Budgeting and Forecasting for the Public Sector
About
Most organisations use the budget as their primary management system for establishing targets, allocating resources and reviewing performance. For organisations operating in an environment of continuous change, budgets quickly become out of date, raising the question of whether they are in fact worthwhile.
Rolling forecasts offer greater visibility into future operating performance. Unlike budgets, they reflect the fact that operations don’t switch off at year-end. Making good business projections isn’t as hard as it sounds. Well-established forecasting techniques, used properly, can significantly improve profits. Implementing forecasts and invigorating your planning techniques can take some of the guesswork out of operational decision making and put the focus back on optimising profitability, rather than putting out fires.
This two day in depth masterclass will allow you to effectively link strategic planning, budgeting and forecasting and has been updated to meet the challenges faced by the public sector.
Key Learning Objectives:
• Gain an understanding of Strategic Planning in the Public Sector context
• Learn to develop financial plans
• Understand leading edge budgeting tools and how they apply to Public Sector organisations
• Learn to make an effective rolling forecast
• Use effective tools for performance management and setting KPIs
Who Should Attend?
Anyone in the public sector (including central, local government and assorted agencies) who wants to increase their knowledge of budgeting and forecasting in a public sector environment including:
• Chief Financial Officers
• Finance Managers
• Management Accountants
• Planners and Policy Analysts
• Performance Managers
• Budgeting Managers
Training Methodology
This intensive 2-day master class will combine tutorial sessions and case studies with interactive learning exercises. All attendees will be provided with a workbook and a certificate of completion.
Outline
Understanding Strategic Planning
• Planning in the Public Sector
• Strategic planning models and frameworks
• Translating strategic plans into business plans suitable for the Public Sector
• What is the relationship between strategic plans and financial plans?
Strategic Planning Processes within Public Sector Organisations
• Linking organisational strategy with agency vision and mission
• Are there gaps in your organisations strategy?
• Aligning your departments strategic plan with the agencies (and Government) policy and plans
• Identifying and managing the organisations strategic risks
• Communicating strategy to diverse units across the organisation
Developing the Financial Plan
• Highlighting the limitations of traditional budgeting processes in organisations
• Integrating budgeting and planning to drive resource allocations
• Involving operational managers and business unit heads in the budgeting process
• Communicating the budgeting process across the organisation
• Assessing whether traditional budgets support the current business environment
Leading Edge Budgeting Tools and Techniques for Public Servants
• What are the current leading edge budgeting methodologies?
• Implementing best practice financial management processes
• Beyond Budgeting concepts applied to public sector organisations
• Activity-based budgeting & Zero-based budgeting
• Priority-based budgeting
• Trending and benchmarking
Rolling Forecasts in the Public Sector Context
• Core concepts of rolling forecasts
• Why move from budgeting to rolling forecasting?
• Setting targets and measuring performance
• Evaluating forecasting options
• Designing and preparing rolling forecasts
• Linking activity based budgeting to rolling forecasts
• Linking rolling forecasts with strategic planning
• Evaluating the software solutions that support rolling forecast
Tools for Effective Performance Management in the Public Sector
• Linking performance management to departmental and the Government’s strategy
• Integrating strategy, financial plans and performance indicators
• Highlighting factors that influence performance management
• Developing effective performance management systems for your department
• Considering alternative frameworks for performance measurement and improvements
Performance Management and Reporting
• What are relevant Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) and drivers?
• How does management reporting influence performance?
• Introducing strategic scorecards
Case Study: Putting it all together
Aubrey will work through an implementation linking planning budgeting and forecasting in a Public Sector Organisation
Facilitator
Aubrey Joachim , Principal Consultant, Leading Edge Change
FCMA; MBA; GAICD, Global Vice President CIMA
Aubrey Joachim is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) UKas well as an MBA. He has more than 25 years of handson management accounting experience with global conglomerates. Aubrey has spent most of his working life in industries and organisations that have significant investment in infrastructure assets working alongside engineers, project managers, asset planning managers and investment program managers providing value adding financial management advice. This unique exposure has given him the opportunity to relate strategic financial and management accounting concepts to the effective management of large asset portfolios. He is well qualified to bring together the financial and asset management disciplines in developing robust models for optimally managing the life cycle of assets. His country listing includes Sri Lanka , Dubai , Singapore , U.K. and Australia .
Aubrey began his career at Unilever Sri Lanka in 1973, covering all aspects of management accounting. This led to him start his CIMA studies. He moved to a senior accounting position in the textile and export garment industry in 1979. Aubrey left Sri Lanka in 1982 to work with McDermott International Inc., a multinational US Corporation in Dubai, involved in the oil and gas industry. He moved through senior financial management and then transferred to their London operations in 1992, becoming accounting manager. Aubrey migrated to Australia in 1993 and, after a spell in the Financial Services Sector, joined Sydney Water Corporation in 1994. He eventually became the financial manager of the largest division of the business, until 2005. He provided financial management support to the operations and maintenance areas and spent the last 6 years in the asset management division in which role he introduced innovative financial management practices including new budgeting techniques as well as implementing activity based costing / activity based management that formed the basis for understanding operating cost structures and establishing a performance management framework. These achievements supported a successful regulatory pricing submission and laid the foundation for establishing a performance management framework that will help monitor the continuing asset and financial performance of the organisation.
He has written articles on current management topics, which have been published in professional journals, Financial Management Magazine, and on this website. He writes a monthly article on management accounting for Charter – the magazine of the Australian Institute of Chartered Accountants. Aubrey won the worldwide CIMA/ Reed Management Accounting competition in 1991 and was runner up in 1992.
Aubrey Joachim is on the Council of CIMA U.K. and is on the Executive Committee. He is also the Australasian Director of the Beyond Budgeting Round Table (BBRT).
Previous attendees of Aubreys A practical approach to Building a Rolling Forecast Process Seminar say:
"Good Content, focused on moving forward versus moving back"
John Cash, Commercial Manager, Fletcher Aluminium
"The presenter’s real life experience was excellent"
Geoff Yates, Management Accountant, TNL Group Ltd
"Seminar met all my needs, gave me a lot to think about & questions to take back to work on how we will manage this change."
Karen Kingswood, Management Accountant, Met Service
Aubrey Joachim is also facilitating:
In-house Training
Prices and Registration
Sorry, this event currently has no dates scheduled.
