Financial Planning That Actually Works Beyond Next Quarter
Most businesses plan their budgets one year at a time. But real financial stability comes from seeing three, five, even ten years ahead. We teach practical multi-year budget planning that Australian businesses use to weather market changes and build sustainable growth.
Explore Our Program
Why Single-Year Budgets Keep Failing You
Here's what we've noticed after working with hundreds of Australian businesses. They all start with good intentions each January. They build detailed annual budgets. Then by March, reality hits differently than forecasted.
The problem isn't your discipline or your spreadsheet skills. Annual budgets can't account for business cycles that don't follow calendar years. Equipment doesn't break down on schedule. Market opportunities don't wait for your next planning session.
Multi-year planning lets you see these patterns before they become problems. You'll spot when major expenses cluster together three years from now. You'll identify which revenue streams actually deliver consistent growth versus which ones spike and fade.
How Our Approach Actually Differs
We're not teaching theoretical finance. This is hands-on budget work that connects to how you actually run your business.
Scenario Planning Workshop
Learn to build three versions of your budget: conservative, realistic, and growth-focused. Then practice switching between them as conditions change.
Cash Flow Mapping
Track where money actually moves through your business across multiple years. Most budget problems come from timing mismatches, not total amounts.
Investment Timing Analysis
Discover when to make major purchases or investments based on your multi-year view. Sometimes waiting six months changes everything.
Common Budget Challenges We Address
Every business hits similar roadblocks when planning beyond twelve months. The good news? These challenges have practical solutions once you know what to look for.
Revenue forecasting gets fuzzy after year one. Customer retention rates shift. New competitors emerge. Our program shows you how to build flexibility into long-range plans without making them so vague they become useless.
Cost projections need different approaches depending on what you're budgeting. Fixed costs, variable costs, and growth-related costs all behave differently over time. We break down how to handle each category across multiple years.
What You'll Actually Learn
- Building rolling forecasts that update quarterly instead of starting fresh each year
- Identifying expense patterns that only show up when you look at three-year windows
- Creating contingency funds that actually cover realistic scenarios
- Linking budget decisions to strategic goals beyond immediate growth
- Using historical data to improve future forecasting accuracy
- Communicating multi-year plans to stakeholders who expect annual thinking
Learn From Someone Who's Actually Done This
Lachlan Thwaites — Senior Instructor
Lachlan spent twelve years as CFO for mid-sized Australian businesses before teaching. He's rebuilt budgets after market crashes, managed through expansion phases, and navigated the shift from annual to multi-year planning in three different industries.
Our autumn 2025 program runs for eight weeks starting September. Classes meet Tuesday evenings, with additional workshop sessions available on Saturdays. We keep groups small because budget planning works best when you can discuss your specific situation.
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