Spreadsheet Skills for Planning, Forecasting and Budgeting
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Spreadsheet Skills for Planning, Forecasting and Budgeting Course
Introduction:
Planning, Forecasting & Budgeting are the most important functions in business. Performed properly they can lead to exceptional success. Yet many people do not use the tools available to them to their best advantage. In this course, we will leverage the power of Excel to demonstrate how to improve your forecasting, planning, and budgeting. By developing better spreadsheets & models, planning is more accurate, forecasting is more precise & budgeting is more attainable. And the time to develop these is dramatically reduced.
The spreadsheet Skills for Planning, Forecasting & Budgeting training course will demonstrate how you can develop spreadsheet models to create a forecast, which can then be utilized to generate business plans and operating budgets with the use of Excel as it is used in practice. The applications will be focused on three crucial aspects of business and financial management - strategic planning, intelligent forecasting, and realistic budgeting
Delegates will learn how accessible the power of Excel is to provide realistic forecasts and prepare flexible budgets. The impact on efficiency in planning and control and therefore return on investment for companies and/or divisions will be startling.
Course Objectives:
By the end of the Spreadsheet Skills for Planning, Forecasting & Budgeting training Course, participants will be able to:
- Participate effectively in planning, budgeting, and forecasting process
- Apply advanced Excel spreadsheet skills in business forecasting
- Employ leading-edge tools for cost analysis and forecasting
- Develop financial models to assist in capital investment decisions
- Make spreadsheet models for cash flow forecasting
- Build powerful “what if” spreadsheet models for risk sensitivity analysis
Who Should Attend?
The spreadsheet Skills for Planning, Forecasting & Budgeting training course, is ideal for:
- Financial accounting team members
- Cost and management accounting staff
- Finance managers
- Budget managers
- Commercial managers
- Capital investment and project team members
Course Outlines:
Introduction to Spreadsheets using Excel
- The power of Excel for building financial models
- The Ribbons of Excel with their commands and functions
- Using formulae: Copying, anchoring, and special pasting
- Using functions: financial, statistical, and mathematical
- Review of the financial objectives of the business: ROI, ROA, ROE
- Overview of Financial Statements
Proper Planning:
- Introduction to Planning
- What-if analysis:
- Scenario analysis techniques
- Sensitivity analysis using spinners & scroll bars
- Economic Order Quantity (EOQ)
- Build out Data tables to see an entire range of options
- 1-way Data tables
- 2-way Data tables
- Maximizing vs. optimizing techniques
- Utilizing The Goal Seek command to calculate a reverse equation
- Using Solver to calculate optimal product mix, distribution problems & capital budgeting
Fantastic Forecasting
- Forecasting in perspective - the Past vs. the Future
- The necessity to apply a range of different forecasting methods:
- Qualitative Models used in forecasting
- Quantitative Models focusing on time series and regressions methodology
- Forecasting growth rates
- Recording, applying, and modifying forecast assumptions
Beyond Budgeting:
- What is a budget?
- How to build a simple budget
- Build a Flexible Budget Model
- Build out a complete budget
- Operating budget elements
- Financial budget elements
- Linking them
- What is the Variance Analysis report & why is it important to improve your budget
- Calculating variance analysis to see what must be changed
Putting it together – building the comprehensive model
- Considering the financing mix in the strategy
- Considering the Return to Shareholder as the primary indicator
- Build your planning model
- Build your forecasting model
- Build your budgeting model
- Link these together in a review
