Manage and monitor budgets to identify problems, anticipate shortfalls and avoid costly mistakes

Solid reasons why good budgets lead to better, more effective management:

• The budget as a measurement of performance — yours, your staff's, your department's and your organization's
• Strategies for controlling expenses without sacrificing flexibility or efficiency
• How to convert major planning issues to manageable dollars-and-cents budgets
• Solid methods that turn business goals into measurable, achievable fiscal actions

Proven budgeting concepts for realistic short- and long-term planning:

• The vital differences in short-term and long-term budgets and how each type guides you to more prudent management decision-making

Proven outlines and guidelines for the major types of budgets:

• Capital budgets that generate an expedient rate of return while precisely calculating years to payback
• Operating budgets that accurately coordinate every operating area of your organization
• How cash budgets maximize profitability and efficient management of resources

Insightful advice on understanding your organization's budget philosophy:

• How to interpret top management's fiscal philosophy and what it means to your budget practices and responsibilities
• The specific blueprints of different budget approaches and how they incorporate the most important goals and objectives of management

Proven procedures that pinpoint budget goals and objectives:

• How to organize your goals into a workable framework that you can translate into dollars-andcents budgets
• The effect of your major objectives on your budgets, line for line

Functional timetables for every budgeting action:

• A step-by-step schedule that works smoothly within your organization's existing fiscal framework
• The specific effects of seasonal factors on your budget
• How sound agendas for monthly, quarterly, annual and multi-year budgets point the way for your organization

Simple techniques to classify costs:

• The vital differences between direct and indirect costs
• How costs beyond your control can directly affect your budget performance

Specific definitions that pinpoint cost behavior:

• The distinctive, different elements of fixed and variable costs
• Simple formulas that estimate the impact of unforeseen increases or decreases in either fixed or variable costs

Step-by-step methods for determining the break-even point:

• How to set realistic break-even goals within your operational budgets
• Ways to minimize the impact of budget variances on long-term profit objectives

Prudent tactics for handling unit indicators:

• How to identify cost-based unit indicators and accurately forecast their impact on your operations
• Special tactics for hard-to-forecast, productivity-based unit indicators

Down-to-earth advice on basic budgeting methods:

• Simple guidelines for zero-based budgeting to cut fat and reduce inefficiency
• When and how to use average-cost budgeting techniques
• Flexible budgeting methods that solve the unusual challenges faced by your department or organization

Specific terms and tactics peculiar to capital items:

• Simple definitions and formulas that explain average rate of return and years to payback
• The key, common elements that characterize a capital expenditure
• Depreciation principles that ensure expedient payback of capital expenditures

Pertinent procedures for managing the many different types of capital expense:

• Specific budget strategies for land and buildings
• The 3 types of capital equipment and specific budget tactics for each type

Powerful budget principles that justify capital expenditures:

• Step-by-step formulas to easily calculate payback
• A look at capital rate-of-return with a manageable framework for multi-year capital budgets
• When to use discounted cash flow methods to justify capital expenditures

Insightful solutions to the buy vs. lease question:

• How to interpret the effects on operating budgets of lease and buy scenarios with smart budget tactics for both approaches
• Solid advice to determine the advantages and disadvantages of capital leases

The power of the Sales Budget:

• The primary importance of the sales budget and how it drives every other budget in your organization
• Smart forecasting rules for accurate, realistic sales budgets
• Convincing reasons to avoid the antiquated sales budget method of fixed percentage increases
• How to weave sales forecasts, marketing plans and sales expenses into one cohesive budget
• Plus … produce an actual sales budget in an exciting group participation project

Production, Materials and Labor budgets — the essential elements of the manufacturing plant:

• Practical methods that plan for the unknown in cost of raw materials
• How to calculate labor expenses and account for fluctuations in the "productivity factor"
• The many components of manufacturing overhead and how it affects the cost of goods manufactured
• Specific pointers that precisely account for cost of inventory
• How to employ special merchandise-purchased budgeting techniques for the non-manufacturing organization
• Plus … produce an actual manufacturing budget in an exciting group participation project

Marketing budgets that meet and exceed your organization's goals and objectives:

• How to produce a flexible marketing budget with contingencies for market fluctuations and unforeseen competitive factors
• Benchmarks and standards for allocating marketing dollars
• Practical methods to evaluate marketing goals in concrete dollar terms for budgets
• Plus … produce an actual marketing budget in an exciting group participation project

Administrative budgets that maximize efficiency without spiraling costs:

• How to determine the best administrative budgeting procedure for your organization's structure
• Proven techniques that evaluate administrative effectiveness and performance through predetermined budget objectives
• How to set cost priorities that keep administrative budgets under control
• Plus … produce an actual administrative budget in an exciting group participation project

Cash budgets that harness the power of your organization's resources:

• How to maximize investment profits by putting your excess cash flow to work
• The importance of recognizing cash shortfalls far in advance — before a financial crisis develops
• A simple formula that accurately budgets cash balances
• How the costs of accounts receivable are driven by credit sales
• Why you must accurately assess your future financial needs through realistic cash budgets
• Plus … produce an actual cash budget in an exciting group participation project