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 about 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. "Very good mix between mixing non Excel budgeting software with features in Excel." M.Z., CPA MN "Excellent class!" J.F., CPA OR For more details, please visit www.k2e.com/bft.
Learning Objectives
- Upon completing this course, you should be able to:
- 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
- Using Excel more effectively as a budgeting and forecasting tool
- Identifying shortcomings of Excel-based budgeting and forecasting activities
- Implementing and working with dedicated budgeting and forecasting software applications to achieve better results in less time
- Managing risk and uncertainty in budgets and forecasts
