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Description

Business Management for Managers Level 2: Analyse, Decide and Defend Your Budget

Once the accounting basics are in place, the next step is using the numbers to make trade-offs and win support

  • 2 days — 14 h
  • In-person or virtual
  • Intermediate
  • Up to 6 participants

A manager who can read a profit and loss account often stalls at the next stage. Costing a decision, comparing two options or defending a budget envelope calls for different reflexes from simply reading financial statements. Requests for trade-offs then move up the line without solid figures and run into the questions of the management control team.

These two days build on an introductory management programme. You work on cost calculation applied to your own decisions, then on building and defending your budget, as well as the financial appraisal of a project within your remit.

Learning objectives

  • Quantify the financial impact of an operational decision
  • Build a unit budget and state the assumptions behind it
  • Analyse budget variances and explain their causes
  • Assess the profitability of a project within your remit
  • Defend a request for resources before an executive committee

What makes this programme different

Each participant works on the actual budget of their own scope
A decision costed through to a clear recommendation
A budget defence session facing objections from management control

Programme

1From Accounts to Decisions

Moving from reading to analysis

  • Focused refresher on the profit and loss account and the balance sheet
  • Profitability indicators that are useful to a manager
  • The link between an operational decision and the bottom line
  • A shared vocabulary with the management control team

2Costs and Costing of Decisions

Putting a figure on an option

  • Direct and indirect costs of your own activity
  • Marginal cost and the make-or-buy decision
  • Calculating the cost of a project or a service
  • Quantified comparison of two scenarios

3Budget Preparation and Monitoring

Meeting your commitments for the year

  • Activity and cost assumptions
  • Operating budget and capital expenditure budget
  • Tracking commitments during the financial year
  • Variance analysis and corrective action

4Defending Your Trade-Offs

Convincing with figures

  • Assessing the profitability of a project
  • Building a business case for a resource request
  • Anticipating financial objections
  • A concise presentation designed for senior management

Who is it for

Managers and team leaders already familiar with reading accounts, along with department heads and operational managers who hold budget responsibility.

Prerequisites

Having attended an introductory business management programme or working regularly with financial statements.

Dates & locations

24 scheduled dates between November 2026 and December 2027. Seats are confirmed in the order enquiries are received.

November 2026

December 2026

January 2027

February 2027

March 2027

April 2027

May 2027

June 2027

September 2027

October 2027

November 2027

December 2027

None of these dates suit you? We open additional sessions on request, and any programme can be run privately for your team.

Practical details

Before the programme
Online positioning questionnaire. Your development objectives are shared with the trainer, who tailors the practical case studies to your context.
Teaching methods
Theoretical input, workshops and practical case studies. Digital course materials and method sheets provided.
Assessment
Multiple-choice tests and role-play exercises. Assessment of learning at the start and end of the programme, with immediate and 60-day follow-up evaluations.
After the programme
One year of access to the e-learning platform. Self-assessment of the skills acquired and a 30-day follow-up session with your trainer.
How to register
Registration online or on the basis of a quotation.
Lead time
11 working days after confirmation of registration.
Accessibility
Accessible to people of determination. Contact our accessibility coordinator to design a suitable solution: contact@mpf-academy.ae
Start dates
Rolling intake: in addition to the scheduled sessions, this programme can start on request.