360 Budgeting: A Holistic Approach to Process and Solutions

The budgeting process can be a time consuming and frustrating process for accountants.  The constraints and pressures can lead to poor decisions in both the technical and human components.  This series will offer solutions to the budgeting woes from both the big picture and in the details. 

Understanding and Preventing Budget Calamities

2 Hours - Accounting
•    Most of us lead or participate in the budget process at least annually.  Inherent flaws exist in the standard budget building process that you can solved by recognizing them and committing to solutions.  

Building Flexible Budgeting Models: Walking Through and Crunching The Numbers
2 Hours - Accounting
•    We can all learn from others and improve our budgeting process by listening to our colleagues’ wisdom and experience.  This session takes a unique review of the fundamental budget issues faced by all and walks through a detailed modeling process intended to generate discussion and best practices to improve your organization’s financial planning. 

Avoiding Budget People Issues:  Managing Budgeting’s Soft Side
2 Hours - Accounting
•    Financial plans have a technical component and human component.  We can resolve some of our budget issues by exploring the process’ human aspect.  This session includes a case study that measures an individual’s personality type and then explores how to use our strengths and weaknesses to create to a better plan.  

Budgeting:  Presenting and Communicating your Numbers
2 Hours - Accounting
•    Now that the budget is complete, how we communicate our plan is critical.  this session reveals some key guidelines in budget presentation and will identify key problems in how people often communicate financial plans. 
 

Basic Course Information

• Define the budget process
  • Understand varying budget cultures and choosing the right one for your organization
  • Walk through a 12-step cure for the typical Budgetaholic
  • Use Balanced Scorecard Budgeting
• How to build a model that works
  • How the right Chart of Accounts can simplify your work 
  • Building a volume sensitive model
  • Budgeting to GAAP and for Board understanding
  • Efficiently modeling payroll and benefits
  • Identifying controllable and uncontrollable expenses
  • Using variables to stress test your budget
• Understanding core personality types
  • Learning the type of person you are
  • Managing and coping with the budget team
  • Dealing with A, B and C players
  • Connecting through disconnection
• Identifying the ‘big picture” and your communications role 
  • Communicating so others can understand us
  • Understanding a presentation’s anatomy 
  • Tips and tricks for budget presentation

• Budget defining,
• Budget cultures
• Tacticle budget issues
• Ideas for budget solutions and process solutions
• Understanding people in the budget process
• Communicating your budget to non financial types