This one day finance training course is for managers and directors who want to understand how to  put together and manage a budget within the Housing Association Sector. There is a separate course for not for profit organisations registered operating as a charity, local authority and private sector businesses.

The course takes a practical hands on and straightforward approach to budget making and will provide you with  invaluable tools and techniques to develop and control your budgets. The trainer is a qualified and experienced finance expert with a strong understanding of financial management systems and tools.

This course covers:

• the definition and purpose of a financial plan and budget
• common pitfalls in the budgeting process and how to avoid them
• budgeting techniques- incremental budgeting, zero based budgeting
• Understanding costing and pricing model
• how to prepare different types of budget – sales revenue, salaries, overhead cost, capital, cash flow, profit and loss and balance sheet
• practical tips for preparing an effective budget
• phasing/profiling the annual budget
• getting buy-in to the budget
• the budget presentation: what you need to be able to answer
• how to manage the budget using a structured management account
• what to look for when you get your monthly management accounts
• how to analyse variances and make better decisions
• investigating differences from the budget
• avoiding overspend and getting back on track

If you are an organisation with 4 or more staff in need of this course, you may be able to benefit from this in-house training course programme which will save you money. Organisations outside the London region can contact us for  more information about delivering this course for them.Participants can also get a qualification certificate from the Institute of Leadership at the end of this session for a small additional fee.