Formation aux compétences essentielles de préparation budgétaire à Delhi

Présentation du programme

A budget is the point where strategy meets money. For a ministry it decides which policies are funded and how far; for a state-owned enterprise or a company it sets the targets that managers will be judged against. When estimates are weak, the consequences show up months later as supplementary requests, idle balances, cash shortfalls and performance reports that cannot explain what the money achieved.

The Essential Budget Preparation Skills Training in Delhi is a three-day, practice-led programme for the people who build, review and defend budgets: budget officers, finance and planning staff, project accountants, internal auditors and managers who own a cost centre. It covers the full cycle, from the budget circular and the baseline to costing, performance targets, execution and variance analysis.

Delhi gives the programme a live reference point. India’s Union Budget is prepared by the Budget Division of the Department of Economic Affairs, and the Budget Circular for 2027-28 asked ministries to submit information by 6 October 2026, with pre-budget meetings from 12 October. Participants study this cycle while it is running, together with the Outcome Budget, the Output-Outcome Monitoring Framework and the fund-flow controls operated through the Public Financial Management System (PFMS).

The fiscal context also matters. India held its fiscal deficit at 4.4% of GDP in the 2025-26 revised estimates and set 4.3% for 2026-27, and from 2026-27 it has moved to a debt-to-GDP anchor, aiming for 50% (plus or minus one point) by 2030-31. That shift, from an annual deficit number to a medium-term debt path, is the same discipline that any organisation needs when it links an annual budget to a multi-year plan.

The programme draws on international frameworks, including the PEFA framework and its climate and gender supplements and the IMF Fiscal Transparency Code, and on financed state-level reforms such as the World Bank-supported programmes in Punjab and Chhattisgarh. Corporate participants apply the same tools to operating budgets, capital budgets and rolling forecasts.

Le programme renforce les capacités institutionnelles en matière de

• Budget calendars, circulars and ceilings
• Baseline and new-policy estimates
• Cost behaviour analysis: fixed, variable and step costs
• Direct and indirect cost allocation
• Activity-based costing for services and programmes
• Zero-based review of selected budget lines
• Performance and outcome budgeting
• Output and outcome indicators linked to allocations
• Capital budgeting and multi-year commitments
• Medium-term fiscal and financial frameworks
• Fiscal rules, deficit and debt anchors
• Revenue and cash-flow forecasting
• Rolling forecasts and flexed budgets
• Exécution budgétaire et contrôle des engagements
• Just-in-time release of funds
• Analyse des écarts et mesures correctives
• Budget documentation and presentation
• Fiscal risk identification
• PEFA-based self-assessment of budget credibility
• Budget transparency and reporting
• Coordination between finance and line departments

Each session ends with an output that participants can use at work: a costed template, a checklist or a draft submission. The aim is a budget that is realistic at preparation, controlled during execution and explainable at the end of the year.

The Growing Importance of Budget Preparation

Budget processes are being asked to do more with the same calendar. India’s Budget Circular stresses realistic and accurate projections, asks departments to keep additional resource requests during the year to a minimum, and requires continuing schemes to have approved expenditure plans before allocations are agreed. Detailed Demands for Grants are prepared in the Union Budget Information System under strict confidentiality rules.

At the same time, money moves differently. Under revised arrangements for centrally sponsored schemes, funds are released closer to actual need through the SNA-SPARSH module of PFMS, rather than parked in advance in state accounts. Budget officers therefore need cash forecasts that match delivery schedules, not just annual totals.

States are reforming too. The World Bank approved a USD 150 million loan in 2022 for Punjab: Building Fiscal and Institutional Resilience, which aims to strengthen planning, budgeting and monitoring and help the state manage fiscal risks. Chhattisgarh’s USD 25.2 million Public Financial Management and Accountability Programme focused on expenditure management and revenue administration, and in October 2025 the Department of Economic Affairs forwarded an Uttarakhand proposal of about Rs 680 crore to strengthen budget control, accounting and expenditure management.

Les organisations ont de plus en plus besoin de professionnels capables de :

• Preparing budgets that reconcile policy priorities with hard ceilings
• Separating baseline costs from new spending proposals
• Costing activities, outputs and services with defensible assumptions
• Writing clear justifications for each budget line
• Linking allocations to measurable outputs and outcomes
• Building monthly cash and release plans
• Forecasting revenue and recurrent costs over three to five years
• Applying zero-based review where baselines have drifted
• Analysing variances and recommending reallocations
• Running rolling forecasts between formal budget rounds
• Identifying fiscal risks from guarantees, arrears and contingent liabilities
• Presenting budgets to boards, committees and finance ministries
• Using financial management systems data for budget decisions

Strong budget preparation systems help organisations:

• Reduce supplementary demands and mid-year cuts
• Release funds when activities are ready
• Avoid idle balances and arrears
• Show results for the money spent
• Protect priority services when revenue falls
• Plan capital projects across several years
• Respond credibly to auditors and oversight bodies
• Support fiscal targets and debt sustainability
• Build trust with financiers and citizens

The common thread is credibility: a budget that is close to what is actually spent, released on time and reported in a form that decision-makers can use. This programme focuses on the practical habits that produce that result.

Who Should Attend This Budget Preparation Training?

Ce programme s'adresse à :

• Budget officers and budget analysts in ministries and departments
• Financial advisers and their teams
• Planning and policy officers who prepare spending proposals
• Finance managers of public agencies and regulators
• Finance staff of state and municipal governments
• Chief accountants and treasury officers
• Finance and planning managers of state-owned enterprises
• Financial controllers and FP&A staff in companies
• Project accountants and finance officers of PIUs
• Programme managers who own a cost centre
• Internal auditors reviewing budget processes
• Monitoring and evaluation officers working with outcome indicators
• Investment and capital planning managers
• Finance staff of NGOs and foundations
• Officers new to a budget or finance role

Mixed teams from finance and line departments gain most, because many budget problems sit between the two. Institutions can use the free training needs assessment to decide who should attend.

Budget Preparation Training Objectives

Upon successful completion of this Budget Preparation Training, participants will be able to:

• Explain the stages of the budget cycle and the role of each actor
• Read a budget circular and translate it into an internal timetable
• Classify costs by behaviour and allocate indirect costs fairly
• Prepare baseline estimates and separate new-policy proposals
• Apply activity-based costing to a service or programme
• Use zero-based review on selected budget lines
• Link allocations to output and outcome indicators
• Prepare a monthly expenditure and cash release plan
• Build a simple rolling forecast and a flexed budget
• Analyse variances and propose corrective action
• Assess budget credibility using PEFA-style indicators
• Present and defend a budget submission clearly

The objectives are deliberately concrete: each one is practised in a workshop and checked against a participant’s own budget or a case example.

Contenu et structure du programme

Budget Preparation Training Methodology

The programme is built around worked examples and spreadsheets rather than lectures. Concepts are introduced briefly, then applied immediately to case material and to participants’ own budgets.

Le programme associe :

• Courtes présentations d'experts sur chaque étape du cycle budgétaire
• Step-by-step worked numerical examples
• Spreadsheet exercises on costing, estimates and forecasts
• Case studies from India’s Union and state budget reforms
• Review of financed PFM reforms supported by the World Bank
• Group work on participants’ own budget lines
• Peer review of budget justifications
• PEFA-style self-assessment of budget credibility
• Mock budget committee hearings
• Templates and checklists to take back to work
• Daily recap and question sessions
• Plan d'action individuel

Material is adapted to the mix of public and corporate participants: government officers work with appropriations and outcome budgets, while SOE and company staff apply the same tools to operating and capital budgets.

Pre-course questions help the facilitator select cases that match the group’s systems and level of experience.

Résultats attendus

Upon completion of this Budget Preparation Training, participants will be able to:

• Prepare a realistic, well-justified budget submission
• Explain cost behaviour and allocation choices to colleagues
• Separate baseline from new-policy spending
• Link budget lines to measurable results
• Produce a monthly cash and release plan
• Run a simple rolling forecast
• Analyse variances and propose reallocations
• Identify and report key fiscal and financial risks
• Benchmark their budget process against PEFA indicators

Participants leave with completed templates and a clear view of what to change in their next budget round.

Institutional Application of Budget Preparation Training

Ce programme aide les organisations à renforcer :

• Budget calendars and internal circulars
• Costing methods for services and programmes
• Baseline and new-proposal procedures
• Performance and outcome frameworks
• Capital budgeting and project phasing
• Cash planning and release management
• Commitment control and arrears prevention
• Variance reporting and reallocation rules
• Rolling forecasting practice
• Registres des risques budgétaires
• Budget documentation and transparency
• Coordination entre les services financiers et opérationnels

Les participants repartent avec des outils pratiques pour améliorer :

• Budget preparation timetables
• Cost classification and allocation
• Budget justification notes
• Outcome indicator design
• Monthly cash plans
• Variance analysis reports
• Forecast updates
• Budget committee presentations

Institutions that want to look at the wider finance function can use the institutional capacity assessment to set priorities before or after the programme.

Pertinence régionale & mise en application

Asie

Across South and Southeast Asia, finance ministries and state governments are moving towards medium-term frameworks, programme budgets and integrated financial management systems. India’s shift to a debt anchor and its PFMS-based fund flow controls offer a concrete reference for officers from neighbouring countries.

Afrique

PEFA assessments have been carried out more than 800 times in 155 countries since 2005, and many African governments use them to track budget credibility. Officers from ministries and PIUs can compare their arrears, cash rationing and reallocation practices with the tools covered on the third day.

Moyen-Orient

Governments and state-owned enterprises in the Middle East are revising budget processes around medium-term planning and performance reporting. The costing, zero-based review and rolling forecast sessions apply directly to agencies and companies managing variable revenue.

Europe et Asie centrale

Programme budgeting and fiscal rules are well established in much of Europe, while Central Asian governments continue to build them. The IMF Fiscal Transparency Code, updated in 2019, gives a common reference for fiscal forecasting and budgeting practice across both groups.

Pacifique

Small island administrations often run budgets with few staff and high exposure to shocks. The PEFA Climate framework, launched in 2024, and the sessions on fiscal risk help these teams plan contingencies within the budget.

Whatever the region, the same habits make budgets credible: clear costing, honest baselines, measurable results and disciplined execution.

Profil du pays d'accueil – Inde

New Delhi is India’s capital and the seat of the Union Government, including the Ministry of Finance, its Department of Economic Affairs, Department of Expenditure and the Controller General of Accounts. It is also home to many development partners, research institutes and public finance training bodies, which makes it a natural setting for a budget programme.

India is a useful benchmark because its budget system operates at very large scale and is changing visibly. The Union Budget is accompanied by an Outcome Budget that links outlays to outputs and outcomes; fund flows to states are monitored through PFMS; the fiscal framework now targets a falling debt ratio; and several states are carrying out PFM reforms with World Bank support. Participants see each of these elements in the case material.

India offers an e-Visa for business and conference travel to nationals of many countries. Applications are made online at least four days and no more than 120 days before arrival, and e-Visa holders can enter through designated international airports, including Delhi. Risalat provides visa advice and an invitation letter for registered participants.

Budget Preparation Training Deliverables

Participants receive a complete service from registration to follow-up, so they can concentrate on the learning.

Avant le programme

• Pré-évaluation des participants
• Budget Preparation Readiness Assessment
• Budget Preparation Resource Pack
• Lectures préparatoires
• Aide et conseils gratuits pour le visa
• Accueil à l'aéroport & assistance à l'arrivée
• Hébergement avec petit-déjeuner
• Dîner de bienvenue et de réseautage

Pendant le programme

• Kit de formation Risalat (sac, gourde, mug, t-shirt, casquette, protège-passeport, stylos, carnet, magnet & porte-clés)
• Comprehensive Budget Preparation Training Manual
• Budget Calendar and Circular Template
• Cost Classification and Allocation Workbook
• Baseline and New Proposal Justification Template
• Output-Outcome Indicator Worksheet
• Monthly Cash and Release Plan Template
• Variance Analysis and Rolling Forecast Model
• Ateliers pratiques & simulations
• Discussions de groupe & apprentissage entre pairs
• Déjeuner et pauses-café quotidiens
• Accès complet aux installations du lieu de formation
• Mini tablette avec supports pédagogiques numériques
• Visite de terrain (le cas échéant)
• Visite récréative de la ville

Après le programme

• Certificat de participation
• Distinction Risalat de participation au programme
• Documents de référence après la formation
• PEFA-Style Budget Credibility Checklist
• Personal Budget Improvement Action Plan
• Accompagnement après la formation & conseils de suivi
• Rapport du programme

Ministries, agencies, state-owned enterprises and companies can also ask for a tailored in-house version built around their own budget calendar and systems. Request a proposal and the Risalat team will respond with a design and quotation.

Common Challenges in Budget Preparation, And How This Training Helps

How can we stop budgets from simply rolling forward last year’s figures?

The second day separates baseline from new proposals and applies a targeted zero-based review to selected lines, so teams can challenge drift without rebuilding the whole budget every year.

How can we meet the finance ministry’s deadlines with incomplete inputs?

The first-day workshop turns the circular into an internal timetable with owners and review points, and shows how to use documented assumptions where data is late.

How do we cost shared services and overheads fairly?

Cost behaviour and allocation sessions on the first day compare traditional allocation with activity-based costing, using worked examples participants can reuse.

How can we show results rather than just spending?

The outcome budgeting case study on the second day links outlays to outputs and outcomes and practises writing indicators that can be measured and audited.

How do we avoid idle balances and late releases?

The third day covers cash planning, just-in-time release under PFMS and commitment control, so funds follow the actual delivery schedule.

How can we respond when revenue or costs change mid-year?

Flexed budgets, rolling forecasts and reallocation rules on the third day give a structured way to update plans without repeated supplementary requests.

How do we know whether our budget process is credible?

PEFA indicators on budget credibility and the IMF Fiscal Transparency Code are used on the third day as a simple self-assessment, producing a short improvement list.

How can finance and line departments work better together on the budget?

Mixed-team workshops and the mock budget committee on the third day practise the questions each side asks, improving the quality of submissions and reviews.

Questions fréquentes

Who is this budget preparation course for?

Budget officers, finance and planning staff of ministries, agencies, state-owned enterprises and companies, project accountants, internal auditors and managers who prepare or review budgets.

Does the course cover public sector and corporate budgeting?

Yes. Public sector examples use India's Union Budget, Outcome Budget and PEFA indicators; corporate participants apply the same costing, forecasting and variance tools to operating and capital budgets.

Do I need advanced spreadsheet skills?

No. Basic spreadsheet use is enough. Worked examples are built step by step and templates are provided.

Why hold the programme in Delhi?

Delhi is the seat of India's Ministry of Finance, and the programme runs while the 2027-28 Union Budget is being prepared, giving live examples of circulars, outcome budgets and PFMS fund flows.

Le programme peut-il être dispensé en intra ?

Yes. Institutions can request a tailored version built around their own budget calendar, classifications and systems through the Risalat proposal form.

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