Strategic Finance: Driver-based Budgeting Training Course

Introduction

Traditional budgeting often relies on historical data and incremental adjustments, potentially overlooking the crucial strategic drivers that truly impact organizational performance. This insightful training course introduces Driver-Based Budgeting, a powerful methodology that aligns financial plans directly with your organization's key performance indicators (KPIs) and underlying strategic drivers. Participants will learn how to identify these critical drivers, build robust budget models based on them, and gain a deeper understanding of the cause-and-effect relationships that drive financial outcomes. Mastering Driver-Based Budgeting empowers organizations to create more accurate, strategic, and actionable budgets that truly support the achievement of their goals.

This intensive training course delves into the practical steps of implementing Driver-Based Budgeting. We will explore how to identify the most relevant strategic drivers for your business, such as sales volume, customer acquisition cost, production output, or employee productivity. Participants will learn how to build financial models that link these drivers to budget line items, enabling a more dynamic and responsive budgeting process. By focusing on these fundamental strategic drivers and their impact on KPIs, organizations can move beyond simple expense tracking to create budgets that actively support strategic objectives and provide valuable insights for performance management.

Target Audience

• Finance Managers
• Budget Analysts
• Financial Analysts
• Strategic Planners
• Business Leaders
• Management Accountants
• Performance Management Professionals

Course Objectives

• Understand the limitations of traditional budgeting and the advantages of driver-based budgeting.
• Learn how to identify key strategic drivers and their impact on organizational performance.
• Develop a methodology for linking strategic drivers to key performance indicators (KPIs).
• Master the process of building driver-based budget models.
• Understand how to use driver-based budgeting for more accurate and insightful forecasting.
• Learn how to align budgets with strategic goals and objectives through driver analysis.
• Explore the role of technology and data analytics in implementing driver-based budgeting.
• Develop strategies for effectively communicating and collaborating on driver-based budgets across departments.
• Understand how to use driver-based budgeting for scenario planning and sensitivity analysis.
• Learn how to integrate driver-based budgeting with performance management frameworks.
• Explore the application of driver-based budgeting in different industries and organizational contexts.
• Understand how to continuously monitor and refine driver-based budget models.
• Develop a practical implementation plan for adopting driver-based budgeting in your organization.

Duration

5 Days

Course Content

Module 1: The Shift to Driver-Based Budgeting

• Understanding the shortcomings of traditional budgeting approaches for your module.
• Introducing the core concepts and benefits of driver-based budgeting.
• Exploring the link between strategic drivers, KPIs, and financial outcomes.
• Identifying the characteristics of effective strategic drivers.
• Understanding the role of driver-based budgeting in enhancing strategic alignment.

Module 2: Identifying Key Strategic Drivers

• Techniques for identifying the most critical drivers of organizational performance for your module.
• Analyzing business models and value chains to pinpoint key drivers.
• Collaborating with different departments to identify operational and strategic drivers.
• Categorizing drivers (e.g., revenue drivers, cost drivers, operational drivers).
• Prioritizing drivers based on their impact and measurability.

Module 3: Linking Drivers to Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

• Understanding the relationship between strategic drivers and relevant KPIs for your module.
• Mapping drivers to specific KPIs to establish clear cause-and-effect relationships.
• Developing a framework for tracking and monitoring both drivers and KPIs.
• Utilizing data analytics to quantify the impact of drivers on KPIs.
• Ensuring that KPIs are aligned with strategic goals and objectives.

Module 4: Building Driver-Based Budget Models

• Developing financial models that explicitly link budget line items to identified drivers for your module.
• Using formulas and relationships to calculate budget values based on driver projections.
• Incorporating different driver scenarios into the budget model.
• Utilizing spreadsheet software or dedicated budgeting tools for model building.
• Ensuring the transparency and understandability of the driver-based budget model.

Module 5: Forecasting with Driver-Based Budgets

• Leveraging driver projections to create more accurate and insightful financial forecasts for your module.
• Understanding how changes in drivers directly impact forecasted budget figures.
• Incorporating external factors and market trends into driver forecasts.
• Utilizing statistical techniques and forecasting tools to project driver values.
• Comparing driver-based forecasts with traditional forecasting methods.

Module 6: Aligning Budgets with Strategic Goals

• Using driver-based budgeting to translate strategic objectives into concrete financial plans for your module.
• Allocating resources based on the drivers that have the greatest impact on strategic KPIs.
• Evaluating the financial implications of different strategic initiatives through driver analysis.
• Ensuring that budget targets support the achievement of long-term organizational goals.
• Monitoring budget performance against strategic objectives and driver targets.

Module 7: Technology and Data Analytics in Driver-Based Budgeting

• Exploring software solutions and platforms that support driver-based budgeting for your module.
• Utilizing data analytics tools to identify, track, and analyze key drivers and their impact.
• Integrating data from various organizational systems into the driver-based budgeting process.
• Leveraging data visualization techniques to communicate driver-based budget insights.
• Understanding the role of business intelligence (BI) in supporting driver-based budgeting.

Module 8: Implementing and Communicating Driver-Based Budgets

• Developing a plan for implementing driver-based budgeting within your organization for your module.
• Communicating the principles and benefits of driver-based budgeting to stakeholders.
• Training budget owners and users on the driver-based budgeting process and model.
• Establishing clear roles and responsibilities for driver identification, forecasting, and monitoring.
• Fostering a culture of driver-centric financial planning and performance management.

Training Approach

This course will be delivered by our skilled trainers who have vast knowledge and experience as expert professionals in the fields. The course is taught in English and through a mix of theory, practical activities, group discussion and case studies. Course manuals and additional training materials will be provided to the participants upon completion of the training.

Tailor-Made Course

This course can also be tailor-made to meet organization requirement. For further inquiries, please contact us on: Email: info@skillsforafrica.org, training@skillsforafrica.org Tel: +254 702 249 449

Training Venue

The training will be held at our Skills for Africa Training Institute Training Centre.

We also offer training for a group at requested location all over the world. The course fee covers the course tuition, training materials, two break refreshments, and buffet lunch.

Visa application, travel expenses, airport transfers, dinners, accommodation, insurance, and other personal expenses are catered by the participant

Certification

Participants will be issued with Skills for Africa Training Institute certificate upon completion of this course.

Airport Pickup and Accommodation

Airport pickup and accommodation is arranged upon request. For booking contact our Training Coordinator through Email: info@skillsforafrica.org, training@skillsforafrica.org Tel: +254 702 249 449

Terms of Payment: Unless otherwise agreed between the two parties’ payment of the course fee should be done 7 working days before commencement of the training.