course | Effective Budgeting and Cost Control

Introduction: Building a Common Financial Language
 

• How budgeting and cost control affect the contemporary organization.
• The 21st-century business imperative: delivering value added (but to whom?)
• Cross-functional process-view of the organization
• Financial vs. Managerial accounting (decision making)
• Integrate financial and non-financial aspects
   

Contributing effectively to Strategic Planning
 

• Budgeting and Cost Analysis
• Cost concepts and terminology
• Different costs for different purposes
• Fixed Vs Variable costs: the Cost-Volume-Profit analysis model
• Contribution Margin analysis
• Manufacturing vs. non-manufacturing costs
• Period Vs. Product costs: inventory evaluation and control

Linking Budgeting and Forecasting into the Business's Strategy

Traditional vs. Advanced Techniques in Cost-Control
 

• Under-costing and over-costing: the consequences for profitability
• How to refine a costing system?
• Indirect (OH) Vs. Direct costs: Traditional Cost Allocations systems Vs. Activity-Based Costing (ABC)
• Cost hierarchy & Cost drivers
• Linking resources, activities, and management
• Introducing Activity-Based Budgeting (ABB) and Management (ABM)
   

Preparing Rolling Forecasts
 

• Role of forecasts and the link to strategy
• Comparing and contrasting budgets and forecasts
• Identifying key business drivers
• The rolling forecast process
• Forecasting methods

Applying best practice' risk management and control in your area
 

• Role of risk management in corporate governance
• Finance' role in supporting risk management
• Cost / Effective risk management in Finance's own processes

Cutting costs and improving effectiveness
 

• Role of cost management in the business strategy
• Cost management and motivation
• Embedding cost control in the business
• Role of Finance in Cost Control

Beyond the Budgets: Balanced scorecards and Six-sigma
 

• Broadening performance measurement systems
• The key role of customer satisfaction and business process reengineering
• Beyond budgeting: integrating financial and non-financial issues
• Introducing the Balanced Scorecard
• Introducing the Strategy Maps