Project Budgeting and Cost Management Training Course

Duration 10 days 20 modules · 65 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Project Managers, Project Controllers 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-082

Before you join: Participants should understand basic project terminology, including scope, schedule, milestones, work packages and stakeholders.

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

Projects fail financially when estimates are accepted without clear assumptions, budgets are detached from the schedule, or cost reports show variance after corrective options have narrowed. Project managers, finance staff and control teams need a shared basis for estimating work, assigning accountability, forecasting final cost and explaining funding requirements to decision-makers. This course addresses the practical controls needed to keep capital, technology, infrastructure and change projects financially governed from approval through closeout.

Participants learn to create a cost baseline from a work breakdown structure, estimate direct and indirect costs, build time-phased budgets, plan contingency and manage management reserves. The course develops practical use of cost codes, control accounts, commitment registers, cash-flow forecasts, change control and earned value management. Participants calculate CPI, SPI, EAC, ETC and VAC, investigate variance causes, prepare forecast-at-completion reports, and present cost decisions with clear evidence.

Teaching combines short instructor briefings with worked calculations, project cases, group reviews, reporting simulations and application planning. Cases reflect common assignments such as an IT system rollout, public infrastructure upgrade, donor-funded programme and industrial asset replacement. Participants develop a project budget and cost-control pack progressively during the course, then use it in the final capstone review. They leave with reusable templates, calculation models and a practical approach for applying controls to their own project.

The course is suited to professionals responsible for project financial planning, cost reporting, approvals, procurement commitments or budget accountability. It is particularly valuable where project teams must communicate cost performance clearly to finance leaders, sponsors, clients, funders or governance boards.

What you will be able to do

  • Build a time-phased project cost baseline from scope, schedule and resource assumptions
  • Apply bottom-up, analogous and parametric estimating methods to project work packages
  • Develop contingency and management reserve calculations using risk-based assumptions
  • Create cost control accounts, cost codes and commitment registers for expenditure tracking
  • Calculate earned value measures including PV, EV, AC, CPI, SPI and EAC
  • Prepare cash-flow forecasts, forecast-at-completion reports and variance explanations
  • Evaluate budget changes through formal change control and funding-impact analysis
  • Present a complete project budget and cost-control plan to a governance review panel

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Produce budgets that withstand finance and sponsor challenge
  • Explain cost variance using evidence rather than broad status statements
  • Forecast final project cost before budget pressure becomes a crisis
  • Use earned value measures confidently in project performance reviews
  • Contribute stronger financial evidence to promotion and project leadership opportunities

For your organisation

  • Earlier identification of projected overruns and funding shortfalls
  • More consistent cost baselines across project portfolios
  • Clearer accountability for commitments, actual costs and forecast expenditure
  • Better evidence for approving changes, contingencies and reserve releases
  • More reliable project cash requirements for treasury and capital planning

Course modules

20 modules over 10 days

Participants can define the cost-management system needed to govern a project from initiation to closeout.

  • Project cost management processes from planning through financial closeout
  • Cost, budget, cash flow and funding distinguished clearly
  • PMBOK cost management concepts linked to project governance
  • Sponsor, project manager and finance accountability for expenditure decisions
  • Cost-management plan contents, approval routes and reporting calendar
  • Control thresholds aligned with delegated authority and escalation requirements

Participants can structure project scope into costable and controllable work elements.

  • Work breakdown structure developed to support estimating and control
  • Control accounts positioned between WBS elements and reporting needs
  • Cost breakdown structure aligned with chart of accounts
  • Work packages defined with measurable deliverables and accountable owners
  • Responsibility assignment matrix connects budget ownership to project work
  • Coding structures link schedule activities, purchase orders and actuals

Participants can select and document an appropriate estimating approach for project work.

  • Estimate classes matched to project maturity and decision purpose
  • Basis of estimate records scope, quantities, rates and exclusions
  • Estimating assumptions separated from constraints and external dependencies
  • Direct, indirect, fixed and variable costs classified correctly
  • Escalation assumptions address inflation, currency and market movement
  • Estimate confidence assessed through data quality and scope definition

Participants can prepare work-package estimates using bottom-up and analogous methods.

  • Bottom-up estimates built from labour hours, materials and equipment
  • Analogous estimating adjusted for scale, complexity and delivery conditions
  • Productivity rates converted into labour-hour and cost estimates
  • Vendor quotations evaluated for scope gaps and commercial assumptions
  • Unit-cost estimating applies quantities, rates and waste factors
  • Estimate reconciliation identifies omissions, overlaps and double counting

Participants can create transparent parametric estimates using reliable cost drivers.

  • Parametric models relate cost drivers to forecast expenditure
  • Regression outputs interpreted for correlation, fit and practical limitations
  • Reference class forecasting tests optimism against comparable project outcomes
  • Cost estimating relationships documented with source data and ranges
  • Sensitivity analysis tests key rate, quantity and productivity assumptions
  • Estimate models separated into inputs, calculations and review outputs

Participants can establish risk-based contingency and management reserve requirements.

  • Risk register inputs translated into cost uncertainty ranges
  • Expected monetary value calculates probability-weighted risk allowances
  • Three-point estimates produce PERT expected costs and uncertainty measures
  • Monte Carlo simulation principles support confidence-based contingency decisions
  • Contingency assigned to identified risks within the cost baseline
  • Management reserve governed outside baseline through authorised release controls

Participants can convert approved estimates into an accountable project budget.

  • Budget aggregation rolls work-package estimates into control-account totals
  • Cost baseline distinguishes authorised budget from management reserve
  • Phased budgets align planned spending with scheduled project activities
  • Resource calendars expose timing constraints affecting budget distribution
  • Funding limits tested against planned expenditure and project priorities
  • Budget narrative explains assumptions, exclusions, reserves and approval conditions

Participants can prepare time-phased budgets and project cash-flow forecasts.

  • S-curve budgets display cumulative planned expenditure over project duration
  • Cash-flow forecasts distinguish invoice timing, payment terms and retention
  • Monthly phasing reflects activity sequencing, resource loading and procurement lead times
  • Funding drawdown schedules align cash requirements with approval milestones
  • Foreign exchange exposure incorporated into multi-currency cash forecasts
  • Rolling forecasts update remaining expenditure using current delivery evidence

Participants can prepare a budget baseline for formal approval and funding control.

  • Business case costs reconciled with detailed project budget estimates
  • Approval packs present funding need, benefits assumptions and cost risks
  • Baseline version control preserves approved values and change history
  • Funding gates define release criteria for planned project expenditure
  • Authorisation limits determine approval paths for budget reallocations
  • Finance reconciliation confirms baseline totals against ledger and funding records

Participants can establish accurate processes for collecting actual and committed costs.

  • Actual costs captured from general ledger and supplier invoice data
  • Commitment registers track purchase orders, contracts and unbilled obligations
  • Accruals recognise delivered work before invoices enter financial records
  • Cost-code mapping resolves differences between project and finance systems
  • Timesheet controls allocate labour costs to correct work packages
  • Period-end cut-off procedures prevent misleading cost performance reports

Participants can analyse cost variances and prepare decision-focused performance reports.

  • Actual-versus-budget variance separates timing effects from cost overruns
  • Variance bridges explain movements between prior and current forecasts
  • Root-cause analysis tests quantity, rate, productivity and scope drivers
  • Materiality thresholds focus management attention on significant variances
  • Forecast narratives identify corrective actions, owners and decision dates
  • Cost reports combine summary dashboards with auditable supporting detail

Participants can establish earned value measures for objectively assessing project performance.

  • Earned value management integrates scope, schedule and cost performance
  • Planned value derived from the approved time-phased cost baseline
  • Earned value measured through objective completion and milestone methods
  • Actual cost reconciled with accounting records and accrual adjustments
  • Budget at completion established from authorised control-account budgets
  • EVM measurement methods selected for discrete and apportioned work

Participants can calculate earned value indicators and forecast project completion costs.

  • Cost variance and schedule variance calculated from PV, EV and AC
  • Cost performance index measures efficiency of completed project work
  • Schedule performance index indicates progress against planned value
  • Estimate at completion calculated using accepted EVM forecasting formulas
  • Estimate to complete isolates forecast spending for remaining work
  • Variance at completion quantifies expected difference from approved budget

Participants can build credible forecast-at-completion models using current project evidence.

  • Bottom-up ETC forecasts reassess remaining quantities, rates and productivity
  • Independent estimate at completion challenges project team optimism
  • Trend analysis projects recurring cost movements across reporting periods
  • Scenario forecasts compare likely, optimistic and adverse completion outcomes
  • Forecast accuracy tracked through prior-period prediction error analysis
  • Remaining-risk exposure added to forecasts using updated risk registers

Participants can assess cost impacts and govern changes without obscuring baseline performance.

  • Change requests define scope, schedule, cost and funding consequences
  • Impact assessments quantify direct costs, indirect costs and risk exposure
  • Baseline changes distinguished from forecast changes and corrections
  • Change control board decisions recorded with financial authority evidence
  • Budget transfers tested against work-package accountability and funding restrictions
  • Trend logs capture emerging changes before formal approval requests

Participants can control project cost exposure arising from procurement and contract arrangements.

  • Contract types allocate cost risk between buyer and supplier
  • Fixed-price contracts monitored for variations, milestones and acceptance criteria
  • Time-and-materials contracts controlled through rates, caps and timesheets
  • Cost-reimbursable contracts require allowable-cost and audit controls
  • Procurement plans align tender timing with approved project budgets
  • Contract change notices update commitments, forecasts and cash requirements

Participants can apply governance controls that support reliable project financial information.

  • Segregation of duties protects approvals, payments and budget amendments
  • Audit trails preserve evidence for estimates, changes and reserve releases
  • Internal control checklists test completeness, accuracy and authorisation
  • Financial close procedures resolve open commitments and outstanding accruals
  • Lessons learned capture estimate performance and recurring cost drivers
  • Governance dashboards report budget health, forecast confidence and decisions required

Participants can communicate project cost status, risks and required decisions to stakeholders.

  • Executive cost reports prioritise decisions, exceptions and funding implications
  • Waterfall charts explain budget movement, variance and forecast change
  • Cost narratives distinguish facts, assumptions, risks and recommendations
  • Sponsor briefings address affordability, trade-offs and escalation options
  • Finance reviews reconcile project forecasts with organisational financial planning
  • Board papers present cost decisions using concise evidence and alternatives

Participants can consolidate project cost information for programme and portfolio decisions.

  • Portfolio cost aggregation reconciles project forecasts with funding envelopes
  • Interdependencies expose shared-resource costs and double-counting risks
  • Programme contingencies governed separately from individual project reserves
  • Capital and operating expenditure classified for portfolio financial planning
  • Prioritisation criteria compare forecast cost, benefits and delivery confidence
  • Portfolio dashboards identify cumulative funding pressure and decision points

Participants can build, review and present a complete project budget and cost-control pack.

  • Project scope translated into WBS, cost breakdown structure and control accounts
  • Estimate basis documents quantities, rates, assumptions, exclusions and confidence ranges
  • Time-phased baseline incorporates contingency, reserve, funding and cash-flow requirements
  • Commitment register, accrual process and cost-reporting calendar established
  • Earned value measures and forecast-at-completion model calculate performance indicators
  • Change-control procedure evaluates budget impacts and approval requirements
  • Governance presentation defends cost conclusions, risks and recommended management actions

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

What you take back to work

  1. Project cost management plan template
  2. Basis of estimate template
  3. Time-phased budget and cash-flow model
  4. Commitment and accrual register
  5. Earned value calculation workbook
  6. Project budget and cost-control pack

Who should attend

  • Project Managers — need defensible budgets, forecasts and cost-control decisions
  • Project Controllers — require consistent methods for tracking commitments and performance
  • Finance Business Partners — support project approvals, reporting and funding decisions
  • Programme Managers — need consolidated cost visibility across linked projects
  • Cost Engineers — strengthen estimating, forecasting and earned value reporting methods
  • Procurement Managers — manage contract commitments and their effects on project budgets

Skills and tools covered

Project cost estimatingBudget baseline developmentEarned value analysisCash-flow forecastingChange cost controlCost performance reporting

Tools and standards

PMBOK Guide, Earned Value Management, Monte Carlo simulation, Reference class forecasting

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short briefings to establish methods, followed by worked examples and project cases requiring participants to make cost decisions. Groups build estimates, time-phase budgets, analyse commitment data, calculate earned value metrics and challenge forecast assumptions. Reporting simulations focus on conversations with sponsors, finance teams and governance boards. Participants apply each method to a developing project scenario and identify adaptations needed for their own projects. Instructor feedback focuses on assumptions, calculation accuracy, controls and decision-ready reporting.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should understand basic project terminology, including scope, schedule, milestones, work packages and stakeholders. They should be comfortable reading a simple budget, interpreting percentages and performing basic spreadsheet calculations. Experience working on projects, capital expenditure requests, grants, contracts or operational improvement initiatives is useful. Participants do not need an accounting qualification, advanced financial modelling capability, specialist cost-engineering certification or prior earned value management experience. The course explains financial terms and calculation logic before applying them to project cases.

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 project terms and be comfortable reading a simple budget. You do not need an accounting qualification or prior earned value management experience.

Bring a laptop if possible, along with a current or recent project budget, business case or cost report if organisational policy permits. Course materials and project cases are provided.

It suits project managers, project controllers, finance business partners, programme managers, cost engineers and procurement professionals. Participants should have responsibility for planning, tracking or explaining project expenditure.

General financial management focuses on organisational accounting, financial statements and business performance. This course concentrates on project estimates, baselines, commitments, cash flow, earned value, forecasts and controlled change.

You can use the templates and models to improve a current project budget, establish reporting controls or challenge an existing forecast. The methods are applicable to capital projects, technology delivery, programmes, grants and transformation initiatives.

Each training day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. The first part builds estimating, budgeting and baseline skills; the later part develops cost control, earned value, forecasting, governance and the final 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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