Brilliant Budgets and Forecasts: Your Practical Guide to Preparing and Presenting Financial Information (Brilliant Business)

Cover
Brilliant Budgets and Forecasts
Contents
About the author
Foreword
Introduction
Part 1 Budgeting and forecasting essentials
	Understanding budgets and forecasts
		Definitions of budgets and budget forecasts
		Profit and loss forecasts
		Cash flow forecasts
		Spreadsheet-based budgets and forecasts for day-to-day management
		Forecasts – not the sole province of accountants
		Planning cycles
		Fixed, rolling and perpetual forecasts
		Can a forecast ever be right? Does it need to be?
		Summary
	Using budgets and forecasts
		Budget management
		Planning and ‘what if’
		Cost control
		Raising finance
		Cash flow control
		Summary
Part 2 Spreadsheet essentials
	Understanding computer spreadsheets
		How to use the example files
		What are spreadsheets?
		Examples of principal facilities and functions
		Handy tips and shortcuts
		Summary
	Spreadsheet techniques for budgeting and forecasting
		So many ways and means
		Essential practices and conventions
		Example forecasts
		Examples of non-essential but useful techniques
		Summary
Part 3 Building the illustration framework
	Preparations for the illustration budget
		Are everyone’s objectives the same?
		Budgeting methods
		Review of a budgeting process
		The example business ‘Widget Makers Ltd’
		Deciding the requirements of the example budget
		A single or departmental budget?
		Cost categories
		Cost headings
		Categorising cost headings
		Revenue headings
		The forecast’s duration and periods
		Summary
	Creating the illustration framework
		The sales forecast
		The budget forecast
		The cash flow forecast
		Summary
Part 4 Using the illustration framework
	Assembling the budget
		Making the sales forecast
		Making the budget forecast
		Cash flow forecast adjustments
		Charts and key indicators
		Key ratios
		Summary
	Causes and effects
		Adjustment and refinement
		The reiteration process
		Examining causes and effects
		Simple cause and effect
		Address the cause or the effect?
		Gross profitability of each product
		Summary
	Allocation, monitoring and reviewing
		Visibility, clarity and relevance
		Budget allocation
		Performance monitoring principles
		Setting up monitoring for the Widget Makers Ltd forecast
		Recording actual figures
		Reviewing the forecast
		Summary
	Further analysis
		The impact of change on cash flow
		The effect of rapid growth on cash flow
		‘What if’ analysis
		Summary
Part 5 Handling VAT
	VAT in the forecast
		What is VAT?
		Calculating and paying VAT
		Cash flow forecast VAT calculations
		Summary
Part 6 Measuring and controlling costs
	Measuring and controlling costs
		First things first
		Absolute figures and percentages
		Measuring production costs
		Measuring manpower costs
		Activity based costing (ABC)
		Summary
Part 7 A practical forecasting framework
	A practical forecasting framework
		Features and uses of the practical template
		Structure of the practical template
		Sales and direct costs
		Profit and loss/budget
		Cash forecast
		Asset register
		A typical month end routine
		Summary
Glossary
Index