This 2-part course covers both the operational budgeting process and the capital budgeting process.
In part 1 of this course we focus on how to prepare an operating budget. Done well, a budget provides a clear flight plan for where the organization wants to go in a given year, what route it plans to take there and what resources it will need to do so. However, unfortunately few budgets are done well and even fewer leaders use their budget effectively on a day-to-day basis to manage their department, business unit or division.
So, to help you buck that trend we will teach you a 4 step process to help you prepare a really good budget and we will also discuss in detail how to use your budget as an effective management tool.
In part 2 we then focus on the capital budgeting process. This is the process of allocating resources for major capital expenditure or investment expenditures. Leaders throughout a company will need to know how to work through this process as and when their strategic plans for their department or division involve significant capital investments. It varies by company what the actual threshold is at which a company requires its leaders to go through this process for approval. It can be as low as $1000 or as high as $50,000.
We will explore in detail how to analyze any proposed capital expenditure and how to make recommendations based on the outcomes of those analyses. This will involve a review of the following 4 capital budgeting methods:
Payback period
Net Present Value
Internal rate of return (IRR)
Profitability index
After working through this part of the course you should feel fully equipped to successfully handle your company’s capital budgeting process as and when you need to gain approval for key capital expenditures.
Note: At the end of each section you'll find a downloadable copy of the syllabus for that section of the course.
