FP&A: Building a Company's Budget

with Antoniya Baltova

4.9/5

(371)

The FP&A course will guide you through the process of financial planning and analysis, including budgeting, forecasting, and performance measurement. Throughout thе lessons, you will work on real-world case studies that will help you apply your new skills in a practical setting.

4 hours 38 lessons

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38 High Quality Lessons

3 Practical Tasks

4 Hours of Content

Certificate of Achievement

Course Overview

Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) teams play a crucial role in business operations. FP&A analysts help with financial planning, budgeting, and forecasting. They analyze historical financial data and prepare projections under various scenarios to facilitate data-driven decision-making. The Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) function is distinct from accounting as it is increasingly forward-looking. It focuses on the drivers of financial results and on what and why is likely to happen in the future. This FP&A course will guide you through the core principles of financial planning and analysis and help you understand the complete budget preparation process. We touch on several topics, including basic accounting transactions, core financial statements, revenue and expense forecasting, working capital planning and estimation, fixed assets roll forward, cash flow calculation, and more. We discuss why firms need to prepare Annual Business Plans (ABP), the difference between budgeting and forecasting, the main techniques used in financial planning, and who is involved in the preparation and sign-off of the ABP. These are crucial skills that help FP&A professionals identify cost-saving, revenue generation, and investment opportunities in the companies and industries they work for. We complete the FP&A course with a practical example of preparing a complete budget model from scratch in Excel. Enhance your finance career by joining the thousands of professionals who have already completed this course. Sign up now to master the art of financial planning and analysis!

Topics covered

BudgetingExcelfinancial analysisFinancial ModelingForecasting

What You'll Learn

This Financial Planning and Analysis Course covers the basic theory that every FP&A analyst needs to know and teaches you how to apply it in practice using real-world examples. By the end of the course, you will:

Understand the major elements in the core financial statements (assets, liabilities, equity, revenue, and expenses)

Learn the basics of budget preparation, what a Master Budget is, and the major approaches to budgeting

Build a comprehensive Budget Model in Excel

Make revenue and various expense predictions (payroll, SG&A, production costs, and overheads)

Forecast current and non-current assets and liabilities of a fictitious company

Learn how to prepare Budgeted Financial Statements in Excel—Income Statement, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow Statement

Curriculum

Getting Started with Financial Planning & Analysis

2 Lessons 9 Min

In the introductory lesson of this FP&A course, we present the basic budgeting principles. You will learn why companies need a budget and how to build a personal budget using a standard template.

What does the course cover Free

What is a Budget and Why do we Need it? Free
The Accounting Framework

7 Lessons 42 Min

This section provides the foundational accounting knowledge and skills required to earn a financial planning and analysis certification. We examine the core financial statements that companies prepare—the Income Statement, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow Statement. Exploring how these interrelate will help us use them in a complete budgeting model later on.

Major Financial Statements Free

Understanding the Income Statement

Understanding the Balance Sheet

Understanding the Cash Flow Statement_Part 1

Understanding the Cash Flow Statement_Part 2

Direct vs. Indirect Cash Flow Statement

Major Interrelationships between the Financial Statements
Mechanics of The Budgeting Process

9 Lessons 40 Min

In the last theoretical section of this FP&A course, we discuss the importance and mechanics of the budgeting process, the key budget preparation steps, and the difference between short-term and long-term planning. You will also learn the difference between budgeting and forecasting, who is responsible for preparing and updating the budget, and the meaning of a Master Budget.

The Importance of Budgeting

Key Steps in the Budget Preparation

The Budget Horizon

The Budgeting Levels of Detail

Budgeting Approaches

Updating the Budget

Who Prepares the Budget?

The Master Budget

The Budget Sign-off
Time for a Case Study: Henry's Hats

15 Lessons 84 Min

In this section, you will have the chance to apply everything you have learned in this FP&A training. Together, we will build a complete budget model in Excel using the historical financial information of a fictitious company called Henry’s Hats. You will learn how to forecast revenue, COGS, various types of expenses, fixed assets, long-term liabilities, and others.

Henry's Hats - Company Overview

The Bottom-up Approach

The Top-Down Approach

Understanding COGS Calculation

Volume of Production

Direct Materials and Direct Labor

Production Overheads

The COGS Budget

The Payroll Budget

The SG&A Budget

Balance Sheet Items

The Cash Conversion Cycle

The Working Capital Budget

The Fixed Assets Budget

Loan Repayment Schedule
Putting It All Together

5 Lessons 31 Min

In the final section of the FP&A course, you will prepare Henry’s Hats' budgeted financial statements and learn how companies typically present their budget models. Last but not least, you will prepare a budget model on your own as part of the Course Challenge we created for you!

The Income Statement Budget

The Balance Sheet Budget

The Cash Flow Budget

Presenting the Budget

Course Challenge