Project Economics and Risk Management Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Project Managers, Project Controls Managers and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 7 Nov 2026 Course code SD-PM-066

Before you join: Participants should have practical exposure to projects, project budgets, business cases, project reporting or risk registers.

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 can appear viable at approval yet erode value through weak estimates, untested assumptions, unmanaged cash demands, contract exposure or late risk responses. Project managers and sponsors need more than a budget: they need a defensible economic case, time-phased forecasts, transparent contingency logic and decision information that identifies when intervention is required. This course addresses the financial and risk disciplines needed to protect project value from concept through delivery and close-out.

Participants build the ability to structure estimates, assess whole-life costs, prepare discounted cash-flow models and appraise investment decisions using net present value, internal rate of return, payback and benefit-cost ratio. They learn to connect scope, schedule, cost, cash flow and risk; establish cost baselines; use earned value measures; quantify uncertainty with expected monetary value and Monte Carlo simulation; and manage contingency, reserve, contracts, changes and claims.

Teaching combines focused instructor briefings with worked cases drawn from capital projects, infrastructure, technology implementation and operational change. Group analysis, financial modelling, risk simulations and review of project reporting artefacts develop judgement as well as calculation skills. Participants leave with a practical project economics and risk management pack containing reusable templates for estimates, investment appraisal, cash forecasting, risk analysis and management reporting.

The course suits professionals responsible for project business cases, budgets, forecasts, investment decisions, commercial exposure or risk governance. It is particularly relevant where projects involve significant capital expenditure, external suppliers, phased funding, complex approvals or material uncertainty.

What you will be able to do

  • Construct a basis of estimate using scope, quantities, rates, assumptions and exclusions
  • Calculate whole-life costs and discounted cash flows for project investment options
  • Evaluate investments using net present value, internal rate of return and sensitivity analysis
  • Prepare time-phased cash forecasts linked to schedules, commitments and funding requirements
  • Establish cost baselines and interpret earned value performance measures
  • Develop risk registers using ISO 31000 principles, probability-impact scales and response planning
  • Quantify cost and schedule uncertainty using expected monetary value and Monte Carlo simulation
  • Produce investment committee reports linking economics, risk exposure, contingencies and decisions

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Greater confidence challenging estimates, contingencies and investment assumptions
  • Ability to explain project value and risk in financial terms
  • Practical methods for forecasting cash requirements before funding pressure develops
  • Stronger evidence for recommending corrective action or project reapproval
  • Transferable skills for project controls, commercial and programme leadership roles

For your organisation

  • Better investment decisions supported by transparent appraisal assumptions and sensitivities
  • Earlier identification of cost overruns, cash shortfalls and schedule-related exposure
  • More disciplined contingency use with documented approvals and remaining reserve
  • Improved accountability through aligned scope, schedule, cost and risk reporting
  • Reduced commercial exposure through clearer contract allocation, change control and claims records

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can define the economic structure, governance and estimating basis for a project.

  • Business case logic linking strategic need, benefits, costs and constraints
  • Stage-gate decisions using feasibility evidence, approval criteria and investment authority
  • Work breakdown structures aligned with cost breakdown structures and control accounts
  • Estimate classification under AACE International Recommended Practice 18R-97
  • Basis of estimate records documenting scope assumptions, exclusions, sources and maturity
  • Economic boundaries separating project costs, operating costs, benefits and externalities
  • Governance roles for sponsor, project manager, finance, risk owner and approver

Participants can prepare and assess estimates using appropriate methods and documented assumptions.

  • Scope freeze criteria protecting estimate integrity before baseline approval
  • Bottom-up estimating from work packages, quantities, productivity rates and unit costs
  • Analogous estimates calibrated using completed-project data, scale factors and adjustments
  • Parametric models using cost estimating relationships, drivers and valid ranges
  • Three-point estimates expressed through optimistic, most-likely and pessimistic assumptions
  • Critical path analysis connecting schedule duration, resource loading and time-related costs
  • Resource calendars and escalation factors applied to labour, plant and materials

Participants can model whole-life costs and construct project cash flows with consistent assumptions.

  • Life-cycle cost structure covering acquisition, operation, maintenance, renewal and disposal
  • Discounted cash-flow models distinguishing nominal, real and inflation-adjusted values
  • Inflation indices, escalation clauses and foreign-exchange assumptions documented consistently
  • Depreciation, tax, duties and working capital reflected in project cash flows
  • Residual value and decommissioning liabilities incorporated at asset end-of-life
  • Whole-life cost comparisons between design options, suppliers and operating strategies
  • Value engineering proposals assessed without transferring cost or risk downstream

Participants can evaluate project investments and communicate the effect of key uncertainties.

  • Net present value calculated using stated discount rates and timing conventions
  • Internal rate of return interpreted alongside reinvestment and multiple-root limitations
  • Benefit-cost ratio and payback period used with appropriate decision rules
  • Weighted average cost of capital matched to project risk and financing
  • Sensitivity analysis isolates drivers causing material changes in investment value
  • Scenario analysis compares coherent economic cases rather than isolated variables
  • Decision trees value contingent choices, staged commitments and abandonment options

Participants can forecast project cash requirements and identify funding or liquidity risks early.

  • Time-phased cash flows derived from schedule, commitments, invoices and retention
  • Thirteen-week rolling forecasts reconcile opening cash, receipts, payments and closing cash
  • Funding drawdown profiles aligned with lender conditions, milestones and covenants
  • Working capital requirements calculated from receivable, inventory and payable cycles
  • Foreign currency exposure measured through transaction timing and exchange assumptions
  • Cash contingency separated from management reserve and committed budget
  • Early warning thresholds trigger funding action before covenant or liquidity breaches

Participants can establish cost controls and interpret performance data to update forecasts.

  • Cost baseline integrates authorised scope, schedule logic, budgets and contingency
  • Control accounts assign accountability for budget, progress, forecast and variance
  • Earned value management calculates planned value, earned value and actual cost
  • Cost performance index and schedule performance index diagnose control trends
  • Estimate at completion methods selected for remaining-work performance assumptions
  • Change control evaluates economic impact before budget or schedule authorization
  • Variance narratives distinguish root causes, ownership, corrective action and forecast effects

Participants can establish risk governance and prioritise project threats and opportunities.

  • ISO 31000 principles establish risk governance, context, ownership and review
  • Risk breakdown structures categorise technical, commercial, schedule, safety and external risks
  • Cause-event-effect statements separate sources, uncertainty events and consequences
  • Probability-impact matrices prioritise threats and opportunities using defined scales
  • Risk appetite, tolerance and thresholds aligned with sponsor decision rights
  • Risk registers record owners, triggers, responses, residual exposure and due dates
  • Assumption logs distinguish accepted premises from risks requiring active treatment

Participants can quantify uncertainty and set defensible contingency and reserve levels.

  • Expected monetary value quantifies exposure using probability and impact estimates
  • Monte Carlo simulation produces cost and schedule confidence ranges
  • Correlation assumptions prevent false confidence when risk drivers move together
  • Risk-adjusted contingency derived from quantified exposure, confidence target and governance
  • Management reserve governed separately for unknowns outside the project baseline
  • Bow-tie analysis links preventive controls, recovery controls and escalation triggers
  • Contingency drawdown logs preserve traceability between events, approvals and remaining reserve

Participants can assess commercial arrangements and manage their economic risk implications.

  • Contract strategy allocates cost, schedule, performance and inflation risk
  • Fixed-price, reimbursable and target-cost contracts compared against uncertainty profiles
  • Target cost incentives align pain-gain sharing with measurable performance outcomes
  • Payment schedules connect milestones, deliverables, retention, bonds and certification
  • Change clauses define notice requirements, valuation rules and approval authority
  • Claims records preserve contemporaneous evidence, causation, entitlement and quantum
  • Supplier risk reviews test financial health, capacity, dependencies and recovery plans

Participants can present integrated project economics and risk information for timely management decisions.

  • Integrated project economics dashboard connects scope, schedule, cost, cash and risk
  • Monthly forecasting cycle reconciles progress evidence, commitments, risks and estimate updates
  • Investment committee papers state recommendation, assumptions, sensitivities and required decisions
  • Exception reports focus attention on threshold breaches, trends and response owners
  • Independent assurance tests estimate quality, risk exposure and control effectiveness
  • Lessons learned capture forecasting bias, contingency use and commercial outcomes
  • Personal application plans define immediate analyses, stakeholders, milestones and measures

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

What you take back to work

  1. Basis of Estimate template
  2. Discounted Cash Flow model
  3. Thirteen-Week Cash Forecast template
  4. Earned Value Forecasting worksheet
  5. Quantitative Risk and Contingency model
  6. Project Economics Dashboard template

Who should attend

  • Project Managers — need defensible forecasts, risk responses and decision-ready reporting
  • Project Controls Managers — manage cost baselines, earned value and estimate updates
  • Programme Managers — oversee investment choices and aggregate delivery risk
  • Finance Business Partners — test project assumptions, cash requirements and investment returns
  • Risk Managers — structure risk governance, quantitative analysis and contingency decisions
  • Commercial Managers — manage contract allocation, changes, claims and supplier exposure

Skills and tools covered

Investment appraisalCash flow forecastingCost estimatingEarned value controlQuantitative risk analysisContract risk management

Tools and standards

ISO 31000 Risk Management, AACE International Recommended Practice 18R-97, ANSI/EIA-748 Earned Value Management System Guidelines, Monte Carlo simulation

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to introduce methods, followed by case work using realistic project estimates, schedules, cash flows, risk registers and contract scenarios. Participants analyse cost drivers, build appraisal logic, interpret earned value data and test uncertainty through risk simulations. Small-group discussions compare decision options and reporting choices. Facilitated reviews connect each method to participants’ live project responsibilities, ending with an individual application plan for immediate workplace use.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have practical exposure to projects, project budgets, business cases, project reporting or risk registers. They should be comfortable interpreting basic financial information, including costs, revenues, variances and percentages. Experience with spreadsheets is useful because examples include cash-flow and investment calculations. Prior knowledge of formal finance qualifications, advanced accounting, statistical modelling, Monte Carlo software or earned value certification is not required. The course explains required calculation methods and focuses on applying them to project decisions.

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 practical familiarity with projects, budgets, business cases or risk reporting. Formal finance, accounting, earned value or risk management qualifications are not required.

Participants should bring a laptop if possible, along with a calculator or spreadsheet access. They may also bring non-confidential examples of current estimates, risk registers, cash forecasts or business cases for reference.

It suits project, programme, project controls, finance, commercial and risk professionals with responsibility for project value or exposure. It is designed for people working on material investments, supplier-led delivery or projects requiring formal approvals.

Standard project management courses focus mainly on planning, delivery governance and team coordination. This course concentrates on economic decisions, estimating, investment appraisal, cash flow, earned value, contingency and quantitative risk.

Participants can use the templates and methods to review an estimate basis, test an investment case, improve a cash forecast or strengthen a risk register. The application plan identifies practical actions, stakeholders and reporting milestones for a current project.

The five days provide about 32.5 contact hours, combining instructor input with analysis of project cases, calculations, simulations and facilitated discussion. Time is allocated across estimate development, financial appraisal, control methods, risk quantification, commercial exposure and management reporting.

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

Related courses in Project Management