Strategic Planning, Management Control & Effective Budgeting in the Public Sector

Course Overview:

As the business environment becomes ever more uncertain and turbulent, the requirement for professional leadership and effective management control throughout organizations is at a premium. Strategic Planning, Management Control & Effective Budgeting is for those who are dedicated to maximizing the performance of their organizations, as well as their value-added contribution (and that of the people who work for them). The elements of the course provide a structured, coherent, and comprehensive framework for addressing the challenges, which face professionals in respect of both their day-to-day and longer-term responsibilities.

This course will be particularly relevant to those professionals who are involved in setting the direction of the organization (or that of their function within it), and are accountable for the delivery of cost-effective processes, activities, and operations. This course will provide professionals with a comprehensive range of skills essential to effectively leading both people and projects/processes in times of increasing global competition, and where budgets are inextricably linked with strategy formulation, people leadership, and cost analysis.

Course Objectives:

At the end of this course, the participants will be able to:

Develop an appreciation and understanding of strategic planning and management control processes.
Understand how the elements within them interact to create a systemic approach to the effective and efficient management of organizations, from strategy formulation to efficient execution.
Learn how to recognize, manage, and mitigate risk.
Gain awareness of the kind of leadership, which makes a difference in unleashing the potential of everyone in the team.
Understand the key factors, which lead to sustainable business success.
Think in terms of process-value added to customers/shareholders.
Integrate the organization's strategic planning with budgets and processes of cost control.
Understand the importance of project management, appraisal, planning.
Explore traditional versus innovative budgetary techniques.
Explore capital and activity-based budgeting techniques.
Identify key strategic and financial indicators for the business, and how and when to monitor them.
Discuss the problems and limitations of budgetary control and look for alternative tools.
Understand the importance of balancing financial and non-financial measures in managing projects.
Link budgetary processes with quality issues and business process improvement.
Identify priorities for continued professional development.
Learn a consistent framework to apply to any organizational activity, process or change
Understand the factors involved in using a plan to achieve measurable results
Learn techniques to plan, prioritize and implement effectively
Anticipate and prepare for contingencies and changing circumstances
Increase levels of confidence in dealing with superiors, peers and subordinates
Gain project management abilities
Integrate planning, budgeting and cost control by relying on a financial-based language
Manage different types of cost and their relevance to decision making
Understand the problems of overheads and how Activity-Based Analysis may aid decision-making and pricing strategies
Select the performance measurement system that works
From cost to strategy to performance measurement
Looking beyond budgeting: balanced scorecard, six-sigma and Business Excellence
Develop a comprehensive understanding of what contributes to, and creates business success
Understand and manage the complexities of organizational realities

Course Coverage:

Topic 1: Strategy:

Introduction to strategy - background, historical developments, major theories
Thinking strategically
A consistent approach to strategy development
The relationships between vision, mission, and strategy
The steps involved in developing a strategy
Implementing a strategy

Topic 2: Risks:

The Meaning and nature of Risk
Identifying the risks in a given strategy
Prioritizing risks
Contingency planning
Risk mitigation strategies

Topic 3: Negotiation:

The essential role of negotiation
Focusing on mutual interests
How to separate the people from the problem
Remaining objective and dispassionate
Negotiating with more powerful people
Negotiating tactics

Topic 4: Leadership:

The strategic nature of leadership
The differences between leadership and management
Turning leadership theory into practical leadership
Maximizing the performance of each team member
Motivating the 'average' employee
Developing a personal action plan for further self-development

Topic 5: Strategic Leadership:

Intrapersonal skills
Interpersonal skills
Strategic leadership for team development
Innovative Leadership skills

Topic 6: Introduction: Building a Common Financial Language:

The key role of budgeting and cost control in contemporary organizations
The 21st-century business imperative: delivering value-added (but to whom?)
Towards a cross-functional process view of the organization
Financial vs. Managerial accounting (for decision-making)
Understand your processes: integrating financial and non-financial aspects
Identify the key processes/projects for your organization

Topic 7: Budgeting and Cost Analysis:

Cost concepts and terminology
Different costs for different purposes
Fixed vs. Variable costs: the Cost-Volume-Profit analysis model
Contribution Margin Analysis
Manufacturing vs. non-manufacturing costs
Period VS Product costs: inventory evaluation and control

Topic 8: Traditional VS Advanced Techniques In Cost-Control:

Under-costing and over-costing: the consequences for profitability
How to refine a costing system?
Indirect (OH) VS Direct costs: Traditional Cost Allocations systems VS Activity-Based Costing (ABC)
Cost Hierarchy & Cost Drivers
Linking resources, activities and management
Introducing Activity-based budgeting (ABM) and management (ABM)

Topic 9: Master Budget, Flexible Budgets, and Variance Analysis:

Define the master budget and explain its major benefits to an organization
Describe the difference between a static budget and a flexible budget
Compute flexible-budget variances and sales-volume variances
Discuss the behavioural implication of budgeting
The budgeting process in your organization: how to improve it?
Which tools shall we use to complement budgeting and costing?

Topic 10: Beyond the Budgets: Balanced Scorecards and Six-Sigma:

Broadening performance measurement systems
The key role of customer satisfaction and business process reengineering
Beyond budgeting: integrating financial and non-financial issues
Introducing the Balanced Scorecard
Introducing the Strategy maps
Introducing Six-sigma

Targeted Groups:

Project Managers
Head of Departments
Budgeting Staff
Employees who want to gain great experience in strategic leadership and finance to improve their career