SunSystems Budgeting and Reporting Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Financial Analysts, Management Accountants 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-ES-028

Before you join: Participants should understand basic accounting terms, including general ledger accounts, journals, periods, actuals, budgets and variances.

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

Budgeting in SunSystems depends on more than entering figures into a ledger. Finance teams need a controlled process for gathering assumptions, modelling departmental plans, mapping data to accounts and analysis codes, loading approved versions, and explaining variances to managers. Weak Excel controls, inconsistent coding, late submissions and unclear ownership can produce budgets that cannot be reconciled or trusted. This course addresses the practical link between budgeting processes, advanced Excel techniques and SunSystems financial reporting.

Participants learn how to structure a budget cycle from planning assumptions through approval, system loading, monitoring and rolling forecasts. They build driver-based models for revenue, operating costs, headcount, capital expenditure and foreign currency, then use Excel functions, Power Query and PivotTables to prepare and analyse data. The course covers SunSystems budget structures, versions, analysis dimensions, data mapping, import controls, reconciliation and report selection. Participants also learn to create variance reports that distinguish price, volume, timing and mix effects, with commentary that supports management decisions.

Instruction combines short tutor briefings with realistic finance cases, guided system and spreadsheet work, group reviews of budget controls, and reporting simulations. Examples can be adapted to public-sector departments, banks, NGOs, manufacturing businesses and shared-service finance teams. Participants leave with a reusable budget process pack containing an assumption register, mapping table, Excel model controls, reconciliation checklist, variance-reporting structure and personal application plan. A certificate of completion is issued to participants who complete the course.

The course is suited to finance professionals who already work with budgets, management accounts or SunSystems data and now need greater control over planning, data quality and reporting.

What you will be able to do

  • Design a controlled budget cycle using ownership, approval and version-control rules
  • Build driver-based Excel budget models for revenue, costs, headcount and capital expenditure
  • Apply SUMIFS, XLOOKUP, Power Query and PivotTables to budget data
  • Map departmental source data to SunSystems accounts, periods and analysis codes
  • Prepare validated budget import files with control totals and exception logs
  • Reconcile loaded SunSystems budgets to approved departmental submissions
  • Produce actual-versus-budget and forecast variance reports with management commentary
  • Create a rolling forecast and governance timetable for ongoing budget control

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Produce controlled budget workbooks rather than disconnected spreadsheet submissions
  • Diagnose mapping and reconciliation issues before budget data reaches reporting
  • Explain material variances using price, volume, timing and mix analysis
  • Reduce manual effort through repeatable Power Query and PivotTable processes
  • Contribute confidently to SunSystems budget loading and forecast cycles

For your organisation

  • Improves traceability from departmental assumptions to loaded budget values
  • Reduces reporting errors caused by inconsistent account and analysis-code mappings
  • Shortens budget consolidation through standard import checks and control totals
  • Provides managers with clearer variance explanations and forecast actions
  • Strengthens audit evidence for approvals, amendments and budget reconciliations

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can map a controlled budgeting process to SunSystems financial structures and responsibilities.

  • SunSystems financial data model: business units, accounts, analysis dimensions and periods
  • Chart-of-accounts hierarchies aligned with budget ownership and reporting responsibility
  • Budget cycle map from assumptions through approval, loading, monitoring and reforecasting
  • RACI matrix for finance, budget holders, approvers and system administrators
  • Control points separating submitted, approved, loaded and revised budget versions
  • Master-data checks for inactive accounts, closed periods and missing analysis codes

Participants can create transparent planning assumptions and translate them into budget drivers.

  • Driver-based assumptions for volume, price, headcount and foreign exchange
  • Fixed, variable and step-cost models linked to operational drivers
  • Zero-based budgeting decisions supported by cost justification and service levels
  • Incremental budget baselines adjusted for known commitments and inflation
  • Scenario definitions for base, upside and downside planning cases
  • Assumption register with owner, source, calculation method and review date

Participants can build controlled Excel models for repeatable budget preparation and review.

  • Excel Tables, structured references and named ranges for controlled budget models
  • SUMIFS and XLOOKUP formulas for account, department and period mappings
  • Data validation lists preventing invalid cost-centre and account selections
  • Power Query transformations for repeatable imports, cleansing and reconciliation
  • PivotTables and slicers for multidimensional budget review and drill-down
  • Formula auditing with precedents, dependents, error checks and protection settings

Participants can model budget lines and phase them into realistic monthly financial plans.

  • Three-statement operating model links revenue drivers, costs and capital expenditure
  • Monthly phasing methods using seasonality, working days and contractual dates
  • Headcount plan calculates starters, leavers, salary bands and on-costs
  • Capital expenditure schedule separates asset additions, depreciation and cash timing
  • Foreign-currency budgets apply rate assumptions and translation conventions
  • Model control totals reconcile departmental plans to approved financial targets

Participants can configure and document budget structures required for controlled planning activity.

  • SunSystems budget structures: ledgers, periods, currencies, accounts and analysis codes
  • Budget version conventions distinguish original, approved, forecast and working copies
  • Business-unit and analysis-code mappings support departmental budget ownership
  • Security roles and approval permissions protect restricted planning data
  • Posting calendars and period status controls govern budget availability
  • Configuration documentation records local codes, rules and report dependencies

Participants can prepare validated source data and import files for SunSystems budget loading.

  • Source-data extraction from payroll, procurement and operational planning files
  • Excel mapping tables translate local codes into SunSystems chart values
  • Import-file layouts enforce required fields, signs, decimals and date formats
  • Control totals reconcile source records, mapped values and loaded amounts
  • Duplicate detection and exception logs isolate invalid budget transactions
  • Pre-load validation checks period, currency, analysis and account combinations

Participants can load, reconcile and evidence budget changes using defined control procedures.

  • Budget load sequence follows approval status, version rules and period controls
  • Batch identifiers provide traceability for loaded budget records and corrections
  • Reject reports classify mapping, validation, security and data-quality failures
  • Journal-style adjustments document rationale, preparer, reviewer and supporting evidence
  • Reconciliation compares loaded values with signed-off departmental submissions
  • Audit trail review confirms batch completeness and authorised amendments

Participants can produce focused budget reports and explain the drivers of financial variance.

  • Variance analysis separates price, volume, timing and mix drivers
  • Actual-versus-budget reports use consistent account hierarchies and period comparisons
  • Year-to-date and full-year forecast views explain emerging performance gaps
  • SunSystems report selections filter business units, periods, currencies and dimensions
  • Excel PivotTables produce departmental packs with controlled drill-down paths
  • Materiality thresholds focus commentary on significant variances and exceptions

Participants can maintain rolling forecasts and structure performance reviews around material exceptions.

  • Rolling forecasts replace expired months with revised forward-period assumptions
  • Forecast version control preserves approved baselines and subsequent revisions
  • Scenario comparison quantifies financial impact of demand, cost and currency changes
  • Variance commentary follows cause, impact, action and owner structure
  • Exception-based review directs management attention to material risks and opportunities
  • Forecast submission timetable aligns data cut-off, review and consolidation deadlines

Participants can establish a practical governance plan for improving their own budgeting and reporting process.

  • Budget governance calendar defines milestones, approvals, loads and reporting deadlines
  • Segregation-of-duties checks separate preparation, approval, loading and amendment authority
  • Evidence retention checklist covers assumptions, approvals, reconciliations and change records
  • Month-end reporting timetable assigns data owners and quality checkpoints
  • Personal application plan prioritises process, Excel and SunSystems improvements
  • Stakeholder communication plan specifies decisions, audiences, cadence and report format

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

What you take back to work

  1. Budget-cycle RACI template
  2. Driver-based budget model template
  3. SunSystems data-mapping table
  4. Budget import validation checklist
  5. Variance commentary reporting model
  6. Rolling forecast governance plan

Who should attend

  • Financial Analysts — need controlled models and clear variance reporting
  • Management Accountants — need to coordinate planning, forecasts and budget-holder reporting
  • SunSystems Users — need stronger budget loading, mapping and reconciliation skills
  • Finance Business Partners — need to challenge assumptions and explain performance drivers
  • Budget Officers — need reliable submission, approval and monitoring processes
  • Finance Systems Administrators — need to support secure budget structures and data controls

Skills and tools covered

Budget process designExcel financial modellingSunSystems budget loadingData reconciliationVariance analysisRolling forecasting

Tools and standards

Infor SunSystems Financials, Microsoft Excel, Power Query, PivotTables

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short briefings to introduce budgeting controls, Excel techniques and SunSystems concepts, followed by realistic finance cases. Participants work through budget assumptions, mapping tables, import-file checks, reconciliation issues and management-reporting scenarios. Group exercises examine ownership, approval routes, segregation of duties and exception handling. Spreadsheet demonstrations cover formulas, Power Query, PivotTables and audit checks. Reporting simulations require participants to interpret variances and prepare focused commentary. The final application planning session converts course methods into actions for each participant's budget cycle.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should understand basic accounting terms, including general ledger accounts, journals, periods, actuals, budgets and variances. They should be comfortable using Excel for data entry, simple formulas and filtering, and should have some experience of budget preparation, management reporting or finance operations. Familiarity with SunSystems screens, reports or local chart-of-accounts codes is useful but not essential. The course does not require programming, database administration, advanced Excel macros or prior Power Query experience. Participants should bring a laptop if attending classroom delivery.

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 should understand basic finance and budgeting terms and be comfortable with everyday Excel use. Previous SunSystems exposure is useful but not required, as the course explains the budget structures and controls that underpin the system.

Bring a laptop with Microsoft Excel if attending in a classroom, plus any permitted examples of local budget templates or report formats. Do not bring confidential financial data unless your employer has approved its use.

It is intended for financial analysts, management accountants, budget officers, finance business partners and SunSystems users involved in planning or reporting. It also suits finance systems staff who support budget structures, imports and reporting controls.

The course connects advanced Excel methods to budgeting workflows, SunSystems data structures and financial control requirements. It focuses on preparing, loading, reconciling and reporting budgets rather than teaching generic spreadsheet productivity or accounting theory alone.

Participants can use the mapping, validation, reconciliation and variance-commentary templates in their next budget or forecast cycle. The application plan helps them identify specific improvements to ownership, data checks, Excel models and reporting routines.

Each day runs from 08:30 to 16:30 and provides about 6.5 contact hours. The five days progress from budgeting design and Excel modelling through SunSystems preparation, loading, reporting, rolling forecasts and application planning.

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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