Financial Planning & Analysis: Building a Company's Budget from Udemy

Looking to boost your income as a financial analyst?

Looking to acquire valuable skills that will set you aside from the competition?

You’ve come to the right place.

Financial Planning & Analysis: Building a Company’s Budget from Scratch guides you through the core principles of financial planning and helps you understand how a company prepares a budget. The video lessons touch on several technical topics such as revenue forecasting, cost planning, working capital development, fixed assets roll-forward, and cash flow calculation. Besides that, we will discuss why firms need budgets, which are the financial statements that a company uses to create its budget, what types of budgets are there, which are the main techniques used in financial planning, who is involved in the preparation of a budget, and who is interested in the final numbers that are signed-off in the budget. Specializing in these topics will turn you into a valuable, indispensable member of any company’s Finance team.

Experienced Instructor

Antoniya is a Finance Manager with more than 10 years of experience in FP&A teams. She is the right teacher for you because she understands how to explain a complicated topic in an easy to comprehend way. She is passionate about teaching and happy to answer your questions.

Well structured

This course shows it all, with no steps skipped. The lessons are easy, time-efficient, and well structured. We have used a number of teaching methods. Video lectures, Theory, Real business Examples, Animations, Quiz Questions, Case Studies, a Course Challenge ... you name it.

Why should you learn about FP&A and Budgeting?

One of the most important activities in Corporate Finance

A key topic in interviews, especially when hiring people with a few years of experience
Budgeting is great for networking – you communicate with some of the most important individuals within a company
Salary. FP&A specialists enjoy a very well-paid career
Promotions. Financial Planning Analysts acquire valuable technical skills and are well-known throughout the organization, which makes them the leading candidates for senior roles
Growth. Forecasting what will occur in the future is always interesting and full of surprises

Interactive experience

Here comes the fun part.

We have a challenge for you. After each major block you have covered, you will be asked to solve a challenge. You will:

Predict a company’s sales
Create a budget for the costs that will support the expected level of sales
Work on a Production Budget
Calculate expected Net Cash Flows
Prepare a budgeted Income Statement and Balance Sheet

Sounds interesting, right?

At the end of the challenge, you will send us the work that you’ve done, and we will send back personalized feedback to you. This makes for an interactive student experience that optimizes what you will learn from the course.

The students who complete the task will participate in our monthly Amazon Gift Card lottery with the chance of winning a $10 gift card, rewarding them for their engagement.

What makes this course different from the rest of the Finance courses that are out there?

High quality of production – Full HD video and animations (This isn’t a collection of boring lectures. )
Knowledgeable instructor (experience working for companies like 3M and Coca-Cola)
Specialized training – the only course that covers this topic on Udemy
Extensive Case Studies that will help you reinforce everything you’ve learned
Course Challenge: Solve our Course Challenge and make this course an interactive experience
Excellent support: If you don’t understand a concept, or you simply want to drop us a line, you’ll receive an answer within 1 business day
Dynamic: We don’t want to waste your time. The instructor keeps up a very good pace throughout the whole course.

Please don’t forget that the course comes with Udemy’s 30-day, unconditional money-back-in-full guarantee. And why not give such a guarantee, when we are convinced that the course will provide a ton of value for you?

Click the 'Buy now' button to get access to the course and boost your career.

What's inside

Learning objectives

Prepare a company's budget from scratch
Learn to differentiate between top-down and bottom-up techniques
Prepare the revenue budget of a company
Project a company's planned level of production
Calculate net cash flow

Project various types of expenditures
Estimate working capital needs
Carry out a fixed asset rollforward
Build an integrated financial model
Learn to build financial statements in excel

Prepare a company's budget from scratch
Learn to differentiate between top-down and bottom-up techniques
Prepare the revenue budget of a company
Project a company's planned level of production
Calculate net cash flow
Project various types of expenditures
Estimate working capital needs
Carry out a fixed asset rollforward
Build an integrated financial model
Learn to build financial statements in excel

Syllabus

Course Introduction

Course Introduction. What does the Course cover?

Getting Started with Financial Planning and Analysis

What is a budget and why do we need it?

The Accounting Framework

Major Financial Statements

Understanding the Income Statement

Understanding the Balance Sheet

Cash vs. Profit

Understanding the Cash Flow Statement

Direct vs. Indirect Method

Major Interrelatioships between the Financial Statements

Mechanics of the Budgeting Process

The Importance of Budgeting

Completing 33% of the Course

Key Steps in Budget Preparation

The Budget Horizon

Budgeting Levels of Detail

Budgeting Approaches

Updating the Budget

Who prepares the Budget?

The Master Budget

The Budget Sign-off

Completing 50% of the Course

Time for a Case Study: Henry's Hats

Company Overview

Calculating Revenue - The Bottom-up Approach

Calculating Revenue - The Top-down Approach

Understanding COGS Calculation

Calculating Volume of Production

Direct Materials and Direct Labor

Production Overheads

Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) Summary

The Payroll Budget

The SG&A Budget

Balance Sheet Items - Overview

The Cash Conversion Cycle

The Working Capital Budget

The Fixed Assets Budget

Loan Repayment Schedule

Completing Henry's Hats' Master Budget

The Budgeted Income Statement

The Budgeted Balance Sheet

The Budgeted Cash Flow Statement

Presenting the Results

Course notes

Course Challenge

Course Challenge - 99 Agency

Completing 100% of the Course

Who Does What in Finance? (optional)

Who Does What in Finance?

Good to know

Know what's good

, what to watch for

, and possible dealbreakers

Develops professional skills and deep expertise in planning and budgeting

Explores budgeting techniques and concepts, which are standard in industry best practices

Teaches financial planning and budgeting processes, which helps learners increase their value within finance teams

Instructed by Antoniya, a finance manager with over 10 years of FP&A team experience

Emphasizes networking and interpersonal knowledge, which helps learners advance their careers

Reviews summary

Simplified budgeting & analysis foundations

learners say this course is largely positive for gaining an elementary comprehension of budgeting and financial analysis. The course is considered well-received as it begins with fundamental concepts and incrementally builds upon the information until learners grasp more advanced ideas like preparing a master budget. While it is best suited for beginners seeking foundational knowledge, more experienced finance professionals may find it simplistic. Key features include digestible lectures, engaging graphics and animations, real-life examples, downloadable resources, and evaluation tools like quizzes and challenges. Overall, students remarked that this course effectively demystifies budgeting and financial analysis, making complex concepts more approachable.

Real-world case studies and examples help illustrate the concepts and make them relatable for learners.

"The course is great and well thought out. it explains very well the material on budgeting and forcasting without any unnecessary chaff, very well, straight to the point."

Animations and graphics enhance the learning experience and make the content more engaging and easier to understand.

"the instructor goes a little too fast. The course is great, but I would have liked if he spent more time on thinking through the development model and the types of calculations."

"I've found some interesting topics regarding the Financial Planning process. I am working as an IT FP&A support. Now I understand the reason for some monthly activities."

Suitable for those with little to no prior knowledge in budgeting or finance, as it starts with the basics and gradually introduces more advanced concepts.

The final challenge in the course contains errors, which can be frustrating for learners.

"The final assignment was not well prepared. The given numbers in the solution and the task sheet differ, and there is magic numbers in the solution that came from nowhere in the provided information about the fictive company."

While the course provides a good foundation, some learners may find it too simplistic and lacking in depth for their needs.

"This course is great. I would skip the intro. If someone doesn´t have a very basic accounting knowledge they won´t be able to follow the rest of the course."

"It was a good detail provided by the instructor about the course ,the only drawback is that his pace was very fast also he should have included more practical examples."

Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in Financial Planning & Analysis: Building a Company's Budget with these activities:

Review Basic Financial Accounting Concepts

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Brush up on your knowledge of financial accounting principles and practices, as they are foundational to understanding financial planning and analysis.

Browse courses on Financial Statements

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Review the accounting equation and its components.
Understand the purpose and structure of the balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow statement.
Practice analyzing financial statements to identify key financial metrics and trends.

Learn Excel for Financial Modeling

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Develop proficiency in Excel, particularly in functions and formulas used for financial analysis and modeling.

Browse courses on Excel

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Explore Excel's financial functions, such as SUM, AVERAGE, PV, and NPV.
Learn to build financial models in Excel, including income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements.
Practice using Excel to perform financial analysis and forecasting.

Practice Revenue Forecasting Techniques

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Gain hands-on experience in applying various revenue forecasting techniques, such as trend analysis and regression analysis, to predict future revenue streams.

Browse courses on Revenue Forecasting

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Collect historical revenue data and identify trends.
Apply regression analysis to forecast future revenue based on historical data.
Evaluate the accuracy of your revenue forecasts.

Four other activities

Expand to see all activities and additional details

Show all seven activities

Attend a Workshop on Financial Planning and Budgeting

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Engage in interactive learning and discussions with experts and peers in financial planning and budgeting.

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Identify and register for a relevant workshop.
Attend the workshop and actively participate in activities.
Network with other attendees.

Volunteer with a Non-Profit Organization

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Gain practical experience in applying financial planning and budgeting principles to real-world scenarios by volunteering with a non-profit organization.

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Identify a non-profit organization aligned with your interests.
Inquire about volunteer opportunities related to financial management or budgeting.
Assist with tasks such as budget preparation, financial reporting, or fundraising.

Develop a Budget for a Business Case

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Apply the concepts of financial planning and budgeting to create a comprehensive budget for a hypothetical business scenario.

Show steps

Gather financial data and assumptions.
Determine revenue projections.
Estimate operating expenses and capital expenditures.
Create a projected income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement.

Participate in a Case Competition

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Challenge yourself and apply your financial planning and budgeting skills by participating in a case competition.

Show steps

Identify and register for a case competition.
Analyze the case study and develop a comprehensive financial plan.
Present your plan to a panel of judges.

Career center

Learners who complete Financial Planning & Analysis: Building a Company's Budget will develop knowledge and skills that may be useful to these careers:

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Actuary

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Data Analyst

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Business Analyst

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