Financial Planning, Analysis and Budgeting Training Course

Duration 10 days 20 modules · 65 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Financial Analysts, FP&A 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-FM-077

Before you join: Participants should understand basic financial statements, including the income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement.

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

Financial plans and budgets fail when they are detached from operating drivers, built on untested assumptions, or reported too late for management action. Finance professionals need to connect strategy, revenue, cost, capital expenditure, working capital and risk into plans that decision-makers can understand and use. They also need to explain variance causes, challenge proposals constructively, and recommend corrective actions before financial targets are missed.

This course develops practical capability in financial planning, analysis, budgeting and management control. Participants build integrated operating and financial plans; prepare revenue, cost, cash flow and capital expenditure forecasts; apply driver-based budgeting; analyse variances; assess business cases; and produce management reporting that supports decisions. The course covers annual budgets, rolling forecasts, scenario analysis, zero-based budgeting, activity-based costing, break-even analysis, working capital planning, investment appraisal and performance management.

Teaching combines focused instructor briefings with worked financial cases, spreadsheet-based analysis, team discussions, budgeting simulations and application planning. Cases reflect common challenges in banking, public bodies, manufacturing, infrastructure, services and development programmes: funding shortfalls, cost overruns, demand uncertainty, procurement pressures and capital allocation choices. Participants progressively build sections of an integrated planning pack during the course and receive structured feedback on assumptions, calculations and management messages.

Participants leave with a reusable financial planning and budgeting toolkit, including templates for forecast models, budget submissions, variance analysis, rolling cash forecasts and management reporting. The course is well suited to finance staff moving into planning and business partnering roles, as well as operational managers who contribute to budgets and need stronger financial control skills.

What you will be able to do

  • Build an integrated financial plan linking operational drivers, profit, cash flow and financial position
  • Construct driver-based budgets for revenue, labour, procurement, overheads and capital expenditure
  • Prepare rolling forecasts using actual results, revised assumptions and scenario ranges
  • Analyse budget variances using price, volume, mix, efficiency and timing methods
  • Evaluate investment proposals using NPV, IRR, payback and sensitivity analysis
  • Develop 13-week cash flow forecasts from receipts, payroll, supplier and debt data
  • Produce management reports with KPIs, financial commentary, risks and corrective actions
  • Present a complete planning and control pack for management review and challenge

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Produce credible budgets supported by operational assumptions and clear financial logic
  • Explain adverse variances with evidence rather than generic budget commentary
  • Build cash forecasts that identify funding gaps before payment pressures arise
  • Contribute more confidently to budget reviews, forecast meetings and investment discussions
  • Create management reports that focus attention on decisions and corrective actions

For your organisation

  • Improved budget quality through documented drivers, assumptions and accountability
  • Earlier identification of revenue shortfalls, cost overruns and cash constraints
  • More reliable forecasts for funding, procurement, staffing and capital decisions
  • Stronger challenge of business cases and discretionary expenditure requests
  • Consistent management reporting across departments, projects and business units

Course modules

20 modules over 10 days

Participants can explain how planning, budgeting, forecasting and control support management decisions.

  • Financial planning cycle from strategic objectives to corrective management action
  • Roles of finance, budget holders and senior management in control
  • Annual budgets, rolling forecasts and long-range plans compared
  • Profit, cash flow and financial position linked through transactions
  • Controllership principles for accountability, transparency and timely intervention
  • Planning calendar design with decision gates, owners and deliverables

Participants can interpret financial statements and identify planning implications from reported results.

  • Income statement structure: revenue, gross margin, operating profit and tax
  • Balance sheet drivers: receivables, inventory, payables, debt and equity
  • Cash flow statement sections and their links to operations
  • Accrual accounting adjustments affecting budget and forecast interpretation
  • Depreciation, amortisation and capitalisation treatment within planning models
  • Financial statement trends converted into planning questions and actions

Participants can identify financial drivers and document assumptions for an operating plan.

  • Driver trees linking customer activity, volumes, prices and revenue
  • Cost behaviour classified as fixed, variable, stepped and semi-variable
  • Assumption registers recording source, owner, timing, confidence and impact
  • Operational capacity constraints translated into revenue and cost limits
  • External assumptions for inflation, exchange rates, interest rates and demand
  • Sensitivity priorities selected using materiality and decision relevance

Participants can build revenue forecasts using demand, pricing, conversion and capacity drivers.

  • Bottom-up revenue forecast built from volumes, prices and conversion rates
  • Sales pipeline weighting using probability, timing and expected contract value
  • Price-volume-mix analysis for revenue growth and margin changes
  • Seasonality patterns incorporated into monthly revenue phasing assumptions
  • Capacity-based revenue ceilings calculated from staffing, assets and throughput
  • Revenue risk ranges expressed through base, upside and downside cases

Participants can prepare cost budgets using cost drivers, commitments and spending controls.

  • Personnel budgets calculated from headcount, salary bands and payroll on-costs
  • Procurement plans converted into purchase timing, prices and payment schedules
  • Activity-based costing assigns indirect costs through measurable cost drivers
  • Discretionary spending reviewed using zero-based budgeting principles
  • Committed, contracted and discretionary costs separated for forecast control
  • Cost inflation assumptions applied by category, supplier contract and timing

Participants can incorporate capital expenditure, depreciation and asset replacement into financial plans.

  • Capital expenditure categories distinguished from operating expenditure and maintenance costs
  • Asset replacement schedules based on condition, utilisation and service requirements
  • Depreciation forecast using useful life, residual value and capitalisation timing
  • Project phasing aligns procurement milestones, cash payments and asset commissioning
  • Capital budget approvals linked to funding sources and decision thresholds
  • Asset register data reconciled with capital plans and depreciation forecasts

Participants can forecast working capital requirements and identify actions to improve cash conversion.

  • Cash conversion cycle measures receivables, inventory and payables performance
  • Receivables forecast built from invoicing schedules, credit terms and collections
  • Inventory plans reflect demand, lead times, safety stock and obsolescence
  • Payables forecast aligns supplier terms, purchase orders and payment runs
  • Working capital movements translated into monthly cash flow impacts
  • Collection and payment actions prioritised using ageing analysis and materiality

Participants can construct an integrated budget model linking operational plans and financial statements.

  • Model architecture separates inputs, calculations, outputs and control checks
  • Monthly operating budget links revenue, costs, working capital and capital expenditure
  • Income statement forecast generated from operating and accounting assumptions
  • Balance sheet forecast incorporates assets, liabilities, retained earnings and funding
  • Cash flow forecast reconciles profit, non-cash items and working capital
  • Error checks identify broken links, circularity, imbalance and inconsistent signs

Participants can organise a budget process that produces accountable and reviewable submissions.

  • Budget instructions define scope, assumptions, deadlines and submission requirements
  • Budget holder templates capture drivers, financial values, risks and action plans
  • Challenge meetings test assumptions, affordability, capacity and delivery dependencies
  • Materiality thresholds focus review effort on significant financial exposures
  • Version control maintains traceable changes, approvals and assumption history
  • Budget consolidation resolves interdepartmental charges, transfers and eliminations

Participants can prepare rolling forecasts that update expected performance from current evidence.

  • Rolling twelve-month forecast replaces expired periods with future monthly estimates
  • Actual-versus-forecast bridge explains changes in expected full-year results
  • Forecast drivers refreshed using latest volumes, pricing, staffing and commitments
  • Forecast bias identified through recurring optimism, conservatism and late adjustments
  • Forecast accuracy measured using mean absolute percentage error
  • Reforecast governance assigns trigger events, review dates and approval authority

Participants can assess financial exposure under alternative assumptions and management responses.

  • Base, upside and downside scenarios built from distinct assumption sets
  • One-way sensitivity analysis tests individual drivers against financial outcomes
  • Two-way data tables test combined price and volume uncertainty
  • Break-even analysis calculates required volume, contribution and fixed-cost coverage
  • Tornado charts rank assumptions by effect on profit or cash
  • Contingency actions linked to scenario triggers, owners and response timing

Participants can diagnose financial variances and recommend actions supported by evidence.

  • Variance bridge reconciles budget, actual results, forecast and target
  • Price variance separates changed unit costs from planned cost assumptions
  • Volume variance measures financial effects of changed demand or activity
  • Mix variance identifies margin changes from product, customer or service composition
  • Efficiency variance compares actual resource use with standard consumption rates
  • Timing variance distinguishes delayed activity from permanent performance changes

Participants can produce concise management reports that explain performance and required decisions.

  • Management pack structure combines results, forecast, risks, actions and decisions
  • KPI selection links operational activity to financial performance and accountability
  • Waterfall charts explain movement between budget, actual and forecast positions
  • Financial commentary states cause, impact, outlook, action and owner
  • Exception reporting highlights threshold breaches, trends and emerging exposures
  • Reporting calendars align data close, review meetings and decision deadlines

Participants can identify cost control actions while protecting operational performance and service delivery.

  • Spend analysis categorises suppliers, cost centres, contracts and discretionary expenditure
  • Run-rate analysis estimates annualised costs from recent monthly spending
  • Cost reduction options assessed for savings, timing, risk and implementation effort
  • Procurement savings distinguished between price reductions, avoidance and deferral
  • Productivity metrics connect labour cost with output, quality and capacity
  • Control actions tracked through owners, milestones, savings evidence and status

Participants can prepare short-term cash forecasts and manage liquidity risks.

  • 13-week rolling cash forecast built from receipts, payroll and supplier data
  • Daily and weekly cash positioning reconciles bank balances and expected movements
  • Funding gap analysis identifies borrowing needs, covenant pressure and timing risks
  • Cash receipts forecast considers invoices, grants, milestones and collection behaviour
  • Payment prioritisation balances contractual obligations, payroll and critical suppliers
  • Liquidity reporting presents minimum cash, headroom and forecast confidence ranges

Participants can evaluate investment proposals and present financially credible business cases.

  • Business case structure defines need, options, costs, benefits and risks
  • Net present value discounts projected cash flows using appropriate hurdle rates
  • Internal rate of return compared with funding cost and return requirements
  • Payback period assesses investment recovery timing and liquidity exposure
  • Relevant cash flows exclude sunk costs and non-incremental allocations
  • Sensitivity analysis tests benefits, costs, timing and discount rate assumptions

Participants can embed financial risks, controls and accountability within planning and reporting processes.

  • Risk registers connect financial exposures with likelihood, impact and mitigation actions
  • COSO control components applied to planning, approval and reporting activities
  • Segregation of duties separates preparation, review, approval and payment authority
  • Approval matrices define delegated limits for budgets, contracts and capital expenditure
  • Audit trails preserve evidence for assumptions, changes, approvals and decisions
  • Fraud indicators considered within revenue recognition, expenses and procurement data

Participants can align financial plans with strategic objectives and balanced performance measures.

  • Balanced Scorecard perspectives connect financial outcomes with operational performance drivers
  • Strategic objectives translated into measurable targets, initiatives and financial implications
  • Leading indicators distinguish future performance signals from lagging financial results
  • Target setting considers historical performance, capacity, ambition and resource availability
  • Performance reviews focus on exceptions, decisions, commitments and follow-up accountability
  • Benefits realisation tracking compares planned value with achieved financial outcomes

Participants can support budget holders through constructive challenge and decision-focused financial advice.

  • Questioning techniques test assumptions, evidence, options and intended management actions
  • Decision briefs frame recommendation, financial impact, risks and required approval
  • Stakeholder mapping identifies decision makers, budget owners and information providers
  • Financial narratives translate model outputs into operational implications and choices
  • Meeting preparation anticipates challenge on assumptions, affordability and delivery risks
  • Follow-up logs record decisions, actions, owners, deadlines and financial effects

Participants can build, review and present a complete integrated financial planning and control pack for management approval.

  • Operating assumptions consolidated into revenue, cost, capital and working capital plans
  • Integrated financial statements produced with monthly budget and forecast phasing
  • Scenario analysis highlights material risks, opportunities and contingency responses
  • Variance analysis explains performance gaps and recommends corrective management actions
  • Cash forecast identifies funding requirements, liquidity limits and control priorities
  • Management report presents KPIs, financial commentary, decisions and action ownership

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

What you take back to work

  1. Integrated financial planning model
  2. Driver-based budget template
  3. Rolling forecast workbook
  4. 13-week cash forecast template
  5. Budget variance analysis pack
  6. Management reporting and commentary checklist

Who should attend

  • Financial Analysts — need stronger planning, forecasting and performance analysis methods
  • FP&A Managers — need consistent models, budgets and management reporting processes
  • Management Accountants — need to translate operational data into actionable financial insight
  • Finance Business Partners — need to challenge assumptions and support management decisions
  • Budget Holders — need practical control over costs, forecasts and corrective actions
  • Programme and Operations Managers — need to prepare credible budgets and funding plans

Skills and tools covered

Financial modellingDriver-based budgetingVariance analysisCash flow forecastingInvestment appraisalManagement reporting

Tools and standards

IFRS, COSO Internal Control Framework, Balanced Scorecard, Activity-Based Costing

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to introduce methods, followed by worked cases, spreadsheet analysis, group exercises, simulations and structured review discussions. Participants apply each method to realistic planning, budgeting and reporting decisions, including demand changes, cost inflation, funding restrictions and capital requests. Trainers demonstrate model logic, then guide participants through assumptions, calculations and interpretation. Individual application planning helps participants adapt templates and controls to their own reporting cycles, budget holders and management requirements.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should understand basic financial statements, including the income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement. They should be comfortable with common finance terms such as revenue, gross margin, operating cost, depreciation, accruals and working capital. Experience preparing, reviewing or using budgets is helpful, whether in finance, operations, projects or programmes. Participants should also be able to use spreadsheet formulas and charts at a basic level. Advanced modelling, professional accounting qualifications, programming knowledge and prior investment appraisal experience are not required.

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

Participants need a working understanding of basic financial statements and common finance terminology. Advanced accounting qualifications and advanced spreadsheet modelling skills are not required.

Participants should bring a laptop with spreadsheet software where possible. They may also bring anonymised budget templates, reporting packs or planning issues from their workplace.

The course suits financial analysts, management accountants, finance business partners, budget managers and operational leaders with planning responsibilities. It is intended for professionals who already work with budgets or financial reports.

Financial accounting courses focus mainly on recording transactions and preparing statutory reports. This course focuses on forward planning, forecasting, budget control, management reporting and decision support.

Participants can adapt the planning models, cash forecast formats, variance methods and reporting templates to their own budgeting cycles. The application planning work identifies practical changes to make with their teams and budget holders.

Each training day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. The first week establishes planning, budgeting and modelling methods; the second week develops forecasting, control, reporting and the final integrated capstone.

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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