February 24, 2023

Webinar

8 CPE

K2’s Budgeting and Forecasting Tools and Techniques

February 24, 2023
Webinar
8 CPE

K2’s Budgeting and Forecasting Tools and Techniques

  • View Bio

    Instructor

    Tommy
    Stephens

    View Bio

    Tommy Stephens, CPA, CITP

    Bio
    Thomas G. Stephens, Jr., CPA, CITP
    Shareholder, K2 Enterprises

    Thomas G. Stephens, Jr., received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree (Major in Accounting) from Auburn University in 1985. Upon graduation, Mr. Stephens began working for an Atlanta-based public accounting firm. After earning his designation as a Certified Public Accountant, Mr. Stephens worked for BellSouth Corporation in Atlanta as an Internal Auditor. After two years as an auditor, he was promoted to Staff Manager and then Operations Manager of the Internal Audit Group. In 1991, he transferred to the Comptrollers’ department of BellSouth and served as Manager of the Cost Accounting organization. While working full-time at BellSouth Corporation, Mr. Stephens also attended graduate school, earning a Masters of Science (Major in Finance) from Georgia State University in 1992.

    Mr. Stephens left BellSouth in 1994 and opened his public accounting practice in the metropolitan Atlanta area. In his practice, Mr. Stephens provides accounting, tax, and consulting services to individuals and a wide variety of small and emerging businesses. Additionally, in 1995 he began authoring and presenting continuing professional education courses to accounting and finance professionals. In 2003, Mr. Stephens affiliated with K2 Enterprises and in 2007 he joined the firm as a partner. To date, he has lectured nationally on subjects such as internal controls for small businesses, technology strategies, computer hardware and software applications, tax strategies and compliance, and financial accounting standards and applications. Over the past twenty-four years, Mr. Stephens has presented over 2,600 educational sessions to over 68,000 participants nationwide.

    Presently, Mr. Stephens resides in Woodstock, Georgia where, in addition to his association with K2 Enterprises, he provides consulting services to small businesses and CPA firms. In addition to an active professional career, Mr. Stephens enjoys an active personal life with his wife. His hobbies include snow skiing, fishing, and running. Additionally, Mr. Stephens maintains professional memberships with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants and is a past member of the Institute of Internal Auditors.

Are your budgeting and forecasting processes working as well for you as they should? Probably not, as many organizations report that budgeting and forecasting activities consume tremendous amounts of time and yield only marginal benefits. In this course, you will learn how to achieve a greater return on your budgeting and forecasting activities by taking advantage of various tools and techniques available in today’s market.

In addition to learning how to utilize Excel more effectively for budgeting and forecasting activities, you will also learn about other tools, such as Budget Maestro, PROPHIX, and Host Analytics, and how reducing your dependency on Excel can lead to better results. Additionally, you will learn how to account for risk and uncertainty in your budgeting and forecasting models and why doing so is a best practice for more meaningful budgets and forecasts. If you are involved in budgeting and forecasting activities, you will not want to miss this opportunity to learn how to reduce the amount of time you spend on these tasks while simultaneously increasing their value.

 

Learning Objectives

  • Utilize processes for obtaining budget data and collaborating with others when using Excel including Shared and Merged Workbooks, Excel’s Audit Trail, controlling and validating data input, and collaborating with others
  • Apply various Excel techniques for interacting with the accounting system, such as Office Data Connections, Open Database Connectivity, importing text files, and linking Internet-based data into budgeting and forecasting models
  • Identify situations in which various Excel techniques are appropriately implemented, such as using Data Tables for sensitivity analysis, working with Excel’s Goal Seek feature, using Solver to maximize scarce resources, working with Scenario Manager, forecasting with Regression Analysis, and analyzing risk with Monte Carlo simulations
  • Implement various Excel functions – including NPV, IRR, XNPV, and XIRR – in capital budgeting situations, and identify the various methods by which Excel computes depreciation
  • Compare and contrast Excel with other applications used for budgeting and forecasting activities and describe situations in which other solutions should be used to reduce the dependency on Excel as a budgeting and forecasting solution

Major Topics

  • Computer Software & Applications
  • Accounting
  • Budgeting & Forecasting

CPE Credits Available

8 CPE
4
Accounting
4
Computer Software & Applications

Things to Know About This Course

Course Level

  • Intermediate

Prerequisites

Fundamental knowledge of Microsoft Office Excel 2013 or newer

Advanced Preparation

None

Intended Audience

Business professionals involved in budgeting and forecasting activities          

Provider

ACPEN

This event has ended.