Analysis / Finance and cash planning
Explain budget variances by department
Use Proforma to explain budget variances by department. Produce department variance table and budget-owner review questions from your business data.
Finance lead · Founder
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Your starting prompt.
Compare actual spending with the approved budget for [period]. Calculate absolute and percentage variances by department and account, then identify the largest drivers and distinguish recurring changes from tagged one-time costs. Produce a management summary with drill-down records and questions for each budget owner. Keep unclassified expenses visible and avoid labeling lower spending as favorable when the operating impact is unknown.
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Method and review
Keep the assumptions visible.
Start with opening cash and dated receipts and payments. Separate recorded cash movements from forecasts, and show which assumptions change the result.
For this task, check
Percentage variances require special handling when the approved budget is zero.
Before you begin
- Uploaded exports or permitted Data covering the listed inputs
Work with permitted files or queryable data. Verify the result against the original records.
Synthetic illustrative example
See the method in practice.
Synthetic input. Illustrative output checked locally; this is not a live Proforma run or customer result. September expense totals include an explicitly unclassified bucket. Positive variance means spending above budget.
These invented records explain the method. They are not a recorded Proforma run.
| Department | Budget | Actual | Recorded context |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engineering | $50,000 | $60,000 | Includes $8,000 tagged one-time equipment |
| Sales | $40,000 | $36,000 | Hiring timing needs review |
| Unclassified | $0 | $5,000 | Owner and account missing |
| Department | Actual less budget | Variance % | Owner question |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engineering | $10,000 | 20.0% | Includes $8,000 tagged one-time equipment |
| Sales | $-4,000 | -10.0% | Hiring timing needs review |
| Unclassified | $5,000 | Undefined: zero budget | Owner and account missing |
Method
Dollar variance = actual − budget; percentage variance = dollar variance / budget when budget is nonzero. Keep the $5,000 unclassified amount visible. Engineering's remaining $2,000 variance after its tagged $8,000 item still needs explanation.
What the result tells you
Sales spending below budget is not automatically favorable: missing hires could affect delivery. Tagging equipment as one-time does not by itself establish accounting treatment or explain future costs.
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