Global Learning for Operational Leaders
Professional training course
Certificate in Advanced Budgeting and Forecasting
This course is the second level of budgeting after the 'Effective Budgeting and Cost Control' course. The outline covers Budgeting and Planning, Budget cycle, process, and approaches, Forecasting Techniques, and Advanced...
- 5 daysClassroom or online
- 14Upcoming dates
- 6Cities
- €1,925Fees from
Classroom
14 sessions
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Online / Live
14 sessions
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Introduction
Course overview
This course is the second level of budgeting after the 'Effective Budgeting and Cost Control' course. It goes beyond the theory of budgeting as a concept to cover specific steps to make the budget a value-added process in the organization. By building user-friendly models and applying scenario analysis, participants can spend less time gathering data and more time analyzing this data for decision-making. Several Microsoft Excel tools are used throughout this course for practicality and to provide participants with the skills they need to apply in their organization immediately. Such tools include 'what-if' analysis and the 'solver', among many others.
The course also highlights some of the leading forecasting models and provides a detailed evaluation of capital budgeting techniques, all of which are applied in Microsoft Excel and put into practice.
What you will achieve
Learning objectives
- Evaluate the financial impact on their organization's strategies and plans
- Build effective budgets for their departments or organizations
- Apply several forecasting techniques to manage uncertainties in budgeting better
- Assess capital budgeting decisions using several methods and recommend proper action
- Utilize Microsoft Excel functions and tools in the budgeting process, including breakeven analysis and optimization
Who should attend
Target audience
- Finance directors, managers, controllers, accountants, budget analysts, budget owners and professionals who wish to expand their budgeting knowledge.
Methodology
Learning approach
- The course is a hands-on application on how to use MS Excel in budgeting and forecasting. Participants will be involved in exercises, individual and group presentations, and will work on several case studies.
Complete course outline
Five focused days of learning and application
The timings provided are estimates and may vary depending on the number of participants and the discussions taking place during the sessions. They are indicative only and do not constitute a binding commitment.
Day 1
Budgeting and Planning
- Strategy development framework
- The three horizons of growth model
- Strategic budgeting and resource allocation
- Coffee break
- Strategic budgeting and resource allocation (continued)
- Growth-share matrix
- Nine-box matrix
- Budgets and the key financial statements
Day 2
Budget cycle, process, and approaches
- The budget cycle
- Characteristics of successful budgeting
- Making the budget a value-adding activity
- Top ten problems with budgeting
- Choosing the proper budgeting approach:
- Incremental budgeting
- Zero-based budgeting
- Coffee break
- Zero-based budgeting (continued)
- Flexible budgeting
- Kaizen budgeting
- Activity-based budgeting
- Rolling (continuous) budgets and forecasts
- The master budget and its components
- Operating and capital budgets
- Best practices in budgeting
Day 3
Forecasting Techniques
- Forecasting models
- Qualitative and quantitative methods
- Steps in developing forecasting models
- Coffee break
- Time series and trend analysis
- Data conditioning techniques
- Exponential smoothing and moving averages
- Simple and multiple regression analysis
- Forecasting components of financial statements
Day 4
Advanced Capital Budgeting Evaluation Techniques
- Business risk and cost of capital
- Classifying investment projects
- Cash flow estimation
- Analyzing investment and operating cash flows
- The time value of money concept
- The required rate of return
- Net Present Value (NPV)
- Coffee break
- Net Present Value (NPV) (continued)
- Internal Rate of Return (IRR)
- Multiple internal rates of return
- Modified Internal Rate of Return (MIRR)
- Profitability Index (PI)
- Payback period and discounted payback period
- Capital rationing
- Comparing and evaluating techniques
- Sensitivity and risk analysis
Day 5
Breakeven Analysis and Optimization Techniques
- Cost Volume Profit (CVP) analysis
- Using CVP to reach a target income
- Single product and multiple products breakeven analysis
- Coffee break
- Single product and multiple products breakeven analysis (continued)
- Working with budget constraints
- Building optimization models
Course FAQs
Questions about this course
What participants and training managers usually ask before booking Certificate in Advanced Budgeting and Forecasting. Can't find your answer?
What does Certificate in Advanced Budgeting and Forecasting cover?
This course covers Accounting and Finance through a structured five-day outline focused on practical application, discussion, and implementation planning.
When is the next available session?
The next scheduled session starts on 16 - 20 November 2026. See the course schedules section for the available dates and delivery formats.
Who should attend this course?
Finance directors, managers, controllers, accountants, budget analysts, budget owners and professionals who wish to expand their budgeting knowledge.
Is bilingual course delivery available?
Yes. All course materials and presentations are provided in English, while bilingual explanation and discussion support may be available depending on the selected location and trainer availability. For example, when attending a course in Istanbul, you may request a Turkish-speaking trainer to explain the English course content in Turkish. Arabic explanation support may also be requested at this location. Other languages are available in selected cities. You can choose your preferred language support as an optional preference during registration.
How can I register for a session?
Use any Register button next to the available course dates to open the participant registration page and submit your booking request for the selected session.
Is this course available online as well as classroom-based?
Check the course schedules section for currently published classroom and Online / Live sessions.
Where are classroom sessions delivered?
Current classroom venues include Barcelona, Paris, Rome, Kuala lumpur, London, Munich.
How long is the training programme?
The programme runs for five days from 09:00 to 14:00, which gives 25 contact hours, including a daily 30-minute break (22.5 hours of instruction).
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