Page 19 - Budgeting for Managers

Budgeting for Managers
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Plan A written document describing what you are going
to do to achieve a goal. It usually includes the steps
involved and a timeline for completion.
Budget A plan that includes the money you will spend and when you
will spend it. In addition to expenses, a budget can also include
income.
Team The people who work with or under you to achieve a goal you
all share. It doesn’t matter if your organization calls them a team, a
department, or anything else.What matters is that you will support
and guide these people, all of you will work together, and all of you
will deliver the results the organization wants.
Why Make a Budget? Who Reads Budgets?
There are several good reasons to create a budget and to make
it a good one. The reasons are tied to the people who will read
and use the budget. Each reader will look at the budget in a dif-
ferent way and do something different with it. If you know your
readers, you can make a budget that will impress everyone—
and, more important, show how your group is contributing to
the organization and therefore approve the funds you need to
proceed. If you know how the budget will be used, you will
know how to write it in an easy-to-use way. More important, it
will help you succeed and show that you are a good manager
and that your team is doing a good job. So, let’s take a look at
your audiences and what they will do with your budget.
You and Your Team
You and your team are your first, and most important, audience
for your work plans and your budget. When you read the budg-
et, you want it to make sense. This means that you understand
it, of course, but it means more than that. The budget should be
believable and workable and it should work the way your team
works and be appropriate to your situation.
Your Boss
Your boss is your second audience. Of course, you want the
budget to be correct, clear, and complete for him or her. If your