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Financial Operations

Tips For Managers

In developing the annual budget and quarterly forecasts, managers should keep the following in mind:

Budget:

  • What is the current budget?  How much has been spent year-to-date, and how much will be spent by year-end? (i.e., What is the forecast?)
  • Review account history.  Run Banner reports "WGPBDSC" or "WGPBVSA" for the prior year (year-to-date and year-end) - how much had been spent by this time last year?  Was the annual budget exceeded at year-end?  (Or was the actual significantly less than budget?)  How did it look the year before?
  • Has the department consistently come in over or under budget for several years in a row, and if so, why?  Managers should keep in mind that neither situation is ideal.  Continually requesting funds that are not needed (i.e., as "cushion" or "padding" - "just in case"), though it may ensure the department comes in under budget, it also takes dollars away from other departments and programs that legitimately need them, and forces university-wide reductions in areas that may be more critical.
  • What new initiatives are being planned for the department in the following year?  How will they be funded?  Do they correlate to or are they offset by revenue?
  • Are there ways in which the department might be able to reduce expenses?
  • Are there other departments with related work/responsibilities that may be budgeting for the same expense (i.e., has anything been "double-counted")?
  • Have clear, thorough supporting justifications and explanations been included with the department's requests?  (The BannerWeb budget forms will not accept requests for changes without explanation.)

Forecast:

  • What has been spent year to date?  How much of the annual budget has been spent so far - is the remainder sufficient to cover expenses for the rest of the year, or might there be some savings?
  • Are there going to be necessary expenses that were not anticipated at the time the budget was completed?
  • Review account history.  Run Banner reports "WGPBDSC" or "WGPBVSA" for the prior year (year-to-date and year-end) - how much had been spent by this time last year?  Was the annual budget exceeded at year-end?  (Or was the actual significantly less than budget?)