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Mastering Spreadsheet Skills for Planning, Forecasting and Budgeting

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Why Choose Us

Mastering spreadsheet skills for planning, forecasting and budgeting gives finance and planning professionals the technical Excel capability to build models that are accurate, defensible, and fit for purpose across the full planning cycle.

The course covers Excel best practice and financial modelling principles alongside applied forecasting techniques including moving averages, linear regression, exponential smoothing, and the use of Excel Solver to minimise forecasting error.

Budgeting content addresses both traditional and advanced cost analysis approaches, rolling forecast model construction, and the limitations of conventional budgeting methods.

Cash flow forecasting, capital investment appraisal, and DCF analysis are all covered with direct Excel model-building exercises — giving delegates hands-on experience rather than theoretical understanding alone.

The course closes with risk management integration, covering probability-based decision-making, sensitivity analysis, decision tree construction in Excel, and what-if forecasting — ensuring delegates can build models that account for uncertainty as well as base-case assumptions.

Why Choose Mastering Spreadsheet Skills for Planning, Forecasting and Budgeting
Course Goals

What are the Goals?

This mastering spreadsheet skills for planning, forecasting and budgeting course is designed to give delegates applied Excel modelling capability across the full planning cycle — from strategic financial modelling and business forecasting through to budgeting, cash flow management, and risk-integrated scenario analysis.

By the end of this course, delegates will be able to:

  • Apply Excel best practice to financial modelling: Structure and build financial models using established Excel best practice and modelling principles.
  • Use statistical tools for forecasting: Apply moving averages, linear regression, exponential smoothing, and Excel Solver to analyse data and minimise forecasting error.
  • Build rolling forecast models: Construct rolling forecast models that incorporate regression and correlation techniques for cost and revenue projection.
  • Analyse and present data effectively: Visualise financial data clearly for non-financial managers using appropriate data presentation techniques in Excel.
  • Build cash flow forecast models: Construct cash flow forecast models in Excel and apply capital investment appraisal tools including DCF analysis.
  • Build capital investment appraisal models: Develop structured Excel models for evaluating and comparing capital investment decisions.
  • Integrate risk into planning models: Apply probability-based decision-making, build decision trees in Excel, and construct what-if sensitivity analysis models to incorporate risk into planning and forecasting outputs.

Who is this Training Course for?

This course is ideal for professionals involved in financial planning, forecasting, and budgeting. It's tailored for:

  • Financial accounting team members
  • Cost and management accounting staff
  • Finance managers
  • Budget managers
  • Commercial managers
  • Capital investment and project team members
Learning Approach

How will this Training Course be Presented?

The Mastering Spreadsheet Skills for Planning, Forecasting, and Budgeting Training Course uses a participative workshop format, incorporating a range of adult learning techniques to ensure full comprehension and retention of course material. Each day’s sessions will begin with a solid theoretical foundation, followed by practical, hands-on exercises using Excel's powerful functions and tools. Delegates will apply these techniques to real-life case studies, ensuring the skills they learn are directly applicable to their roles.

Key aspects of course delivery include:

  • Engaging, hands-on workshops focused on Excel skills.
  • Case studies and practical applications to reinforce learning.
  • Use of advanced Excel features like Solver, regression, and sensitivity analysis.

The Course Content

Fundamentals of Business Planning

  • The aims and principles of strategic planning
  • A framework for effective strategic execution
  • The structure and format of financial statements
  • Measuring and managing financial performance
  • Principles of financial modelling
  • Spreadsheet skills: Excel best practice and modelling tips

Principles and Techniques of Business Forecasting

  • Spreadsheet skills: using Excel’s statistical analysis tools
  • Using moving averages to analyse time series data
  • Using linear regression for sales trend analysis
  • Applying exponential smoothing to forecasting
  • Spreadsheet skills: using Excel Solver to minimise forecasting error
  • Avoiding common forecasting problems
  • Data visualisation – presenting data to non-financial managers

Budgeting for Revenue and Operating Costs

  • The role of budgeting in the planning cycle
  • Traditional and advanced approaches to cost analysis
  • Spreadsheet skills: using regression and correlation for cost forecasts
  • Criticisms and limitations of conventional budgeting methods
  • Beyond Budgeting
  • Spreadsheet skills: building rolling forecast models

Cash Flow Forecasting and Cash Budgeting

  • Understanding the drivers of business cash flow
  • Spreadsheet skills: building a cash flow forecast model
  • Principles of capital budgeting
  • Capital investment appraisal tools
  • Understanding discounted cash flow (DCF) analysis
  • Spreadsheet skills: building a capital investment appraisal model

Incorporating Risk Management in to Planning and Forecasting

  • Identifying and analysing business risk
  • Probability based approach to decision-making
  • Spreadsheet skills: building decision trees in Excel
  • Sensitivity analysis and “What-If” forecasting
  • Identifying the key drivers of financial performance
  • Spreadsheet skills: building a “What-If” forecast for sensitivity analysis
Recognition

Certificate

  • • AZTech Certificate of Completion for delegates who attend and complete the training course.
Collaborations

In Partnership With

Anderson Copex Coventry

Frequently Asked Questions

The course covers Excel's statistical analysis tools as applied to real forecasting challenges, including moving averages for time series analysis, linear regression for sales trend analysis, exponential smoothing for demand and revenue forecasting, and Excel Solver for minimising forecasting error. These are taught as practical forecasting tools rather than statistical theory, with direct application to the types of data and decisions finance and planning professionals encounter in their roles.  

Building a cash flow forecast model in Excel is covered as a structured modelling exercise, addressing the drivers of business cash flow and how they are captured within a model that can be updated and interrogated over time. Capital budgeting principles, capital investment appraisal tools, and DCF analysis are covered alongside the cash flow model, and delegates build a capital investment appraisal model in Excel as a separate applied exercise.  

Sensitivity analysis and what-if forecasting are covered as applied risk management tools within the planning and forecasting context, addressing how to identify the key drivers of financial performance and build Excel models that test how outcomes change as key assumptions vary. Delegates build a what-if forecast model for sensitivity analysis directly in Excel, giving them a replicable structure they can adapt for their own planning scenarios.  

Rolling forecast models are built as a hands-on Excel exercise within the budgeting content, covering how to structure a model that updates automatically as new data becomes available and how regression and correlation techniques are incorporated to improve cost and revenue projection accuracy. Delegates learn how rolling forecasts differ from static annual budgets and what the practical advantages are for organisations operating in environments where assumptions change frequently during the planning cycle.  

The limitations and criticisms of conventional budgeting methods are addressed as part of the budgeting content, giving delegates a balanced view of where traditional approaches create planning rigidity or behavioural distortions. The Beyond Budgeting concept is introduced as an alternative philosophy, covering what it involves and the contexts in which organisations have found it effective. This gives delegates the conceptual foundation to challenge and improve budgeting practices within their own organisations rather than simply applying conventional methods by default.  

Building decision trees in Excel is covered as a probability-based decision-making tool within the risk management content. Delegates learn how to structure a decision tree that maps different outcome scenarios and their associated probabilities, and how to use the resulting expected value calculations to inform planning and investment decisions under uncertainty. This is particularly relevant for those who need to present scenario-based recommendations to boards or senior management in a structured, quantifiable format.  

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