Cost Analysis to support Strategic Decisions

Ref	FI 661
Dates	13 - 17 December 2010
Venue	Kuala Lumpur
Fees	US$ 4450
CPE Credits	30

INTRODUCTION

Cost control is one of the most widely used tool for planning and monitoring organizational activities, as well as to support future strategic decision. Importantly, cost analysis is inextricably linked with strategy formulation, the budgetary process and performance management. It is crucial to interpret how costs behave so that realistic budgets and plans can be produced, and appropriate financial and non-financial resources can be made available to the business. This programme will allow you to explore the traditional tools of cost analysis and control as well as new advanced approaches, which reflect and respond to the current complex business environment. In particular, you will learn:

the cause-and-effect relationship among business strategy, operational objectives, measures and targets, and systems of performance measurement and reporting
traditional techniques of cost analysis and control
advanced costing and management techniques (ABC, ABB, ABM, target costing)
overhead cost allocation & reduction
the balanced scorecard construction and implementation

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

All business disciplines and sectors of industry, irrespective of functional responsibilities, where personnel have to plan and cost and who are responsible for strategic analysis
Other professionals who would benefit from having the opportunity to consider new ideas and methods and personnel on a fast-track development

PROGRAMME OBJECTIVES

Enhance cost awareness and its relationship with strategy
Describe specific cost analysis and performance measurement techniques
Select the costing measurement system that works
Select the systems of performance measurement that works
Discuss real case studies
From cost to strategy to performance measurement
Broadening the management accounting knowledge
Deliver more timely and useful information to decision makers
Identify & manage key financial and non-financial indicators for the business

TRAINING METHODOLOGY

We combine theory and practice. We use company examples to illustrate how the techniques presented have been applied in real case studies. An active involvement of you, the delegate, as well as your participation to "in-class" discussion, is required.

PROGRAMME OUTLINE

DAY 1 - Introducing the linkages between strategy and costing

Managing contemporary organisation
Strategic Plan, Budgeting, Costing and Management Control
Management Accounting for organizational control systems
Responsibility accounting and the process-view
The context for costing
The Budget and its role for achieving organizational targets
What is it the situation in your organisation?

DAY 2 - Cost analysis and classifications

Cost terms and classification
Inventoriable vs. period costs
Manufacturing vs non-manufacturing costs
Variable vs. Fixed costs (CVP analysis)
Direct vs. indirect cost
Under-costing and Over-costing problems
Problems and Examples - Case study illustration

DAY 3 - From cost accounting to management control

Cost allocation: traditional costing and activity-based costing (ABC)
From traditional budgeting to Activity-based budgeting (ABB)
Activity-based management
Decentralized organizations
Cost/Profit/Investment centers
Transfer-pricing issues
Problems and Examples - Case study illustration

DAY 4 - Flexible budgets and variance analysis

The features of budgetary control
Define the master budget and explain its major benefits to an organization
Describe the difference between a static budget and a flexible budget
Compute flexible-budget variances and sales-volume variances
Explain why standard costs are often used in variance analysis
Integrate continuous improvement into variance analysis
Case study, problems and exercises

DAY 5 - Linking strategy to actions: Beyond costing

Shortcomings of traditional approaches to measurement
The Balanced Scorecard: linking Strategy to Performance Measurement
Financial perspective, Customer perspective
Internal Business Process perspective, Learning and growth perspective
Developing and adapting scorecard
Case study illustration

To Register on this seminar, please click here