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BUDGETING: Basics, Problems, Trends and Best Practices
Date: Thursday, February 11, 2010
Time: 11:00 AM ET / 10:00 AM CT / 09:00 AM MT / 08:00 AM PT [Prevailing Time]
Presenter(s): Phil Miller, Executive Secretary, Virginia Cooperative Council and Chris Headley, Assistant Controller- Southern States Cooperative, Inc.
Objective: Participants can expect to learn about:

• Budgeting Basics: The bare-bones of a simple basic budget will be discussed, including definitions and the processes for budgeting Sales, Gross Margins, Operating Expenses, Other Revenue and Deductions, Interest Expense and Income Taxes.

• Budgeting Problems: Certain budgeting problems will be discussed, including Over-budgeting, Under-budgeting, Lack of Goal Congruence, Lack of Flexibility, Building Upon Inefficiencies and Misuse.

• Budgeting Trends and Best Practices: The latest Trends and Best Practices will be discussed, including Top-down Budgets, Bottom-up Budgets, Rolling Budgets, Flexible Budgets and Web-based Budgeting Systems.
Field of Study: Finance
Program Level: Basic
CPE Credit: 1 Credit Hour

No advanced preparation or prerequisites are required for this course.

Course Description
Mere mention of the word “budget” or “budgeting” brings fear and loathing –sometimes outright terror to many. To many managers, budgeting is a mysterious accounting process, to which they are unfairly subjected on an annual basis, over which they have little control, and for which they are held accountable.

This course will try to remove some of the mystery (and fear) from the budgeting process, and explain what budgets are and should be, how they are used (and sometimes misused), and also discuss some recent trends and best practices.

Presenter Bio(s)
Philip W. Miller is the Executive Secretary for the Virginia Cooperative Council headquartered in Richmond, VA. He recently retired as Vice President & Controller for Southern States Cooperative in Richmond, Virginia, after a thirty-six year career.

While at Southern States, he served as an Internal Auditor, Senior Auditor, Assistant Manager of Internal Audit, Manager of Corporate Accounting and Assistant Controller before being promoted to Controller in 2000. Prior to his joining Southern States, Phil worked for Walden Inventory Services. Prior to that, he served for two years in the United States Army as a member of the President’s Honor Guard in Ft. Meyer, Virginia. He was born in Nevada and grew up on a farm in southern Indiana.

Phil received his BA in Economics from Berea College in 1968 and completed post graduate studies in Accounting at Virginia Commonwealth University in 1978. He is a retired licensed CPA in Virginia and former member of the AICPA and the Virginia Society of CPAs. He is a former national director for the National Society of Accountants for Cooperatives (NSAC), and served as national president of NSAC in 2001-2002. He serves as an editor and writer for NSAC’s national magazine, the Cooperative Accountant.

Phil his wife Vicki reside in Richmond, Virginia. In his spare time, Miller enjoys golf, reading, hiking and gardening.


Chris Headley is the Assistant Controller for Southern States Cooperative in Richmond, Virginia. He joined Southern States in 1997 as Accounting Manager in the Feed Division. He then served as Cost Accounting Manager, Manager of Corporate Accounting, and Controller of Retail Accounting.

In 2003, he joined Old Dominion Electric Cooperative as Manager of Budgeting and Cost Reporting. He returned to Southern States in 2005 as a Senior Business Analyst, Controller of the Petroleum Division, and then Director of Internal Audit. He assumed his current position in 2009. From 1985 to 1997, Headley worked for Virginia Power in various Commercial Operations and Financial Services positions. He was born in Charlottesville and has always lived in Virginia.

Chris received his BS in Finance from Virginia Tech in 1985, an MBA from The College of William and Mary in 1989, and a Post Baccalaureate Certificate in Accounting from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1997.

He is a licensed CPA in Virginia and also holds the Certified Management Accountant (CMA) and Certified Financial Manager (CFM) designations. He is a member of the Institute of Management Accountants, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the National Society of Accountants for Cooperatives, for which he currently serves as national director.

Chris and his wife Karen live in Richmond, Virginia. They have three adult children.