# Federal Budget Analysis Using Microsoft Excel Course Canonical URL: ## Overview Analysis plays an increasingly important role in today’s performance-based, outcome-oriented federal budgeting environment. This course covers methods of analysis frequently used to clearly define and answer budgetary questions. You will learn when and how to use selected Microsoft Office products (mainly Excel, but also PowerPoint and Word) to improve analysis and job performance. Lessons are structured around the requirements for analysis contained in financial management laws and implementing OMB circulars. ## What you'll learn - Describe a structured, five-step approach for conducting performance analysis to support evidence-driven budget decisions. - Apply Excel functions, including calculations of future obligations and costs, benefits, net present value (NPV), and sensitivity analysis to evaluate competing alternatives when developing agency budget requests. - Use Excel functions, including descriptive and normative techniques, to assess variances and trends when executing performance budgets. - Prepare Excel data tables and charts with linkages between worksheets and to PowerPoint and Word documents for use in reporting performance results. - Develop a summary-level narrative for new budget authority incorporating Excel-based analytical results. ## Curriculum #### Module 1: Conducting Analysis in Today’s Budgeting Environment - Explore the performance-oriented budgeting framework and its legal foundations - Review key OMB Circulars (A-11, A-136) and GPRA Modernization Act requirements - Define and apply performance measures for inputs, outcomes, and efficiency #### Module 2: Structured Approach for Performance Analysis - Understand and apply the five-step structured analysis process - Define analysis questions, identify and collect data, and conduct Excel-based evaluations - Utilize Excel for linking data across worksheets and visualizing results #### Module 3: Monitoring Budget and Program Execution - Apply analytic methods to monitor execution of performance budgets - Use Excel tools like sparklines, ratios, and trend analysis - Generate reports using SF 133 and SBR formats for quarterly reviews #### Module 4: Formulation of Performance Budget Requests - Estimate O&M and capital investment costs using Excel functions - Conduct life-cycle cost and net present value (NPV) analysis - Use OMB guidance (A-11, A-94) for developing justifications #### Module 5: Presenting Analytic Results: Capstone Exercise - Prepare compelling performance-based budget justifications - Create Excel-linked Word summaries and PowerPoint visuals - Translate analytic results into a narrative that supports budget decisions ## Schedule - Aug 5, 2026 – Aug 7, 2026 — Live Online - Sep 23, 2026 – Sep 25, 2026 — Live Online - Dec 2, 2026 – Dec 4, 2026 — Live Online ## Instructors ### Alan B. Robinson — Instructor Mr. Robinson is a seasoned legal and federal employment expert with over two decades of experience. He recently retired from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, where he spent 11 years as Deputy Director/Director for the Office of Outreach, Diversity, and Equal Opportunity (ODEO) and 8 years as Chief of Employee and Labor Relations. In these roles, he provided extensive guidance on federal employment matters, showcasing his deep expertise in labor relations and diversity initiatives. A graduate of the University of Virginia with a B.A. in Government, Mr. Robinson earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of Maryland School of Law. He is licensed to practice law in Maryland and the District of Columbia. Before his federal service, he built a robust legal career, starting as a law clerk for the Baltimore City Orphan’s Court, followed by 10 years as a civil defense litigator with a D.C. law firm, and later operating his own solo practice for 5 years. His private practice focused on representing federal agencies, employees, municipalities, and private entities in employment-related cases before the EEOC, Merit Systems Protection Board, and various courts. Currently, Mr. Robinson shares his wealth of knowledge as an adjunct instructor with the Graduate School USA and serves as a registered arbitrator for the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). His extensive background in law, federal employment, and diversity makes him a valuable resource in his field. ### Kent Miller — Instructor Kent D. Miller, Jr., MBA, CDFM-A, is a highly accomplished financial management expert and educator with over 40 years of experience in both the public and private sectors. A retired U.S. Army officer, Kent has held leadership roles such as Controller/CFO for the U.S. Army Missile Command and Program Manager/Financial Analyst for the Assistant Secretary of the Army. His expertise spans budgeting, cost analysis, managerial accounting, and financial systems implementation. Notably, he managed a $9 billion organization, supervised a financial staff of 150, and developed funding requirements and congressional testimony for senior Army leadership. Kent’s career also includes consulting and training, where he has developed over 50 courses and taught more than 20,000 students from federal agencies and contractors. As an adjunct instructor at Graduate School USA since 2005, Kent specializes in financial management training for federal employees. His courses cover a wide range of topics, including appropriations law, budget formulation and execution, and performance-based budgeting. Kent’s teaching is informed by his extensive experience in planning, programming, and budgeting, as well as his work in reengineering processes to achieve cost savings. He is also a Certified Defense Financial Manager with Acquisition Specialty (CDFM-A) and has been recognized for his leadership in professional organizations such as the Society of Defense Financial Management and the Association of Government Accountants. ### Alan McCain — Curriculum Program Manager Alan McCain is a retired combat veteran who served as both an Air Force enlisted member and a Navy officer. He brings over 30 years of experience spanning federal and commercial budgeting, auditing, programming, operations, global logistics support, supply chain and inventory management, as well as major IT acquisition. He possesses extensive, hands-on budget and audit experience across Federal, State, and Local government operations, including work within the Executive Office of the President and the Departments of State, Defense, Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, and Education, as well as the Office of the Mayor of Washington, D.C., among others. Alan’s consulting background includes strategic planning and business development with the District of Columbia government, multiple federal agencies, Lockheed Martin, KPMG, and PricewaterhouseCoopers. He is a Certified Government/Defense Financial Manager (CGFM/DFM), holds a Teaching Certification from Harvard University’s Bok Center for Teaching and Learning, and earned an Executive MBA in International Business from The George Washington University. ## Pricing **Tuition:** $1199