Introduction
This GLOMACS training course equips professionals to plan, fund and control costs with confidence. Organisations and projects that overrun budgets or misjudge true costs lose competitiveness, credibility and customer trust, so mastering these disciplines is essential. The course links budgeting and costing directly to strategy execution, showing how accurate estimates, realistic budgets and disciplined cost control protect profitability across both business operations and projects. Participants build practical skills that translate immediately into better decisions and stronger financial performance.
Combining proven organisational costing and budgeting techniques with project cost management principles, the course covers cost concepts, estimating methods, budget development, baselining, change control and performance measurement. Participants learn to apply traditional and advanced costing approaches, use risk reserves and contingency effectively, and track results using earned value and balanced performance measures. Through structured practice, they leave able to build credible budgets, spot variances early, and report cost performance clearly to senior management, customers and other stakeholders.
This training course will highlight:
- The link between strategy, budgeting and cost management
- Cost estimating techniques and budget development methods
- Traditional and activity-based costing approaches
- Cost baselines, control accounts and change control
- Earned value management and performance measurement
Objectives
At the end of this training course, you will learn to:
- Link budgeting and costing to strategy
- Apply techniques to estimate costs accurately
- Develop realistic budgets and cost baselines
- Analyse variances using earned value measures
- Design performance measurement and reporting systems
Training Methodology
This training course uses a workshop approach that combines structured presentations with interactive discussion and practical exercises. Worked examples and case-based activities show how each tool applies in both operational and project environments. Participants practise each technique before applying it to their own workplace situations. The course introduces concepts gradually, moving from fundamentals to more advanced cost control and performance measurement.
Organisational Impact
The Organisation will have the following benefits:
- Stronger alignment of budgets with strategy
- Improved accuracy of cost estimates
- Greater visibility into sources of cost
- Better control over project and operational spend
- Consistent cost governance across the organisation
- Improved reporting to customers and stakeholders
Personal Impact
At the end of this training course, the participants will gain the following:
- Confidence in building credible budgets
- Practical estimating and costing skills
- Ability to interpret cost and variance data
- Understanding of earned value management
- Skills to report cost performance clearly
- Stronger career prospects in cost roles
Who should Attend?
This course suits professionals who prepare, manage or review budgets and costs. It is relevant across finance, operations and project functions.
This training course is suitable to a wide range of professionals but will greatly benefit:
- Finance and accounting professionals
- Project managers and team leaders
- Project control and planning professionals
- Business unit and operations managers
- Anyone responsible for budgets and costs
Strategy, Budgeting and the Cost Management Framework
- The link between strategy, planning, budgeting and cost management
- The role and value of budgeting within the management process
- Financial and managerial accounting as sources of decision-making information
- Overview of the balance sheet, income statement and cash flow
- Behavioural implications of budgeting
- Project life cycles and the project cost management processes
- Identifying key budgeting and costing issues within your organisation
Cost Concepts and Cost Estimating
- Cost concepts and terminology: different costs for different purposes
- Fixed and variable costs and cost-volume-profit analysis
- Contribution margin analysis
- Determining the full cost of outputs
- Work breakdown structure and work packages as estimating building blocks
- Cost estimating techniques and their inputs
- Optimising the schedule and estimating overall cost
Developing the Budget and Cost Baseline
- Budgeting methods and constructing an efficient budget
- Estimating personnel, materials, equipment and overhead costs
- Aggregating costs into a detailed budget
- Risk response planning, risk reserves and contingency
- Using S-curves for cost and risk
- Establishing the cost performance baseline
- Identifying data sources to support the budgeting process
Cost Control: Traditional and Advanced Techniques
- Consequences of under-costing and over-costing for profitability
- Refining a costing system
- Direct and indirect costs: traditional allocation and activity-based costing
- Cost drivers linking resources, activities and management
- Activity-based budgeting and management
- Control accounts and control account planning
- Change control and re-baselining the cost baseline
- Tracking costs and hours worked
Performance Measurement, Earned Value and Reporting
- Limitations of traditional budgeting and performance measurement
- Linking financial and operational performance
- Earned value management and its key measures
- Analysing variances, performance indices and forecasts
- Options for recovering from unacceptable variances
- Balanced scorecard perspectives and adapting them to your organisation
- Reporting cost performance to senior management and customers
- Upon successful completion of this training course, GLOMACS Certificate will be awarded to the delegates. Continuing Professional Education credits (CPE): In accordance with the standards of the National Registry of CPE Sponsors, one CPE credit is granted per 50 minutes of attendance
Endorsed Education Provider
