budgeting and performance measurement
• The need to link financial to operational issues
• Recent best practices: the Balanced Scorecard and Six Sigma, including how AI-powered dashboards now support real-time tracking across the Balanced Scorecard's four perspectives
• Financial perspective, customer perspective
• Internal business process perspective, learning and growth perspective
• Developing and adapting the scorecard
• Case study and discussion

Learning approach

How you will learn

Our diverse instructional approaches ensure effective learning:

– Lectures & Presentations: Engage with expert-driven, stimulating content.– Course Material: Access well-crafted supporting resources.– Group Work: Collaborate on discussions and case studies for practical insights.– Workshops & Role-Play: Participate in immersive, scenario-based activities.– Practical Application: Focus on applying theoretical knowledge in real situations.– Post-Training Support: Receive extensive support after training for skill implementation.

Discuss your requirements

Dates, duration & arrangements

Contact Ratomac to confirm dates, duration, delivery format, entry requirements and any applicable assessment or certification before booking.