Description:
The course is intended for business professionals engaged in budgeting, financial planning, forecasting, profit planning, and control. A budget is the formal expression of plans, goals, and objectives of management that covers all aspects of operations for a designated time period. The budget is a tool providing targets and direction. Budgets provide control over the immediate environment, help to master the financial aspects of the job and department, and solve problems before they occur. Budgets focus on the importance of evaluating alternative actions before decisions are actually implemented. This course explains what budgets are, how they work, how to prepare and present them, and how to analyze budget figures and results. The new development and use of budgets such as rolling budgets at various managerial levels within a business are illustrated, along with active financial planning software and e-budgeting that combine budgeting, forecasting analytics, business intelligence, and collaboration.

Topics Covered:

• The What and Why of Budgeting
• Strategic Planning and Budgeting
• Profit Planning: Targeting and Reaching Achievable Goals
• Administering the Budget: Reports, Analyses, and Evaluations
• Cost Behavior: Emphasis on Flexible Budgets and Contribution Margin
• Responsibility Accounting and Reporting to Management
• Master Budget: Genesis of Forecasting and Profit Planning
• Using Variance Analysis to Evaluate Performance
• Budgeting Sales and Sales Forecasts
• Budgeting Manufacturing Costs
• Budgeting for Sales, Advertising, and Distribution Expenses
• Budgeting General and Administrative Expenses
• Budgeting for Research and Development Costs
• Cash Flow Forecasting and Cash Budgeting
• Spreadsheets and Software for Budgeting
• Budgeting for Capital Expenditures
• Zero-Base Budgeting: Priority Budgeting for Best Resource Allocation
• Budgeting for Service Businesses
• Budgeting for Nonprofit Organizations

Category: Finance

Delivery Method: Online

Level: Overview

Prerequisites: Basic Accounting

Passing Score: 70%

NASBA: Yes QAS Self Study

Author: Delta Publishing

ABOUT THE SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT:
Dr. Jae K. Shim is Professor of Business at California State University, Long Beach,
California. Dr. Shim received his MBA and Ph.D. degrees from the University of California at Berkeley (Haas School of Business.) He has co-authored over 50 professional business books and has been a consultant to commercial and nonprofit organizations for over 30 years.