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  1. Courses
  2. /Finance
  3. /Budgeting & Financial Forecasting

How to Prepare an Operating Budget

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Created byArun Mathur
IntermediateUpdated Feb 8, 2021

What You'll Learn

  • check_circleExplain why operating budgets are important to achieve success in any organization.
  • check_circleCompare the benefits of incremental versus zero based budgeting methods.
  • check_circleExplain how key performance indicators can help prepare operating budgets.
  • check_circleIdentify the major components of an operating budget.

About This Course

This course offers a practical, step-by-step guide for preparing an operating budget, ideal for individuals with little to no prior experience. You'll learn how to create accurate and meaningful budgets that not only support daily operations but also help forecast future performance and identify financial risks before they arise.

Covering sectors such as manufacturing, retail, service, not-for-profit, and the public sector, the course explores key budgeting methods and concepts. You’ll discover how to link your budget to strategic goals, track performance with KPIs, and evaluate strengths and weaknesses by comparing actual results against your plan.

Course Content

2 activities • 1 videos • duration: 1h 19m

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Video-Part11 videos • 1.3 hours
  • videocamHow to Prepare an Operating Budget
    Duration 79:30
add
Quiz-Part11 quiz

Your Instructor

Arun Mathur

Lead Instructor, FCPA, FCA

menu_book39 courses
star8,957 reviews

Arun Mathur, FCPA, FCA, LPA has over 35 years of teaching and corporate training experience. He is a retired Partner at Gerald Duthie & Co. LLP, where he provided professional services to a diverse group of clients. Arun is also Owner and Lead Instructor at UltimQuest Knowledge Inc., offering corporate training on improving governance, ethics, internal control, performance measurement and related topics. He provides live and online training through CPA bodies across Canada and Bermuda. Arun served for several years on the Board for HealthForce Ontario Marketing and Recruitment Agency, and was also Chair of the Finance and Audit Committee there and for the Trillium Gift of Life Network. He has served on the CMA Ontario's Review Committee prior to the merger as well.

Credit Information

Is this course eligible for my CPD requirements as a Canadian CPA?

Provincial regulators of CPAs in Canada do not require that independent providers of CPD be approved to offer courses. Instead, individual CPAs are responsible for assessing whether a CPD activity meets their requirements, and may take activities from any source provided those requirements are met.

Every course offered on LearnFormula is delivered by a qualified subject matter expert or learning organization, and advances learning objectives that are relevant to the responsibilities or professional competencies of Canadian CPAs. All activities on LearnFormula are quantifiable in terms of hours, and are also verifiable, in that users receive documented evidence of their attendance via a certificate of completion after finishing a course (and this certificate is stored by LearnFormula indefinitely). Nearly 100,000 Canadian CPAs successfully satisfy their CPD requirements via LearnFormula on an annual basis.

What Students Are Saying

4.5 out of 5
Student's Choice
29 reviews
  • GL
    Glenda L.
    starstarstarstarstar

    Great session on budgeting for beginners to budgets.

  • VS
    Vladimir S.
    starstarstarstarstar

    Very detailed and well done course.

  • RB
    Rumina B.
    starstarstarstarstar

    Thoroughly enjoyed the course. Very detailed and easy to follow. Well planned. I was able to identify to my role in the budgeting process and variance analysis. Thank you.

  • MD
    Mark D.
    starstarstarstarstar

    Good overview

Frequently Asked Questions

We are a registered provider with 300+ associations and regulatory bodies worldwide. We operate across 27 global markets including Canada, the US, Australia, and the UK. Every course page clearly displays its specific accreditations. Upon completion, you receive a professional certificate that can be validated online. Our certificates include all necessary accreditation details, credit hours, and completion dates, and are formatted specifically to meet the submission requirements of most global regulatory bodies.

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