Understanding Costs and Budgets

Non-financial managers need a good grasp of management accounting in order to manage costs and budgets. It is important to understand different approaches to budgeting and their appropriateness as well as the sources of information available to aid forecasting. You will also need to understand the nature and behaviour of costs as well as the impact of profit drivers on performance.

Take a look at all business skills topics

It's more than just a course.

This is a learning journey, suitable for individuals and teams.

a-step-icon-1

Excite

On-demand digital learning playlist

a-step-icon-2

Engage

Live session delivered virtually or in-person

a-step-icon-3

Embed

Digital learning playlists | Coaching session (optional)

Training Course

For our learning journeys we use our proven excite, engage, embed method to ensure the learning experience is engaging and the learning is sustained. The full details of the programme are shown below.

Course Code: OV-UCB

  • This is available for individuals, groups and teams

  • half-day live session delivered virtually or in-person | 6-8 hrs on-demand learning | 30-minute coaching session (optional extra for teams)

  • Part of our Extended Offering

The focus of this session is management accounting. It works through the nature and behaviour of costs as well as the impact of profit drivers on performance. It looks at the different approaches to budgeting and their appropriateness as well as the sources of information available to aid forecasting.

This course is suitable for non-financial managers and anyone new to managing costs and budgets. It looks at the base knowledge needed in order to compile and manage budgets and is therefore also useful for refreshing ideas, and formalising and filling in knowledge gaps.

By the end of this course you will be able to:

  • Identify how budgets are put together in your organisation and your role in the process
  • Describe how costs behave and the impact they have on your budget and performance
  • Explain the impact of the different profit drivers and the influence you can have on the bottom line
  • Define the different types of forecasting to utilise the best approach for your budget
  • Use a structured process to prepare a budget, which can be used to monitor actual costs and take action to ensure the budget is met
  • Describe the effect of prepayments and accruals and how they impact on budgets and cash flow
  • Manage financial performance, by understanding variances and knowing what action can be taken
  • Explain the need to budget for risk and how to defend budget contingencies to reduce the impact on the business

You may also like:
Communicating with Impact

For groups & teams

Live session delivered virtually or in-person. Up to 15 people per programme.

From £3000 (+VAT)

Bring in-house

For individuals

Upcoming dates (select date for price info)

£ 625.00 (+ VAT)

£ 625.00 (+ VAT)

£ 625.00 (+ VAT)

Reserve your place

Bitesize Sessions

Available for delivery to groups and teams, our bite-size learning sessions are short bursts of knowledge covering the what, why, and how of a topic, and delivered at pace. Expert-led sessions can be delivered virtually, face-to-face, or you can choose a combination, and they can be run either standalone or up to three sessions in a day.

Understanding Costs and Budgets

Understanding Costs and Budgets

Course Code: VILT-UCB

  • 90-minute live session delivered virtually or in-person (Perfect for use as part of a blended learning programme)

  • This is available for groups and teams

  • Part of our Extended Offering

The focus of this 90-minute session is management accounting. You will work through the nature and behaviour of costs as well as the impact of profit drivers on performance. You will also explore different approaches to budgeting and their appropriateness, as well as the sources of information available to aid forecasting. This session can be a stand-alone session or as part 3 of the 'Finance for Non-Financial Managers' series.

 

This short session is suitable for non-financial managers and anyone new to managing costs and budgets. It looks at the base knowledge needed in order to compile and manage budgets and is therefore useful for refreshing ideas and formalising and filling in knowledge gaps.

By the end of this session, you will be able to:

  • Identify how budgets are put together in your organisation and your role in the process. 
  • Describe the behaviour of costs and the impact they have on your budget and performance. 
  • Explain the impact of the different profit drivers and the influence you can have on the bottom line.
  • Define the different types of forecasting to utilise the best approach for your budget
Enquire now

Expanding Your Management Accounting Knowledge

Expanding Your Management Accounting Knowledge

Course Code: VILT-EMAK

  • 90-minute live session delivered virtually or in-person (Perfect for use as part of a blended learning programme)

  • This is available for groups and teams

  • Part of our Extended Offering

This interactive 90-minute virtual session gets participants thinking about how they put budgets together, what to include and other adjustments that need to be considered. It uses a seven-step budgeting process, to link budget to strategy and improve the negotiating position as well identifying the reasons for variances occurring and the remedial action that can be taken. Through the use of case studies and business examples you will be able to make links to the controlling and monitoring of your own budget area.

 

This short session is a good follow on from Finance for non-financial managers - Understanding costs and budgets bite-size session and the last in the series of four. Otherwise a sound knowledge of how costs behave and different types of budgets and forecasts are.

By the end of this session, you will be able to: 

  • Use a structured process to prepare a budget, which can be used to monitor actual costs and take action to ensure the budget is met. 
  • Describe the effect of prepayments and accruals and how they impact on budgets and cash flow. 
  • Manage financial performance, by understanding variances and knowing what action can be taken.
  • Explain the need to budget for risk and how to defend budget contingencies to reduce the impact on the business.
     
Enquire now

Build a customised programme

Use our building blocks approach to create a customised programme to suit your specific needs and context, at the pace you need. 
Talk to us about what you want to achieve.

a-step-icon-1

Step 1

Choose the core blocks you want (from our content library)

a-step-icon-2

Step 2

Consider what blocks you want to customise (to make it your own)

a-step-icon-3

Step 3

Review any additional technology and support services we can help you with (to bring the truly bring the learning experience to life)

a-step-icon-4

Step 4

We’ll create the optimum journey for your learners

Want to co-create?

Let's talk

The building blocks menu of options

To help achieve the pace and agility you need, we encourage you to make use of what we already have (our core library) and make it your own. There’s no need to ‘recreate the wheel’ - build from what we have ‘ready to go’ and then customise what you need to.

Choose from across our range of 100+ core topic areas.

Online self-study:
  • Fluidbooks
  • Infographics (standard and HTML)
  • Thrive in Five
  • Videos/animations
  • Quizzes & assessments
  • Podcasts
  • Digital flip cards
  • HTML microsites
  • Digital adventures
  • Applying what you have learned - action learning prompts/exercises
  • All assets under a topic/collection
Live expert-led:
  • Pre-built team experience (learning journey)
  • Live workshops - virtual or in-person training (1 x half-day live session in a day; 2 x half-day live session in a day)
  • Bitesize (1 x 90-min bite-size session in a day; 2 x 90-min bite-size session in a day; 3 x 90-min bite-size session in a day)
  • Run-it-yourself
  • Coaching – per hour (Follow-up; Learning programme; Transitioning together; Team effectiveness; Career coaching; Leadership & executive; Skills performance coaching)
  • Group facilitation sessions (1 x 3hr in a day; 2 x 3hr in a day
  • Leadership lab session (1 x 3hr in a day; 2 x 3hr in a day)
  • Virtual delivery platform licence
Personalisation for live events:
  • Add your logo
  • Tailored
  • Branded
  • Fully customised
Bespoke content creation:
  • Fluidbooks
  • Infographics (standard and HTML)
  • Thrive in Five
  • Videos/animations
  • Quizzes & assessments
  • Podcasts with bespoke or your content
  • Digital flip cards
  • HTML microsites
  • Digital adventures
  • Digital badges/certificates
  • Live expert-led bite-size or workshop session
Bespoke printed communication/learning assets:
  • Handouts
  • Z-cards
  • Zappar AR for Z-card
  • Action learning prompts/exercises
  • Bespoke Hub annual subscription fee (per user)
  • Hub implementation
  • Subscription (open) hub
  • Booker portal
  • Delivery – Virtual or in-person facilitator; virtual producer
  • Faculty management
  • Delegate management
  • Instructional design
  • Specialist instructional design
  • Learning journey curation
  • Logistics support
  • Project management
  • Customer success management
  • Branding & creative communication
  • Graphic design
  • Translations services
  • Proofing/QA
  • Data insights & engagement
  • Consultancy
  • Supplier management
  • Managed Learning Services
The building blocks menu of options

Our approach

Successful learning programmes don’t just happen by accident: Our 4E learning journey model ensures maximum transformational power (and it’s informed by decades of adult learning best practices and proven real-life hybrid learning effectiveness).

Discuss this topic

Who is this course for?
Sign up
Keep me informed of upcoming courses/events, L&D updates and content to help with ongoing learning and development by:

By submitting this form you consent to us getting in touch in response to your enquiry. We will always respect the personal information you give to us; it will never be shared with anyone else and it will always be managed according to our Privacy Policy which you can find on our website at any time.

Or speak to one of our friendly learning advisers by: