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Description

Administrative Support: Building a Dashboard and Tracking the Budget

Produce reliable indicators and track a department budget without drowning in spreadsheets

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

The dashboard requested by the manager turns into a spreadsheet that grows every month without ever supporting a decision. Figures are re-entered by hand and are therefore sometimes wrong. On the budget side, expenditure is recorded but the gap against forecast only becomes visible once it is too late to act.

Two days to build a dashboard that is genuinely used and to keep a department's budget under control: selecting a small number of indicators that inform a decision, securing data collection, presenting results clearly and explaining a variance. Each participant works on their own dashboard and on their own budget lines.

Learning objectives

  • Select indicators linked to the decisions expected within the department
  • Make the collection and updating of source data reliable
  • Build a dashboard that is readable and sustainable over time
  • Track the execution of an operating budget line by line
  • Analyse a budget variance and prepare supporting explanations

What makes this programme different

Each participant brings their current dashboard and rebuilds it during the session
Budget tracking is practised on real anonymised expenditure lines
Presenting results to the manager is simulated at the end of the programme

Programme

1The dashboard and its purpose

Indicators that support decisions

  • Identify the decisions the dashboard is meant to inform
  • Select a limited number of relevant indicators
  • Define precisely how each indicator is calculated
  • Set the reporting frequency and the recipients

2Collecting and securing data

Figures you can rely on

  • Identify the available data sources and assess their quality
  • Reduce manual re-entry and the risk of error
  • Document calculation conventions and the periods covered
  • Set up a consistency check before circulation

3Tracking the department budget

From forecast to execution

  • Understand how an operating budget is built
  • Track commitments and actual expenditure
  • Reconcile invoices with budget lines
  • Detect an overrun before the end of the financial year

4Presenting and explaining

Making the figures speak to a decision-maker

  • Choose the right visual format for each indicator
  • Highlight variances and trends
  • Formulate a variance explanation supported by facts
  • Propose courses of action in light of the results

Who is it for

Administrative assistants and secretaries responsible for activity reporting or budget monitoring within a department.

Prerequisites

Ability to use a spreadsheet to enter data and perform simple calculations.

Dates & locations

36 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.