Budget Preparation Training Course

Duration 10 days 18 modules · 65 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Budget Officers, Finance Managers and others
Fee from USD 2,200 KSh 190,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 9 Nov 2026 Course code SD-PFM-006

Before you join: Participants should understand basic public-sector finance terms, including revenue, expenditure, appropriations, commitments and financial years.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Public budgets convert policy commitments into funded services, yet preparation often suffers from weak baseline data, unrealistic revenue assumptions, disconnected capital plans and late-stage negotiations. Budget officers and programme managers need to produce credible submissions that meet fiscal ceilings, explain trade-offs and withstand challenge from finance ministries, treasury officials, auditors, legislators and senior management.

This course teaches the full budget preparation cycle, from fiscal policy and macroeconomic assumptions through expenditure ceilings, programme costing, revenue forecasting, capital planning and budget documentation. Participants use medium-term expenditure frameworks, programme budgeting, cost drivers, fiscal risk registers, cash forecasts and performance indicators. They learn to test proposals against affordability, classify expenditures correctly, reconcile estimates with accounting data and prepare defensible budget narratives.

Instruction combines focused briefings with public-sector cases, spreadsheet-based analysis, group review of competing submissions, negotiation simulations and individual application planning. Participants begin building a budget package during the first week, then refine it through deeper work on costing, performance, risk and consolidation. They leave with a reusable budget preparation pack containing an assumptions register, baseline model, costing sheets, ceiling response, performance framework, risk register and budget narrative.

The course suits staff preparing central government, local government, public agency, donor-funded programme or state-owned enterprise budgets. It is particularly relevant where managers must link plans and service commitments to credible resource requirements while working within formal budget calendars and approval rules.

What you will be able to do

  • Construct a medium-term budget baseline using approved ceilings, inflation and policy assumptions
  • Prepare programme cost estimates using unit costs, staffing models and cost drivers
  • Forecast revenue using trend analysis, collection assumptions and sensitivity tests
  • Develop a budget submission that links objectives, outputs, indicators and appropriations
  • Assess fiscal risks through a probability-impact register and quantified contingencies
  • Apply budget classification systems to recurrent, capital and programme expenditure proposals
  • Defend budget choices through variance analysis, options appraisal and negotiation evidence
  • Present a complete budget package with schedules, narrative, risks and performance measures

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Produce budget submissions supported by transparent assumptions and cost evidence
  • Challenge unrealistic spending requests using ceilings, baselines and unit costs
  • Explain funding trade-offs confidently to senior managers and review panels
  • Build reusable models for annual budgets and medium-term estimates
  • Strengthen readiness for budget, finance and planning management roles

For your organisation

  • Higher-quality budget submissions received earlier in the budget calendar
  • Clearer links between appropriations, service outputs and policy commitments
  • Fewer unsupported bids and late revisions during budget negotiations
  • More credible revenue, expenditure and cash requirements for fiscal planning
  • Documented assumptions, risks and controls that improve audit readiness

Course modules

18 modules over 10 days

Participants can position a budget submission within the public financial management cycle and fiscal rules.

  • Budget cycle stages from policy formulation through audit and legislative oversight
  • Roles of spending agencies, treasury, legislature and supreme audit institutions
  • Fiscal discipline, allocative efficiency and operational efficiency in budget decisions
  • Annuality, universality, unity and specificity principles governing appropriations
  • Budget calendars, call circulars and submission requirements mapped to milestones
  • Hard budget constraints and expenditure ceilings distinguished from indicative limits

Participants can create an assumptions register that supports credible budget estimates.

  • Macroeconomic variables affecting tax receipts, wages, prices and debt service
  • Inflation assumptions translated into payroll, procurement and utility cost impacts
  • Exchange-rate exposure identified for imported goods and foreign-currency obligations
  • Assumptions register records sources, owners, dates and approval status
  • Scenario ranges developed for baseline, upside and downside economic conditions
  • Consistency checks reconcile assumptions across revenue, expenditure and financing forecasts

Participants can classify budget proposals correctly for approval, reporting and control.

  • Administrative classification assigns accountability to ministries, agencies and cost centres
  • Economic classification separates compensation, goods, transfers, interest and assets
  • Functional classification uses COFOG divisions to describe public service purposes
  • Programme classification connects appropriations with policy objectives and outputs
  • Funding-source codes distinguish domestic revenue, grants, loans and earmarked funds
  • Crosswalk tables reconcile planning structures with the chart of accounts

Participants can build a defensible baseline budget from approved budgets and current commitments.

  • Baseline estimates start with approved appropriations and validated opening commitments
  • Prior-year actuals analysed for one-off items and recurring expenditure patterns
  • Payroll baseline rebuilt from establishment lists, grades and vacancy assumptions
  • Contract registers identify multi-year obligations, escalation clauses and expiry dates
  • Price adjustments applied using approved inflation indices and supplier evidence
  • Baseline reconciliation explains movements between actuals, budget and forecast estimates

Participants can structure budget requests around programmes, outputs and measurable results.

  • Theory of change links inputs, activities, outputs, outcomes and impacts
  • Programme structures group related services under accountable management arrangements
  • Output specifications define service quantities, quality standards and target groups
  • Performance indicators selected using relevance, reliability, timeliness and cost criteria
  • Indicator baselines and targets documented with sources and calculation methods
  • Budget narratives explain how requested resources produce planned service outputs

Participants can estimate programme resource requirements using transparent costing methods.

  • Unit costing calculates resource requirements per pupil, patient or permit
  • Cost drivers distinguish fixed, variable, step-fixed and discretionary expenditure
  • Activity-based costing assigns shared support costs using defensible allocation bases
  • Staffing models convert workload volumes into full-time equivalent requirements
  • Standard cost sheets separate labour, materials, overheads and contracted services
  • Cost assumptions tested against historical actuals, market prices and benchmarks

Participants can prepare revenue forecasts and identify financing implications for the budget.

  • Trend analysis projects collections using historical performance and economic drivers
  • Tax revenue estimates apply bases, rates, compliance and collection lags
  • Non-tax revenue forecasts cover fees, dividends, rents and administrative charges
  • Grant schedules distinguish committed funding, conditional grants and uncertain pledges
  • Elasticity assumptions tested against nominal growth and policy changes
  • Financing gaps reconciled with borrowing plans, reserves and expenditure adjustments

Participants can prepare options for allocating limited resources within approved ceilings.

  • Top-down ceilings translated into programme, economic and organisational limits
  • Prioritisation criteria rank legal obligations, service demand and policy commitments
  • Marginal analysis compares additional outputs against incremental resource requirements
  • Savings options distinguish efficiency measures, service reductions and policy reversals
  • Decision matrices document trade-offs, affected groups and implementation constraints
  • Ceiling response schedules reconcile original requests with final allocated amounts

Participants can prepare multi-year estimates that connect annual budgets to fiscal strategy.

  • Medium-term expenditure frameworks align sector plans with aggregate fiscal limits
  • Forward estimates project existing policies over the next three budget years
  • Policy proposals separated from baseline changes using clear costing statements
  • Multi-year ceilings signal planning limits while retaining annual appropriation authority
  • Roll-forward models update outer-year estimates for price, volume and policy changes
  • Fiscal space analysis compares projected resources with priority spending pressures

Participants can assess and budget capital proposals using life-cycle cost and appraisal evidence.

  • Capital projects distinguished from recurrent maintenance and operating expenditure
  • Project concept notes define scope, beneficiaries, costs and implementation timelines
  • Life-cycle costing includes construction, operation, maintenance, renewal and disposal
  • Cost-benefit analysis compares discounted costs and benefits using net present value
  • Project readiness checks cover land, designs, procurement and counterpart funding
  • Capital cash profiles align annual allocations with physical implementation schedules

Participants can align procurement plans with approved budgets, cash timing and contractual commitments.

  • Annual procurement plans translate budget lines into planned purchasing actions
  • Procurement lead times incorporated into budget execution and cash forecasts
  • Market sounding informs realistic cost estimates for major procurement packages
  • Framework agreements, contracts and purchase orders tracked against budget availability
  • Commitment controls prevent obligations exceeding appropriations and cash limits
  • Procurement risk flags identify sole-source dependence, volatility and delivery delays

Participants can prepare a cash plan that supports budget execution without arrears.

  • Annual budget profiles converted into monthly and quarterly cash requirements
  • Thirteen-week cash forecasts combine receipts, payroll and supplier payment schedules
  • Commitment registers identify contracted obligations before invoices and payments arise
  • Seasonality analysis adjusts cash plans for grants, taxes and service demand
  • Cash rationing priorities protect statutory obligations and essential public services
  • Arrears monitoring separates unpaid invoices, disputed claims and unrecorded liabilities

Participants can identify, assess and document fiscal risks affecting budget delivery.

  • Fiscal risk register captures probability, impact, owner and mitigation actions
  • Sensitivity analysis tests budget exposure to inflation, exchange rates and demand
  • Contingent liabilities identified from guarantees, litigation and public-private partnerships
  • Natural disaster scenarios estimate emergency costs and potential revenue disruption
  • Contingency provisions distinguished from unallocated reserves and management reserves
  • Risk narratives state triggers, response actions and residual exposure clearly

Participants can analyse budget variances and revise forecasts using current execution evidence.

  • Variance analysis separates price, volume, timing and policy-driven movements
  • Actual-versus-budget reports identify material deviations requiring management action
  • Year-end outturn forecasts combine actuals, commitments and revised assumptions
  • Root-cause analysis distinguishes data errors from operational performance issues
  • Forecast revision logs document changes, evidence and approval decisions
  • Corrective actions address overspending, underspending, revenue shortfalls and delayed projects

Participants can write concise budget documents that explain evidence, choices and expected results.

  • Budget call templates completed with consistent figures, notes and classifications
  • Executive summaries state funding requests, priorities, risks and key changes
  • Budget narratives explain baseline movements and proposed policy adjustments
  • Tables reconcile programme totals with economic categories and funding sources
  • Supporting schedules document staffing, procurement, capital and revenue assumptions
  • Quality assurance checks test arithmetic, traceability, consistency and approval evidence

Participants can review budget submissions systematically and prepare evidence-based challenge questions.

  • Review checklists test compliance with ceilings, templates and submission instructions
  • Challenge questions probe demand forecasts, unit costs and delivery assumptions
  • Peer review compares programmes using consistent evidence and decision criteria
  • Options papers present recommended allocations, alternatives and consequences clearly
  • Negotiation briefs identify minimum requirements, concessions and non-negotiable obligations
  • Meeting records capture decisions, actions, owners and revised submission deadlines

Participants can apply integrity and transparency controls during budget preparation and review.

  • Public interest principles guide allocation decisions and disclosure of trade-offs
  • Conflict-of-interest declarations protect budget recommendations from undue influence
  • Audit trails preserve assumptions, versions, approvals and supporting calculations
  • Open budget practices improve accessibility of approved plans and performance information
  • Gender-responsive budgeting examines differential effects of resource allocation choices
  • Equity analysis considers distributional impacts across regions, groups and income levels

Participants can build, review and present a complete multi-year public-sector budget submission supported by costed programmes, forecasts, risks and performance evidence.

  • Budget package assembles assumptions, baseline, policy proposals and expenditure ceilings
  • Programme costings link service volumes, unit costs and staffing requirements
  • Revenue forecast and financing plan reconcile resources with proposed spending
  • Performance framework specifies outputs, indicators, baselines, targets and data sources
  • Fiscal risk register quantifies exposures, mitigations and contingency requirements
  • Peer review applies submission checklist, challenge questions and reconciliation tests
  • Presentation defends allocation choices, trade-offs and implementation priorities

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Budget assumptions register template
  2. Medium-term baseline model
  3. Programme costing worksheet
  4. Revenue forecasting model
  5. Fiscal risk register
  6. Budget submission and review checklist

Who should attend

  • Budget Officers — prepare and consolidate departmental budget submissions
  • Finance Managers — test affordability and defend resource allocations
  • Programme Managers — cost service plans and justify funding requests
  • Planning Officers — connect sector plans, outputs and annual budgets
  • Treasury and Ministry Staff — review submissions against fiscal rules and ceilings
  • Internal Auditors — assess budget controls, assumptions and supporting evidence

Skills and tools covered

Budget baseline modellingProgramme costingRevenue forecastingFiscal risk analysisPerformance budgetingBudget negotiation

Tools and standards

Medium-Term Expenditure Framework, COFOG, IMF Government Finance Statistics Manual 2014, PEFA Framework

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings followed by worked public-budget cases, spreadsheet analysis, group review and facilitated discussion. Participants examine realistic ministry, municipality and public agency submissions, identify weaknesses and prepare alternatives within stated ceilings. Simulations cover budget challenge meetings, revenue shortfalls and competing policy priorities. Individual application planning helps participants adapt templates to their own budget calendar, chart of accounts and approval process. Trainers use participant examples where confidentiality permits.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should understand basic public-sector finance terms, including revenue, expenditure, appropriations, commitments and financial years. Experience reading a departmental budget, management report or financial statement is assumed. Participants should be comfortable working with percentages, simple spreadsheet formulas and tabular financial data. Prior responsibility for preparing a budget is helpful but not essential. The course does not require accounting qualifications, advanced econometrics, specialist public-sector software or prior knowledge of a particular country's budget law. Participants should bring examples of their own budget calendar, templates or chart of accounts where permitted.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

You should understand basic budget and finance terms and be able to read financial tables. An accounting qualification or advanced spreadsheet modelling background is not required.

Bring a laptop if possible, together with non-confidential examples of your budget templates, budget calendar, chart of accounts or recent submission. Course materials and worked cases are supplied.

It is suited to public-sector budget, finance, planning and programme staff who prepare, review or defend budget requests. It also suits internal auditors and treasury staff involved in budget scrutiny.

This course concentrates on building credible budget proposals before approval, including costing, ceilings, forecasts, performance evidence and negotiation. It gives less attention to accounting entries, financial reporting and audit methods.

Participants can adapt the assumptions register, baseline model, costing sheets and review checklist to their next budget round. The methods also support in-year forecast updates and responses to budget cuts.

Each day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. Early modules establish the budget model and core evidence, while later modules develop capital, cash, risk, review and final presentation work.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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