Managing Budgets Effectively

Overview/Description
 This course illustrates procedures for developing and analyzing spreadsheets to predict, monitor and control cash flow, the essence of budgeting. In addition, it provides you with practical concepts and strategies to cure paralyzing budget paradigms and build in flexibility into the budget, to manage in dynamic economies. After completing this course, the learner will be able to develop the spreadsheets and analyze the budget using them. They will also be able to apply the strategies and concepts illustrated to manage the budget performance.

Target Audience
 Every manager with budgeting or capital investment evaluation responsibilities.

Expected Duration
3.0 hours

Lesson Objectives:

Pro Forma Spreadsheets

  • recognize the importance of using a cash flow pro forma spreadsheet to manage the cash flow.
  • compute the value of the missing components of a given pro forma spreadsheet.
  • complete a given cash flow pro-forma spreadsheet by filling in the missing elements sequentially.
  • analyze the impact of change in the components of a given cash flow pro forma spreadsheet.

    • Controlling the Budget

  • recognize the importance of controlling the budget.
  • convert a given annual operating budget into a monthly progressive budget using the sponge ball electronic spreadsheet.
  • modify the budget using a sponge ball spreadsheet and, based on the financial data provided.
  • build a variance log from a given sponge ball spreadsheet.
  • analyze the impact of variance in the projected and actual figures in a given budget.

    • Budget Performance

  • recognize the importance of building flexible budgets.
  • select the appropriate strategies for a given business to succeed in changing economies.
  • apply the strategies presented to cure the budget paralyzing paradigms in the given business situation.

    • Course Number: FIN0264