Format: Live instructor-led online training via Zoom / Microsoft Teams

ADVANCED MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING TRAINING COURSE

Course Introduction

Advanced Management Accounting Training Course is a comprehensive and practical professional programme designed to equip finance professionals, management accountants, financial controllers, finance managers, business analysts, and senior accounting professionals with advanced skills in management accounting, strategic cost management, financial planning, budgeting, performance measurement, management reporting, decision support, and financial analysis. The programme moves beyond traditional accounting to focus on how financial and operational information can support strategic decision-making, profitability improvement, cost optimization, resource allocation, and organizational performance. Participants will develop advanced capabilities in interpreting financial information, evaluating business performance, analysing cost structures, and providing management with actionable financial insights.
The programme provides extensive coverage of strategic management accounting, cost-volume-profit analysis, activity-based costing, standard costing, variance analysis, budgeting, rolling forecasts, zero-based budgeting, responsibility accounting, transfer pricing, product profitability, customer profitability, pricing decisions, capital investment appraisal, and performance management. Particular emphasis is placed on modern management accounting techniques, including strategic cost management, value-based management, balanced scorecards, key performance indicators, business analytics, scenario analysis, financial modelling, and data-driven decision-making. Participants will learn how to connect financial performance with operational drivers and strategic objectives while improving the quality and relevance of management information.
Participants will develop practical capabilities in preparing management reports, analysing cost behaviour, evaluating profitability, developing budgets and forecasts, interpreting variances, assessing investment opportunities, and supporting strategic business decisions. The course addresses cost reduction, margin improvement, working capital management, resource optimization, risk analysis, pricing strategy, performance measurement, and financial sustainability. Relevant general case studies will demonstrate how organizations can use management accounting information to identify unprofitable products and customers, optimize costs, improve budgets, evaluate investment proposals, strengthen performance measurement, and support strategic planning.
By the end of the training, participants will be able to apply advanced management accounting techniques to improve organizational performance, profitability, financial control, and strategic decision-making. The programme is suitable for organizations seeking to strengthen their finance business partnering capabilities, improve management reporting, optimize resources, enhance cost management, and build a data-driven performance culture. The course can be customized for banks, government institutions, NGOs, corporations, insurance companies, manufacturing companies, development organizations, universities, telecommunications companies, and other organizations requiring sophisticated financial planning and management accounting capabilities.

Course Objectives

1. Understand advanced management accounting concepts, principles, techniques, and strategic applications.
2. Analyse cost behaviour, cost structures, profitability, and operational performance for better decision-making.
3. Apply advanced budgeting, forecasting, rolling forecasts, and financial planning techniques.
4. Perform advanced variance analysis and identify the financial and operational drivers of performance.
5. Apply activity-based costing, strategic cost management, and cost optimization techniques.
6. Evaluate pricing, product profitability, customer profitability, outsourcing, and resource allocation decisions.
7. Apply capital investment appraisal, scenario analysis, sensitivity analysis, and financial modelling techniques.
8. Develop effective management reports, dashboards, KPIs, and performance measurement systems.
9. Strengthen strategic finance business partnering and provide actionable financial insights to management.
10. Develop integrated management accounting strategies that support profitability, growth, risk management, and long-term organizational sustainability.

Organization Benefits

1. Improves the quality and relevance of management information.
2. Strengthens strategic financial planning, budgeting, forecasting, and decision-making.
3. Improves cost visibility and supports effective cost reduction and resource optimization.
4. Enhances product, service, customer, and business-unit profitability analysis.
5. Improves budgetary control and accountability across departments and responsibility centres.
6. Strengthens performance measurement through relevant KPIs and financial analytics.
7. Supports better pricing, investment, outsourcing, and resource allocation decisions.
8. Improves management reporting and finance business partnering capabilities.
9. Enhances organizational profitability, efficiency, productivity, and financial sustainability.
10. Builds a high-performing management accounting function capable of supporting strategic organizational growth.

Target Participants

The course is designed for Chief Financial Officers (CFOs), Finance Directors, Finance Managers, Management Accountants, Financial Controllers, Chief Accountants, Cost Accountants, Budget Managers, Financial Analysts, Business Analysts, Planning Managers, Strategy Managers, Commercial Managers, Treasury Managers, Auditors, Internal Auditors, Finance Business Partners, Project Finance Managers, and senior professionals responsible for financial planning, management reporting, cost management, budgeting, forecasting, performance management, and strategic decision-making.

Course Outline

Module 1: Advanced Management Accounting and Strategic Finance

1. Advanced management accounting concepts, strategic finance, finance business partnering, and decision support.
2. The role of management accounting in strategic planning, operational management, performance improvement, and value creation.
3. Financial and non-financial performance drivers, value drivers, business models, and strategic objectives.
4. Responsibility accounting, responsibility centres, controllable costs, accountability, and performance evaluation.
5. Strategic management information systems, financial analytics, management dashboards, and executive reporting.
6. General Case Study: Evaluating the management accounting function of a growing organization and developing a strategic finance framework to improve management decision-making.

Module 2: Advanced Cost Management and Profitability Analysis

1. Cost behaviour, cost classification, fixed and variable costs, relevant costs, opportunity costs, and incremental costs.
2. Activity-Based Costing (ABC), Activity-Based Management (ABM), cost drivers, and overhead allocation.
3. Strategic cost management, target costing, life-cycle costing, kaizen costing, and value-chain analysis.
4. Product profitability, customer profitability, segment profitability, contribution analysis, and margin management.
5. Cost-volume-profit analysis, break-even analysis, operating leverage, sensitivity analysis, and profit planning.
6. General Case Study: Analysing a portfolio of products and customers to identify profitability differences and develop a strategic cost and margin improvement programme.

Module 3: Advanced Budgeting, Forecasting and Financial Planning

1. Strategic budgeting, operational budgeting, master budgets, flexible budgets, and integrated financial planning.
2. Zero-Based Budgeting (ZBB), activity-based budgeting, incremental budgeting, and performance-based budgeting.
3. Rolling forecasts, driver-based forecasting, scenario planning, sensitivity analysis, and predictive financial planning.
4. Cash-flow forecasting, working capital planning, revenue forecasting, cost forecasting, and resource planning.
5. Budget governance, budget accountability, budget monitoring, reforecasting, and corrective action.
6. General Case Study: Developing an integrated rolling forecast and scenario-based budget for an organization facing changing revenues, costs, cash flows, and market conditions.

Module 4: Advanced Variance Analysis and Performance Management

1. Advanced variance analysis covering material, labour, overhead, sales, volume, price, mix, and efficiency variances.
2. Flexible budget variance, planning variance, operational variance, and management interpretation of performance gaps.
3. Root-cause analysis, financial performance drivers, corrective action, and continuous performance improvement.
4. Balanced Scorecard, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), critical success factors, and strategic performance measurement.
5. Financial and non-financial performance reporting, dashboards, benchmarking, and management review.
6. General Case Study: Investigating significant budget variances in a manufacturing organization and identifying the operational and financial drivers behind the performance gap.

Module 5: Strategic Decision-Making, Pricing and Investment Analysis

1. Relevant costing for short-term and strategic decisions, make-or-buy, outsourcing, product discontinuation, and special orders.
2. Pricing strategies, cost-plus pricing, value-based pricing, competitive pricing, contribution margins, and profitability.
3. Capital investment appraisal using NPV, IRR, payback period, profitability index, and discounted cash flow techniques.
4. Scenario analysis, sensitivity analysis, risk assessment, decision trees, and investment uncertainty.
5. Strategic resource allocation, capital rationing, project prioritization, and value-based management.
6. General Case Study: Evaluating an investment and pricing decision using NPV, IRR, scenario analysis, customer profitability, and strategic cost information.

Module 6: Digital Management Accounting, Analytics and Strategic Reporting

1. Digital management accounting, finance transformation, automation, ERP systems, cloud accounting, and integrated financial planning.
2. Excel, Power Query, Power BI, financial modelling, data visualization, and management accounting analytics.
3. Developing executive dashboards for profitability, costs, budgets, forecasts, working capital, and organizational performance.
4. Predictive analytics, scenario modelling, business intelligence, and data-driven management accounting.
5. Developing strategic management reports that connect financial results with operational and strategic performance drivers.
6. General Case Study: Developing a digital management accounting dashboard using financial and operational data to support executive decisions on profitability, costs, budgets, investment, and performance.

General Information

1. Customized Training: All our courses can be tailored to meet the specific needs of participants.
2. Language Proficiency: Participants should have a good command of the English language.
3. Comprehensive Learning: Our training includes well-structured presentations, practical exercises, web-based tutorials, and collaborative group work. Our facilitators are seasoned experts with over a decade of experience.
4. Certification: Upon successful completion of training, participants will receive a certificate from Foscore Development Center (FDC-K).
5. Training Locations: Training sessions are conducted at Foscore Development Center (FDC-K) centers. We also offer options for in-house and online training, customized to the client's schedule.
6. Flexible Duration: Course durations are adaptable, and content can be adjusted to fit the required number of days.
7. Onsite Training Inclusions: The course fee for onsite training covers facilitation, training materials, two coffee breaks, a buffet lunch, and a Certificate of Successful Completion. Participants are responsible for their travel expenses, airport transfers, visa applications, dinners, health/accident insurance, and personal expenses.
8. Additional Services: Accommodation, pickup services, flight booking, and visa processing arrangements are available upon request at discounted rates.
9. Equipment: Tablets and laptops can be provided to participants at an additional cost.
10. Post-Training Support: We offer one year of free consultation and coaching after the course.
11. Group Discounts: Register as a group of more than two and enjoy a discount ranging from 10% to 50%.
12. Payment Terms: Payment should be made before the commencement of the training or as mutually agreed upon, to the Foscore Development Center account. This ensures better preparation for your training.
13. Contact Us: For any inquiries, please reach out to training@fdc-k.org or call us at +254712260031.
14. Website: Visit our website at www.fdc-k.org for more information.