Budgeting and Forecasting (2024)

Recommended Prep Courses

These preparatory courses are optional, but we recommend you to complete the stated prep course(s) or possess the equivalent knowledge prior to enrolling in this course:

1. Accounting Fundamentals
2. Excel Fundamentals

Financial budgeting course description

This financial budgeting course will teach you about the entire budgeting process from start to finish, including how to create a disciplined culture of budgeting in your organization, the various methods for building budgets, techniques to analyze results, and how to increase the chances of organizational performance improvements.

This interactive and applied budgeting course enables participants to:

1. Adopt a disciplined approach to developing budgets
2. Forecast results with quantitative and qualitative methods
3. Effectively use variance analysis to track performance
4. Present results with charts and graphs

Who should take this budgeting class?

This online budgeting class is designed for those who are responsible for financial management, budgeting, and forecasting within their organizations. This may include professionals working in financial planning and analysis (FP&A), accounting, treasury, financial reporting, corporate development, etc.

What you will learn in this budgeting 101 course

By the end of this budgeting 101 class, participants are able to:

• Understand the principles behind best practice financial management
• Explain the importance of budgeting within a strategic framework
• Build a robust budgeting process within their organization
• Know when and where to use various budgeting approaches such as zero-based budgeting
• Forecast future performance by better analyzing revenue and cost drivers
• Use effective variance reporting to track organizational performance
• Make use of Excel functions and tools that are particularly suited to the budgeting process.

Financial budgeting class content

Topics covered will include:

• Budgeting within a strategic framework
• Building a robust budgeting process
• Managing budget psychology
• A practical guide to developing budgets
• Common budgeting approaches (e.g. Incremental, value-based, zero-based, etc.)
• Forecasting techniques (moving average, regression analysis, etc.)
• Tracking budget performance with variance analysis (waterfall charts, etc.)
• Applied budgeting tools and techniques (Excel, solver, pivot tables, etc.)

CPE Information

For further CPE information, please read before purchasing:

https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/about/cpe-information/

Publish Date: Sep 06, 2017

Last Revision: Jan 18, 2018

Budgeting 101 class screenshots

What are the requirements to take the courses?

All of our certification programs are open to students and professionals in various industries and levels of experience. Our curriculum is designed to teach what you need to know from basic fundamentals to advanced practical case studies. To take the courses and complete the exercises, students will only need access to a PC and/or Mac, Microsoft Suite (2016 or newer), and a stable internet connection. Click here to view the Technical Requirements

Can I download the Excel files and financial modeling templates for the course?

Absolutely! All the files and templates needed in a course are available for download. Just look for a module that shows Downloadable Files within the course dashboard. See here for a visual guide on how to do this.

How long do I have to complete the courses?

You will have yearly access to the courses as long as you maintain an active subscription. All the courses are self-paced as well so you can take your time in learning without worrying about any deadlines. Click here to compare our available enrollment options.

Are CFI courses officially accredited?

Yes, CFI is accredited by the Better Business Bureau® (BBB) to maintain training standards, the CPA Institutions in Canada, and the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) in the USA. Most of our courses qualify for verified CPE credits for CPA charter holders. Please refer to this page to view all available CPE credits.

Are there any additional fees or costs?

What currency are your courses priced in?

All our online courses are priced in USD. As this is a recurring payment, we accept all major credit and debit cards including Visa, MasterCard, and American Express.

How do I earn my certificates?

How are the exams conducted?

Students are required to complete an online assessment (Multiple choice questions, Fill-in-the-Blanks, and Excel Questions) at the end of each course. You can take the exams on your own schedule and will need to earn at least 80% to pass the course and earn your certificate of course completion. Please note that course exams can be repeated as many times as you need. Students are also required to complete the FMVA® final exam to earn their certification. How to Take a Qualified Assessment

Can I email the instructor if I have questions?

While the courses are designed mainly for self-study, we are happy to provide email assistance for general or technical support inquiries. The Full Immersion bundles include a premium email support function that allows you to communicate directly with in-house experts regarding course content. This is one of the key features that sets the Full Immersion bundle apart and makes it a worthwhile upgrade over the more affordable self-study bundle. You can compare more features in our bundles here.

Will these courses help me advance my career?

Based on hundreds of reviews from thousands of students we know how CFI courses have helped so many people advance their finance careers. Our courses are designed to be extremely practical and simulate the experience of being trained as a professional financial analyst…the ultimate way to advance your career. For real-world examples and to help delve even deeper into the course concepts, please look into our free career resources library.

More Questions?

You can view more detailed information through our Help Center or Email us and we'll be happy to answer any of your questions