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

STRATEGIC COST MANAGEMENT TRAINING COURSE

Course Introduction

Strategic Cost Management Training Course is a comprehensive and practical professional programme designed to equip finance professionals, management accountants, financial controllers, finance managers, business analysts, cost accountants, and senior managers with advanced knowledge and practical skills in strategic cost management, cost optimization, profitability improvement, strategic management accounting, cost reduction, performance management, and financial decision-making. The programme focuses on moving beyond traditional cost accounting toward strategic approaches that enable organizations to understand cost drivers, manage resources effectively, improve margins, strengthen competitiveness, and create sustainable value. Participants will learn how to align cost management strategies with organizational objectives, business models, market conditions, operational performance, and long-term growth.
The programme provides extensive coverage of strategic cost analysis, cost behaviour, cost drivers, activity-based costing, activity-based management, target costing, life-cycle costing, value-chain analysis, kaizen costing, total cost of ownership, benchmarking, cost-volume-profit analysis, profitability analysis, and cost reduction strategies. Particular emphasis is placed on understanding how operational activities generate costs and how organizations can redesign processes, products, services, supply chains, and resource allocation to improve efficiency. Participants will also examine strategic pricing, customer profitability, product profitability, supplier cost management, outsourcing decisions, process improvement, and value-based management.
Participants will develop practical capabilities in identifying cost drivers, analysing cost structures, measuring profitability, evaluating strategic alternatives, designing cost reduction programmes, and developing management information for decision-making. The training addresses cost transparency, overhead allocation, resource utilization, operational efficiency, budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis, performance measurement, and financial modelling. Relevant general case studies will demonstrate how organizations can reduce unnecessary expenditure, improve product margins, optimize supply chains, identify unprofitable customers, evaluate outsourcing opportunities, and develop sustainable cost competitiveness.
By the end of the training, participants will be able to develop and implement strategic cost management frameworks that integrate financial information, operational performance, technology, process improvement, and organizational strategy. The programme is suitable for organizations seeking to improve profitability, control costs, strengthen financial sustainability, optimize resources, and enhance strategic decision-making. The course can be customized for banks, government institutions, NGOs, corporations, insurance companies, manufacturing companies, development organizations, universities, telecommunications companies, retailers, and other organizations seeking advanced cost management and profitability improvement capabilities.

Course Objectives

1. Understand the principles, concepts, techniques, and strategic applications of strategic cost management.
2. Analyse organizational cost structures, cost behaviour, cost drivers, and resource consumption.
3. Apply Activity-Based Costing (ABC) and Activity-Based Management (ABM) to improve cost visibility and decision-making.
4. Develop effective strategic cost reduction, cost optimization, and efficiency improvement programmes.
5. Apply target costing, life-cycle costing, kaizen costing, and total cost of ownership techniques.
6. Analyse product, service, customer, channel, and business-unit profitability.
7. Apply value-chain analysis, benchmarking, process improvement, and supplier cost management.
8. Support strategic pricing, outsourcing, make-or-buy, investment, and resource allocation decisions.
9. Develop cost management KPIs, dashboards, financial models, and performance measurement systems.
10. Develop a sustainable strategic cost management framework that improves profitability, competitiveness, efficiency, and long-term organizational value.

Organization Benefits

1. Improves cost visibility and transparency across organizational activities.
2. Identifies cost drivers and opportunities for sustainable cost reduction.
3. Improves product, service, customer, and business-unit profitability.
4. Strengthens resource allocation and operational efficiency.
5. Reduces unnecessary expenditure, waste, duplication, and inefficient processes.
6. Supports better strategic pricing and profitability decisions.
7. Improves budgeting, forecasting, variance analysis, and cost control.
8. Strengthens supply chain, supplier, outsourcing, and total-cost management.
9. Enhances management decision-making through strategic cost analytics and performance information.
10. Builds sustainable cost competitiveness and improves long-term organizational profitability.

Target Participants

The course is designed for Chief Financial Officers (CFOs), Finance Directors, Finance Managers, Management Accountants, Cost Accountants, Financial Controllers, Chief Accountants, Budget Managers, Financial Analysts, Business Analysts, Commercial Managers, Procurement Managers, Supply Chain Managers, Strategy Managers, Planning Managers, Operations Managers, Auditors, Internal Auditors, Finance Business Partners, Project Finance Managers, and professionals responsible for cost management, profitability analysis, budgeting, financial planning, operational efficiency, and strategic decision-making.

Course Outline

Module 1: Strategic Cost Management Foundations and Cost Analysis

1. Introduction to strategic cost management, strategic management accounting, cost competitiveness, and value creation.
2. Cost classification, cost behaviour, fixed and variable costs, direct and indirect costs, and relevant costs.
3. Cost structures, cost drivers, resource consumption, cost transparency, and cost visibility.
4. Strategic cost analysis, cost trends, benchmarking, competitor cost analysis, and industry cost structures.
5. Linking cost management with organizational strategy, business models, operational performance, and competitive advantage.
6. General Case Study: Analysing the cost structure of a growing organization and identifying strategic cost drivers affecting profitability and competitiveness.

Module 2: Activity-Based Costing and Advanced Cost Allocation

1. Activity-Based Costing (ABC), cost pools, cost drivers, activity analysis, and overhead allocation.
2. Activity-Based Management (ABM) and using activity information to improve operational and financial performance.
3. Traditional costing versus activity-based costing and identifying distortions in product and service costs.
4. Customer profitability, product profitability, channel profitability, and segment cost analysis.
5. Cost-to-serve analysis, resource utilization, process costs, and profitability improvement.
6. General Case Study: Applying Activity-Based Costing to identify products and customers that appear profitable under traditional costing but generate low or negative economic value.

Module 3: Strategic Cost Reduction and Operational Efficiency

1. Strategic cost reduction versus across-the-board cost cutting and sustainable efficiency improvement.
2. Value analysis, process mapping, waste elimination, Lean management, and process optimization.
3. Kaizen costing, continuous improvement, productivity measurement, and operational cost management.
4. Cost benchmarking, best-practice comparison, process performance analysis, and efficiency targets.
5. Resource utilization, capacity management, workforce productivity, procurement savings, and supply chain cost optimization.
6. General Case Study: Developing a strategic cost reduction programme that reduces operating expenses without compromising product quality, customer service, or organizational growth.

Module 4: Target Costing, Life-Cycle Costing and Value Chain Management

1. Target costing, target profit, target cost gap analysis, and market-driven cost management.
2. Life-cycle costing from product design and development through production, distribution, service, and disposal.
3. Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), procurement costs, supplier costs, logistics, maintenance, and long-term operating costs.
4. Value-chain analysis, supplier relationships, distribution channels, outsourcing, and strategic partnerships.
5. Design-to-cost, value engineering, product development economics, and cost optimization.
6. General Case Study: Applying target costing and life-cycle costing to a new product development project to achieve required profitability while maintaining market competitiveness.

Module 5: Profitability, Pricing and Strategic Decision-Making

1. Product, customer, channel, regional, and business-unit profitability analysis.
2. Cost-volume-profit analysis, contribution margins, break-even analysis, operating leverage, and profit planning.
3. Strategic pricing, cost-plus pricing, value-based pricing, competitive pricing, and margin management.
4. Relevant costing for make-or-buy, outsourcing, special orders, product discontinuation, and capacity decisions.
5. Scenario analysis, sensitivity analysis, strategic financial modelling, and risk-based cost decision-making.
6. General Case Study: Evaluating pricing and product portfolio decisions using contribution analysis, customer profitability, cost-to-serve, and strategic cost information.

Module 6: Digital Strategic Cost Management and Performance Transformation

1. Digital cost management, ERP systems, cloud accounting, finance transformation, and integrated cost analytics.
2. Excel, Power Query, Power BI, financial modelling, data visualization, and strategic cost dashboards.
3. Developing cost management KPIs covering cost efficiency, productivity, profitability, resource utilization, and savings.
4. Predictive analytics, scenario modelling, cost forecasting, and data-driven strategic decision-making.
5. Developing strategic cost management transformation roadmaps, governance structures, accountability, and continuous improvement.
6. General Case Study: Developing a digital strategic cost management dashboard and transformation roadmap linking cost drivers, profitability, operational performance, savings, and strategic objectives.

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.