AI workflows for budgeting and variance analysis.

Building the budget, tracking what is left after commitments and explaining where actual results differ from plan.

Who does this work

  • Budget analyst
  • Financial analyst
  • Budget manager

3 workflow templates ready to adapt, and 4 workflows identified.

Updated

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Examples of the workflows identified
  1. Explain budget-versus-actual variances
  2. Prepare the operating budget
  3. Check remaining budget after open commitmentsIllustrative
  4. Cost a change to a research study budgetIllustrative

The workflows identified

Marked illustrative: an example of the work, identified, with no workflow template yet.

Explain budget-versus-actual variancesGives budget owners and the finance lead a budget-to-actual bridge by line, service or cost owner, with drivers, usage context, unallocated costs and questions where support is missing.Workflow templatePrepare the operating budgetGives the finance lead and budget owners a budget by team and month, tied out, with assumptions visible and the largest changes from this year.Workflow template
Check remaining budget after open commitmentsGives a department a budget schedule separating recorded spending, open purchase orders and proposed requests, so it can see what is still available.Illustrative · not built yet
Cost a change to a research study budgetGives the study finance lead a worksheet linking added or removed study activities to supplied rates, with unpriced work and volume assumptions.Illustrative · not built yet

Workflow templates

Annual operating budgetFor an owner or finance lead preparing next year: revenue and costs by month and by team, built from this year's figures and each budget owner's drivers, every assumption written down, capital purchases listed apart, the whole checked against cash, and the questions leadership has to settle.Workflow templateBudget-versus-actual variance commentaryBefore the month's results go to management, the finance lead gets written commentary on every line that moved past the threshold: the figures, the budget owner's explanation marked confirmed or to be confirmed, a bridge from budget to actual, and the questions still open. No cause is invented.Workflow templateCloud spend variance bridgeWhen cloud or tooling costs move away from budget, the finance lead and the engineering manager get a bridge from budget to actual by service and cost owner, with usage beside each large move, the unallocated and shared costs, and the questions each side must answer.Workflow template

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Where to go next

All of financial planning and analysisThe broader area this belongs to, with its workflows.All of finance and accountingEvery area of the function, with workflow templates and examples.Map your team in the PlannerPut this work in your plan, with the roles that do it.

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