Are you an employer looking for a cost-effective training solution for your staff?

If you need to improve your employees' performance, then we'll work with you to
create a tailor-made training programme to develop staff skills according to your
business needs.
Things are changing fast in the business world - especially where new technology
comes into play - and many employers want to make doubly sure staff are up to
speed, to keep their competitive edge.
We are absolutely certain that we can develop the right training programme. We
have over 100 courses on offer, which include administration support, management
development, IT and personal development options. These courses can be adapted
to meet the needs of your organisation

Microsoft Office Training

Microsoft Office is the most widely used software suite in business and office environments. It is essential if you want
to keep up to date with the skills demanded by many employers and progress your career. Pitman Training provides a
comprehensive range of Microsoft Office training courses designed to train you in all aspects of Microsoft Office, and
the individual programmes it contains such as Excel, PowerPoint and Microsoft Word.
Even if you already have some basic MS Office skills, Pitman Training can help get you up to date with the latest
versions quickly. If youre a beginner, you can gain a comprehensive knowledge which includes realistic work-place
exercises

Finance and Accounting Training Overview

The success of any business depends on a number of critical factors. Finance and accounting are only
part of the broad field. Whether you are a brand-new supervisor or a senior executive, you will not go far
without having a command of key financial concepts. Keep your career moving forward with Alliance
online and onsite education and training courses. Training in accounts receivable, accounts payable,
payroll, sales and use taxes, 1099 issues, budgeting, purchasing, wage and hour law, garnishments and
finance, and accounting for nonfinancial managers is available.
Finance and accounting are the universal languages of business
Alliance Training and Consulting, Inc. specializes in finance and accounting training for professionals with
all levels of experience and expertise. Customer satisfaction is our most important goal. We develop a
unique, personalized partnership when working with you. Alliances approach to training is targeted
learning. We do not present off-the-shelf finance and accounting programs. We believe the client is best
served and the employees are better trained, when the subject matter is tailored to the circumstances of
the individual organization. All of our finance and accounting programs and activities are tailored to adult
learning principles appropriate for each clients industry, situation, employees and needs.
Subject matter is tailored to the circumstances of the individual organization

Many companies provide onsite finance and accounting training, but are not there when you need followup. This is where Alliance is truly unique. We are available to provide support after the training. All of our
finance and accounting trainers are subject matter experts in their fields and have extensive hands-on
experience. In addition, they are master facilitators. This rare combination of extensive finance and
accounting experience and excellent training skills ensures you will receive a true learning experience.
In todays challenging market conditions and intensely competitive landscape, being able to get your
people moving in the same direction and working together as a team is critical to achieving goals.
Successful organizations recognize the need to continually develop both their employees and managers
knowledge in finance and accounting. At Alliance, we focus on performance. Whether your group is large
or small, Alliance has the right trainer and the right finance and accounting program for you and your
organization.

Martha Jenkins
(Over 1,000 training and speaking engagements to over 50,000 people)
Request A Proposal
Articles

Favorite Onsite Business Training Topics

Finance and Accounting

Sales and Use Tax

The 1099 Course

Experience
Martha specializes in the areas of payroll, wage and hour law, garnishment issues, and sales and use tax.
Making the obscure and complex simple and easily understood is undoubtedly Marthas greatest gift as a
trainer, consultant and teacher.
Martha Jenkins is a founder and president of Alliance Training and Consulting, Inc. Marthas business
training courses, E-learning programs, and graduate-level curriculum have been purchased and promoted
by some of the worlds largest and most respected training companies. Marthas curriculum development
capabilities provide programs which are truly customized to our clients needs. This unique ability is
appreciated by both our clients and other nationally recognized training companies. Martha provides
Alliance with the curriculum development capabilities to enable Alliance to create and design complete
training packages for our clients.
Education

Harding University, Searcy, AR B.A. Education

Further studies

University of Missouri, Kansas City, MO

University of Kansas, Overland Park, KS

Johnson County Community College, Overland Park, KS

Background
Over the past 25 years, Martha has served as content developer and technical expert for a myriad of
businesses in manufacturing, construction, distribution, retailing, and service providers. Martha has
written courses on payroll, garnishment, employee benefits, wage and hour, and sales and use tax and
has presented over 1,000 public seminars to more than 50,000 customers. She takes a very personal,
competent, and studied approach to her clients. Martha understands that even though these issues may
not dazzle the average person, they are critical for the financial health and success of every company.

Budgeting Best Practices for Tough Economic Times

Home / Finance and Accouting / Articles
Article By: Dale Mask
Because businesses face growing demands to control costs, managers at all levels need better budgeting
skills. However, most managers have not been trained on how to prepare a business budget. The fast
pace of economic change, the potential for cutbacks and the complexities of the marketplace make
developing effective budgets both more difficult and more important than ever before.
Bad Budgeting Can Kill Your Company!
Poor department budgeting spread across an organization can be disastrous. In a boom, there is enough
fat to absorb some bad judgment; in todays economy, good budget management becomes a survival
issue.
Important benefits of improving the budgeting process include:

Better companywide understanding of strategic goals

More coordinated support for company goals

More realistic budgets

Improved ability to respond quickly to competition and market changes

Implementing budgeting best practices is essential to meeting the strategic goals and objectives of the
organization. The following are key budget issues and best practices for every organization:

Budget issue: Budget development should be linked to corporate strategy

The budget expresses how resources will be allocated and how progress will be measured. When
the budget is linked to corporate strategy, all managers and employees have a clearer
understanding of strategic goals. This leads to greater support for goals, better coordination of
efforts, and, ultimately, to stronger companywide performance.

Best budgeting practice: Make certain strategic goals are set before budgeting begins. This not
only makes it easier for budget developers at all levels, fewer budget revisions are
required. Budget development then becomes not only faster and less costly, but also far less
frustrating.

Budget issue: Develop procedures to allocate resources strategically

Competition for resources is inevitable. Every business unit needs funding for both capital and
operating expenses. Because needs typically exceed actual resources available, resources must
be allocated to support key strategies.
Best budgeting practice: While it is often said that resource allocation is part science, part art,
applying best practices can lead to better results. One such practice is to give managers insight
into the ways in which changes in one budget effect the other. It is also important to develop
measures such as the company's weighted average cost of capital and the degree of risk
involved in competing plans of action, the costs or advantages associated with deferring action,
as well as factors such as expected developments in interest rates. By monitoring the results of
allocation efforts, companies can refine and improve their procedures.

Budget issue: Avoid incentives strictly tied to meeting budget targets

While it seems logical to evaluate managers primarily on how closely they hit budget targets, this
can tempt managers to "win" by playing games with budget targets. Such game playing is not
always in the company's best interest or ethical standards.
Best budgeting practice: Make meeting budget targets secondary to other performance
measures. Business unit managers should be involved in identifying the measures that are most
relevant for their operations. While some measures may be financial, other appropriate
nonfinancial measures could include product defect rate, customer satisfaction ratings and
others.

Budget issue: Tie cost management efforts to budgeting

Tying cost management efforts to budgeting improves the quality of information available for
managers when developing their budgets.
Best budgeting practice: Standardizing the cost management system companywide is an
important step in improving the link between cost management and budgeting. Using variance
analysis (studying the differences between budgeted and actual costs, or the study of costs at
one company compared with industry averages, will improve the overall budget process.

Budget issue: Understanding the budget process

Strive to reduce budget complexity and streamline budgeting procedures by making certain all
people with budget responsibilities understand the budget process. This allows management to
collect budget information, make allocation decisions, and communicate final targets in less time,
at lower cost, and with less disruption to the company's core activities.
Best budgeting practice: Leading companies make sure that budget developers and their
assistants are thoroughly trained on the process. This budget training for managers, together with
ongoing monitoring of information needs companywide, helps companies deliver the right
information to managers.

Budget issue: Ensure budgets accommodate change

Budgets that accommodate change help companies respond to competitive threats or
opportunities more quickly and with greater precision. Plus, knowing that budgets have some
flexibility frees budget developers from the need to "pad" budgets to cover a wide variety of
possibilities. This leads to leaner, more realistic budgets.
Best budgeting practice: While it is important that budgets not be revised to cover up for poor
performance or poor planning, best practice companies choose to revise budgets rather than
adhere to budgets that do not reflect current conditions.

In general, the essential characteristics of a sound budgeting process include:

Short and long-term perspective

Linkage to broad organizational goals

Budget decisions based on results and outcomes

Effective communication with internal and external stakeholders; and

Appropriate incentives for management and employees

How to Develop and Administer a Budget: Budgeting

for Managers
Home / Leadership and Management / Seminars and Workshops
This onsite Budgeting for Managers seminar is designed to make budgeting your most powerful and
reliable management tool. In this 1-day training, participants learn practical skills for monitoring costs,
planning efficient use of resources and achieving financial objectives.
Managers learn how to create and monitor a budget that will improve performance in their department
and the organization. They discover how to use the budget process as a planning tool to consistently
meet and exceed financial goals and expectations.
Using interactive discussion, case studies and practical exercises, participants learn how to determine
profit margin and break-even points. They will develop skills to accurately judge the impact of expenses
on projects and make forecasts on performance. Participants practice applying up-to-date rules and
techniques to truly understand the realities, opportunities and limits of the short and long-term budget
process.
Lets face it - most managers hate the budget process.
One reason budgeting is difficult for managers is that they share some misconceptions about budgets and
budgeting.
Do any of these sound familiar?

Managers see budgeting as a chore that ends up being a guess (at best) and something they
must endure to keep their boss and the controller off their back.

Managers see budgeting as a numbers game where you: Make the revenue match the expenses.
Show lots of complicated financial information.

Managers think the best way to get the budget approved is to use the phrase: Trust me, it all
adds up.

Managers take the approach of: Just tell me what you want, and Ill make the numbers work.

Managers understand the Do more with less motto, but dont have a clue as to how to do it.

Managers think making across-the-board cuts means to simply dilute all projects, services and
resources by a certain percentage.

If any of these budgeting myths sound familiar, your managers need this training.
When managers do not understand the budgeting process they are unable to effectively participate in a
decision-making process that can make, or break, your organization.
Tough economic times challenge managers to be good leaders. This is especially true when it comes to
dealing with financial issues. Economic pressures can cause indecision and poor decisions when it
comes to budgeting. Unfortunately, many managers have not had sufficient training to meet the challenge
of developing effective budgets even in good times.
This seminar trains managers how to build valid assumptions to make good financial decisions and build
flexibility into their budgets for a rapidly changing business environment.
Who Should Attend
This course is designed for managers who do not work in the accounting department, but need to have a
good understanding of the budgeting process.
Training Benefits

Apply the essential elements of a workable budget

Interpret the financial side of the organization

Recognize the sources of cash flow

Breakdown financial statements

Recognize the difference between direct, indirect, variable and fixed costs

Prepare a break-even analysis

Recognize alternatives to capital funding

Build flexibility into your budget

Prepare and deliver better budget presentations

Overview of Concepts and Deliverables Provided

Identify the rationale of budgeting

Recognize the approaches to budgeting

Recognize the correlation between the strategic plan, budgeting and the managerial process

Recall the variables of budgeting: factors, attitudes, environment, functions and inherent
problems

Identify the budget types

Identify the phases of budgeting: planning, preparation and control

Design a budget schedule

Apply the basic budgeting formula

Prepare and manage an operational budget for a department: burden rates, gross expenses and
earned value

Identify cost behavior: break-even, marginal costs, fixed & variable costs, committed &
discretionary costs, controllable & non-controllable, opportunity cost, regression

Recognize the difference between actual costing and standard costing

Determine how to estimate indirect/direct costs

Produce a sales/marketing budget: pricing a product/service

Recognize how to successfully present the budget

Identify how to monitor the budget

Discover the methods used for forecasting

Recall and utilize the most common financial ratios

Analyze and explain variances

Determine what factors effect the capital budget: NPV-ROI-Payback Period

Business Budgeting for Better Results: Helping

Managers Develop Better Budgets
Home / Finance and Accouting / Articles

Article By: Dale Mask

Your company is faced with the most challenging budget time you can remember. Managers are being
asked to cut budgets and, at the same time, target their efforts to achieve better results. Too often,
managers do not have the budget training they need to make this a reality.
The reality for many managers is: a recession or near-recession economy, increased competition and
increasing costs for necessary goods and services. How the manager uses this financial challenge to
transform the budgeting process and effectively plan for the future can be the real key to their success as
a manager and your success as an organization.
The temptation is to AXE the budget the need is BUDGET PLANNING to target better results.
While the temptation may be to simply start cutting the budget, budgeting for better results requires
collaboration, transparency, and the alignment of department and organizational goals. Since the budget
touches everything, simply saying Ill do more with less in todays economy just does not work.
Most managers do not like the budgeting process. They feel like it takes too long, and yields little benefit
for the effort invested. Training managers on the budgeting process helps by:

Making budgeting less painful and more productive

Aligning their department with organization's strategic and business plans

Bridging the communications gap with senior management

Overcoming weak budgeting process due to lack of understanding

Help managers avoid common budgeting errors.

1. Overstating projections. Enron is not the only example of over-promising and under-delivering. Realistic
budgets and projections may make it more difficult to get funding, but the money you do get will be fiscally
responsible. Having a budget that makes sense and is achievable makes it easier to have a profitable plan
to follow an important performance objective for any manager.
2. Ignoring real budgetary needs. If the plan shows that you need $40,000 to take a product to market, do
not ask for only $20,000. Senior managers and controllers will only wonder why they should give you
money for a project that will fail without additional funding. \ If a manager is going to show real leadership
skills, they need to present realistic and achievable budgets.
3. Failing to budget appropriate timeframes. Failure to budget the appropriate items in a strategic
timeframe will under-utilize finances needed to achieve goals in some months and can lead to overspending
in other months.
In most every situation, there is a lag time between the finalization of the deal and cash collection. This is a
fact of business and should not be a problem, assuming you are prepared. Unfortunately, many businesses
run into serious cash-flow problems because they spend money they do not yet have. In many situations,
purchases can be delayed for 30 days, or more, with a little wisdom, discretion and foresight. This can have
a major positive impact in tough financial times.

4.

(To this end, Finance for Nonfinancial Managers can be important training for many managers. Most fist-time
managers have never received training on how to read a financial statement or training at any level
of Financial Analysis.)
Not aligning department budgets with corporate strategy. Competition for resources within an
organization is inevitable. Every business unit needs funding for both capital and operating
expenses. Because needs typically exceed actual resources available, resources must be allocated to
support key strategies. When the budget is linked to corporate strategy, managers and employees have a

clearer understanding of strategic goals. This leads to greater support for goals, better coordination of
efforts, and, ultimately, to stronger companywide performance.
5. Not ensuring that the budget accommodates change. Developing budgets that accommodate change
help companies respond to competitive threats or opportunities more quickly and with greater
precision. Plus, knowing that budgets have some flexibility frees the manager from the need to "pad" the
budget to cover a wide variety of possible developments. This leads to leaner, more realistic budgets overall.
Formulating a vision and strategic plan for the department and the organization is the hard part. Formulating the
budget should be the easy part, but this is where many strategic plans are shattered. When managers understand
the budget process, crunching the numbers is far more simple. The key is training managers to develop
and administer their budgets effectively. Managers who develop and manage their budgets carefully will improve
performance in their department and help your organization meet and exceed your financial goals and expectations
even in tough economic times.
Business budgeting in tough economic times means more than just taking an axe to chop away the fat. Todays
business budgets require taking careful aim at how to best target corporate recourses to achieve strategic goals, and
it requires the knowledgeable budgeting on the part of every manager with a budget.

By: Dale Mask

Use Training Needs Analysis to Improve Training ROI

Home / Train The Trainer / Article
By: Dale Mask
The manager complains that his sales people are not meeting sales quotas and need sales training. But,
what kind of training is needed? Do they need training on sales negotiation, product knowledge, customer
service skills or other areas?
Once that question is answered, other questions begin to surface. What is the training budget? What
instructional method will be used? What is the level of instruction needed? What training design criteria
will best meet the employees learning style? (We are just getting started with the questions.) And, of
course the BIG question: Will the training do any good? Perhaps poor sales are a result of the economy
and training is not the solution.
The Training Needs Analysis (TNA) is designed to answer all those questions and more. Whether the
training is related to soft skills such as communication and leadership or technical job specific skills, the
importance of TNA cannot be overemphasized.
Not only does TNA identify if training will actually solve a performance problem, it also identifies specific
performance areas requiring training, who needs training and how the training should be designed.
Training without TNA would be like a doctor prescribing a treatment
without assessing the extent of the person's illness.
Without TNA, learners often find the training session misses the mark. As a result:

Learners have to make generalizations to relate the training content to job expectations.

They have difficulty applying new knowledge and skills on the job.

They simply fail to improve performance.

While TNA requires some effort, even the smallest business can benefit from the process without major
expense. The following are some basic guidelines to help you implement an effective Training Needs
Analysis.
At the most basic level, the TNA identifies the gap between desired performance and actual employee
performance. But the TNA must also consider the overall organizational strategy, specific tasks, user and
learner needs, specific content to be trained and the return on the training investment.
A Training Needs Analysis should include six types of analyses.
1. Organization Analysis
Training must have organizational support. Manager support is essential to provide the time and
resources needed. They must recognize the training as being in alignment with the business strategy. In
other words, what is the business case for the training? Look at organizational issues such as:

Efficiency indices such as costs of labor, costs of materials, quality

Organizational goals and objectives, mission statements, strategic plans

Plans for reorganization or job restructuring

Changes in equipment and technology

Employee attitudes and satisfaction

Succession planning

Short and long term staffing needs

Skills inventory: currently available and short and long term needs

Additional key questions:

Who is requesting the training?

Why do we think training is needed?

How does the training align with the organizational strategy?

What is the business need for the training?

2. User Analysis
The important questions being answered by this analysis are: who will receive the training and what is
their current level of knowledge, what is their learning style, what training format will be used (instructorled, e-learning, blended, etc.) and who is qualified to conduct the training?
Training factors such as education, age, experience, time and even factors such as negative experiences
with past training can create resistance to some approaches to training and the willingness of adult
learners to participate in and benefit from a learning experience.

Additional key questions:

Is there a lack of knowledge?

Do performance expectations require a higher level of skill?

Are there other reasons for poor performance?

What training has been done in the past? Was it successful?

Could the previous training be utilized? Does it need to be changed?

When will the training occur?

3. Task Analysis
The task analysis determines the Knowledge, Skills, Behaviors, and Abilities (KSBAs) required. It focuses
on specific responsibilities of the job, performance standards and how results are measured. Relating the
KSBAs to operating problems such as downtime, waste, poor quality, and service problems allow you to
identify the gaps between desired and actual performance. Plus, it helps define whether training is a
solution to the performance issue.
Additional key questions:

What is the job and what are the main duties?

What are the KSBAs of the job?

What attitudes are needed on the job?

What are the standards of performance?

How is performance measured?

Are current standards being met? How often is performance feedback provided?

Are there consequences for poor performance? (If there are no consequences to
performance, the performance may not be seen as important. Adult learners must view
the task as important to be motivated to learn required knowledge and skills.)

Are there work environment issues that could cause poor performance? (Noise,
temperature, etc.)

Data should be gathered from people having direct knowledge of the tasks, responsibilities and the
expected level of performance. Subject matter experts, supervisors and high-performing employees can
give you the best information.
4. Learner Analysis

The learner analysis identifies who can benefit from training and who is ready for the learning experience.
For example: An advance Excel training session may not benefit the person who has no prior experience
using Excel.
Additional key questions:

Who requires training?

What is their experience level?

Is the learner aware of the need for training? (This could be due to performance
feedback, being aware of coming changes in procedures, technology, etc.)

With their current skills and knowledge, are they ready to move to the next level that the
training is intended to provide?

What are the real and perceived barriers to performance? (This could include issues such
as task overload, red-tape and problems with management or coworkers.)

What is their learning style?

To what degree is the employee involved in their own personal development and career
planning?

What time do they have available for training?

Keeping records such as training progress charts, up-to-date listing of current skills, performance data,
work samples and performance evaluation can help here. Interviewing employees about their job
challenges and training needs is often one of the best approaches to learner analysis.
5. Content Analysis
The content analysis guides the design of instructionally sound, meaningful, and interactive training
programs required by adult learners. Take care to understand laws, procedures related to the job and
what knowledge or information is used on the job. This information is often available in manuals,
documents, or regulations. An experienced worker can assist (as a subject matter expert) to define
appropriate content.
Additional key questions:

Is the training part of a sequential learning experience?

What prerequisites in knowledge and experience exist?

What is critical to learn? If it is not critical to success, do not teach it.

Is the content available in manuals, procedures or other documentation?

In what order or sequence should the learning elements be provided?

How will the content go beyond theory and be related directly to job application?

What practice can be applied in the learning session?

How will learning be measured? Test? Application? Other?

How will the learning be reinforced on the job? Performance feedback? Management
support and coaching? Other?

What training delivery format will be used? (Instructor-led, online, blended, etc.)

6. ROI Analysis
Training should be treated as an investment - not a cost. Analyze what the pay off will be. Define tangible
and intangible benefits that are expected from the training.
Additional key questions:

What specific benefits are expected from the training? Increased productivity, time, fewer
errors, etc.

What are the intangible benefits? Improved morale, lower legal liability, improved team
effort, etc.

How will you determine the success of the training?

How will the ROI be measured or calculated?

Putting bottom line numbers to the benefits defines the return on investment (ROI) for the training and
helps build your business case for future training in your department.
How to Collect Training Needs Analysis Data:
The process of gaining the data for the TNA can be as simple as asking the employee questions or
sophisticated questionnaires and surveys.
Here is a good basic list of questions to get started with your TNA. Focusing interviews, questionnaires,
and other forms of collecting TNA data around these issues can help you collect appropriate information.
This list is not to be considered the only questions you will want to ask - it is just a good starting point.

What tasks do you do regularly?

What difficulties do you face when doing these tasks or your job?

What could help you to do your job better?

What kinds of knowledge do you need to do your job?

What skills do you need to do your job?

What kinds of attitudes do you need to do your job effectively?

What knowledge, skill and attitudes do you lack now?

How long have you worked in this job?

What do you like most about your job?

What do you like least?

What would you like to change about your job?

Do you think you are doing a good job?

How do you know if you are doing a good job?

What are your job and career goals?

What training do you feel could help you achieve your goals?

What on-the-job coaching do you receive?

What kind of training in the past has been most helpful? Least helpful?

The answers to these questions can help steer your training and training development process in the right
direction. Getting this kind of information is essential to the TNA process. Interviews are one way to
collect TNA data, but there are more options.
Here are six approaches most commonly used to collect data for a TNA.
One-On-One Interviews: Interviewing staff, supervisors and relevant others, such as customers, can
provide excellent data on job, task and attitudes. Results can be difficult to analyze if not done by a
person with good interviewing skills. Anonymity and time are also issues here.
Observation: Observe the employee completing the task. A checklist of behaviors and sequences can be
helpful. Rating results is also an important part of this approach. Be careful that the observer does not
distract or effect the employee's ability to do the task. Observation can be time consuming.
Surveys/Questionnaires: Questions related to the organization, tasks or the individual themselves can
provide excellent data regarding knowledge, perceptions and attitudes. Make certain the questions are
carefully designed to achieve accurate information. Anonymity and perceived negative consequences can
create problems with this approach.
Group Interviews: Group interviews can save time and are especially good when multiple perspectives
are important. However, the interviewer must be a skilled facilitator to bring out all issues. Do not allow the
discussion to be dominated by a few or an individual with status or position.
Documentation: Performance records, evaluations, training records and other documentation can be of
tremendous value in determining training needs. Be careful that the data collected is accurate and
objective. Subjective performance reviews may be of limited value.

Performance Tests: While tests can be difficult to design and often expensive, certain skills can be
tested using standardized tests and metrics can be measured to provide quantitative data (multiple
choice, fill in the blank etc.) of performance levels.
There is no best method of gathering Training Needs Analysis data. A combination of methods is most
often the best approach.
The Training Needs Analysis is a critical activity for the training and development function. A thorough
TNA identifies what specific performance areas require training, who will benefit from training and how the
training should be designed. Effective TNA maximizes the return on your training investment.

Budgeting for Managers

Home / Leadership and Management / Seminars and Workshops
Who Should Attend
All management employees and their assistants who are involved in the budgeting process.
(Recommended for two-day training, can be customized for one-day training)
Training Benefits

Recognize the principles, techniques and practices applicable to every business

Identify how budgeting principles, techniques and practices apply specifically to your business
Evaluate the use of your budget forms
Overview of Concepts and Deliverables Provided
Day One

Assess your companys present budget, manager's budget, budget forms, pre-budgeting activity
and budgeting process

Recognize inherent problems in the budgeting process

Evaluate how your budget plans allow for the occurrence of inherent problems

Distinguish the must elements of planning a budget

Evaluate your budget plans to determine if these elements have been addressed

Identify and define an organization's outputs

Determine what controls those outputs

Verify the three kinds of organizational inputs

Integrate these inputs specifically to your organization

Day Two

Identify costs and cost drivers

Prepare for uncertainty

Recognize assumptions as powerful tools in overcoming uncertainty

Determine outside environmental factors and internal uncontrollable factors

Provide participants with tools to effectively communicate opportunities and problems in

meaningful terms to bosses, peers and subordinates

Recognize the three sources of budget numbers

Specify the key questions that must be answered before revenue forecasting

Recall the principles of effective cost budgeting

Verify the different types of capital expenditures and how they should be justified

Formulate process for obtaining budget approval

How much does our training cost?

We hear that question a lot. Would free be too much? Training is not a cost it is an investment. It
really doesnt matter what we pay for an investment, what is relevant is what we get in return. One of the
ways to jeopardize an organizations future, and increase the probability of troubled times, is to look at
training only as a cost. A much greater cost would be paying the price of not training, or providing
substandard training that does not really provide performance improvement. An organizations
competence and success are in direct proportion to what their employees know and how well the
employees apply what they know.