Finance and TreasuryZero Based Budgeting and Cost Control
Incremental budgeting carries forward every decision ever made, because last year's base is never examined, only the increment on top of it. Zero based budgeting removes that protection. This course covers applying it without the disruption it can cause. Delegates work through decision units and packages, building a cost base from activity and the service level each activity supports, and the challenge process that tests whether an activity is needed at all rather than whether it is efficient. Ranking and resource allocation across competing packages follow. The effort the method demands is addressed honestly, along with the cycles where a lighter review is enough. Implementation and the behaviours it provokes are covered. The course closes on holding the savings, which is where the method usually fails.
Course objectives
- Define decision units and build cost packages
- Construct a cost base from activity and service level
- Challenge whether an activity is needed at all
- Rank and allocate resource across competing packages
- Judge when a full rebuild is warranted and when lighter review suffices
- Implement the method and manage the behaviour it provokes
- Hold the savings after the exercise ends
Who should attend
- Finance directors leading cost reduction initiatives
- Budget holders in organisations undergoing restructuring
- Management accountants tasked with cost control programmes
- Procurement and operations managers involved in cost justification
- Public sector officials managing constrained budgets
Course outline
- 01A base nobody examines
- 02Decision units and packages
- 03Building a cost base from activity
- 04Service levels and what they cost
- 05Challenging necessity, not only efficiency
- 06Ranking and allocation
- 07Effort, cycles and lighter alternatives
- 08Implementation, behaviour and holding the savings
Scheduled sessions
| Dates | Venue | Format | Price | Register |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23 to 25 November 2026 | Online | Online | R6,500 per delegate | Register Now |
| 21 to 23 December 2026 | Windhoek, Namibia | Classroom | R14,950 per delegate | Register Now |
| 17 to 19 March 2027 | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | Classroom | USD 995 per delegate | Register Now |