Budget Success Tip 2: Verify Your Expenditure Data
Don’t wait until you run November’s financial reports to start a mid year analysis. Instead, complete as many corrections and/or adjustments as needed during September and October (or every month, if possible). Then in November you can spend time projecting your budget to June 30th. The following may help you perform your mid year analysis:
- Follow requisitions and purchase orders to completion
- Follow and know why encumbrances/pre-encumbrances have not cleared
- Note regular monthly charges to see if they are up-to-date or in arrears
- Do a quick & dirty check, for example:
- When 1/3rd of the fiscal year is over, determine if you have used more than or less than 1/3rd of your resources
- In terms of the percentage of your total budget, compare where you were at this time last fiscal year to where you are now
- Record expenditures where they occur. Do not reimburse other departments for their expenditures on your behalf with transfers of budgets, even if both departments are in the same fund. This action reduces your budget, thereby indicating that the costs associated with operating your department/program are less than they really are. It also creates a financial history that indicates you can provide a certain level of service on fewer resources than actually required
for viewing.
print
email