Budget Planning for Department Leaders
Running a department means making tough calls about money every single day. Where should you spend? What can wait? How do you justify your decisions when leadership asks? This program walks you through building budgets that actually work — not theoretical exercises, but the practical skills you need when you're staring at spreadsheets at 9pm trying to make the numbers add up.
We start sessions in September 2025. You'll work alongside other department heads who get exactly what you're dealing with. Real scenarios, real pressure points, real solutions that you can take straight back to your desk Monday morning.
Reserve Your Spot
Who's Teaching This?
Four people who've been exactly where you are right now. They've fought budget battles, defended spending decisions, and figured out how to do more with less. No academic theory here — just people who still remember what it feels like when Finance sends your budget back for the third time.
Gareth Finch
Ran operations for a mid-sized manufacturer for twelve years. He'll show you how to forecast when you don't have perfect data — because you never do.
Vera Blackwood
Former CFO who actually understands that departments aren't just cost centres. She teaches the finance perspective so you can speak their language.
Simone Hartley
Managed HR budgets through three restructures and a merger. She knows how to protect your team when corporate demands cuts everywhere.
Nola Pemberton
IT director who built business cases that actually got approved. She'll help you frame your requests so they make sense to people who don't understand your department.
What You'll Actually Learn
Building From Reality
Start with what you know and fill in the gaps intelligently. Most budget training assumes you have perfect historical data and stable conditions. We teach you what to do when you don't — which is basically always. You'll learn to spot patterns in messy data and make educated guesses that you can defend later.
3 weeksThe Politics Nobody Mentions
Why your perfectly logical budget gets rejected while someone else's questionable one sails through. There's a whole layer of organizational dynamics that affects budget approval, and pretending it doesn't exist just makes your job harder. We talk about stakeholder management, timing your requests, and building coalitions before you need them.
2 weeksScenario Planning That Works
Building three versions of your budget so you're ready when things change — and they will. Best case, worst case, and the realistic middle ground you'll probably land in. Plus how to adjust quickly when your assumptions turn out wrong halfway through the year.
2 weeksPresenting Numbers to Non-Numbers People
Your budget makes perfect sense to you. But can you explain it to your CEO in two minutes? To your team lead who just wants to know if they can hire someone? Different audiences need different stories. We help you translate the same numbers into language that resonates with whoever you're talking to.
2 weeksLiving With Your Budget
Tracking, adjusting, and explaining variances without losing your mind. The budget you submit in November looks very different by March. How do you manage that drift? When should you push back on changes versus when you need to adapt? And how do you track everything without drowning in spreadsheets?
3 weeksProgram Details
Twelve weeks, starting September 2025. We meet Tuesday evenings for three hours — yes, it's a commitment, but you're learning skills that'll make your job substantially easier for years. Classes are capped at sixteen people so everyone gets attention when they're stuck on something.
Next intake: 9 September 2025Get Program Information