Antleader
Guide
#D2

Basic Organizational Budgeting

One of the tasks you may face as treasurer or financial officer, especially if your organization transacts a lot of business, is that of preparing a budget. There are all sorts of methods for preparing budgets from flipping coins to using spread sheets. No one method is best for all organizations. The method described is fairly simple.

What Is A Budget?
A budget is an organizational tool used for planning and controlling within an organization. It is a formal written guideline for your future plans of action, expressed in financial terms within a set time period.

What Can A Budget Accomplish?

• It can help refine goals that reflect realistic resources.
• It can compel members of the organization to use funds efficiently.
• It can provide accurate information to adjust, analyze, and evaluate programs and activities.
• It can aid in decision making.
• It can provide a historical reference to be used for future planning.

Basic Components Of A Budget

• A statement of the organization's goals, objectives and priorities (What do we want to accomplish? How will we accomplish this? How much will the program cost? How will the program be funded?)
• A specified time period to which the budget applies, e.g., July 1 -June 30.
• A method of reviewing budget plans and procedures
• Budgeted financial statements: An estimated detailed income breakdown and an estimated detail expense breakdown.

Developing A Budget

• Begin preparations a month or more prior to the close of the current year.
• Prepare an outline of the organization's planned activities for the upcoming year.
• Determine available funds (carry over balance from previous years, cash on hand and funds in the bank, interest, etc.).
• Do careful studies of funding sources, costs, estimated and probable fundraisers.
• Estimate expected income and when it is expected to be available (dues, t­shirts, fund raisers, annual gifts, etc.).
• Define needed expense (club registration, advertising, printing costs, etc.).
• Get price quotations on certain expenditures, delegate certain responsibilities to members.
• Rank order by their relative importance, which activities are the wisest expenditures of funds.
• Choose and decide program initiate; ask yourselves, "How much is available to allocate?"
• Negotiate as necessary, eliminate less essential expenditures or limit certain expenditures.
• Revise, review, coordinate, cross-reference, and then assemble into a final budget; the budget must be flexible to anticipate conditions which might have been overlooked during the planning process.

Managing The Budget

• Once approved, adopted, and prepared, it should be closely managed.
• Set and maintain a minimum cash balance.
• Formulate general policies and procedures needed to achieve objectives.
• Keep an accurate log of financial transactions (income and expenses): maintain in your organization record book (check and balance records periodically).
• Set up internal control designed for safeguards and accurate accounting data -- this encourages adherence, too.
• Control cost -- allow only approved expenditures
• Assess budget at any given point of time during the budgeted period.

A SAMPLE BUDGET
(expressed in financial terms)

After the budget period has elapsed, determine the outcome of each expense and revenue. Judge and review actual cost in order to establish priorities for the next budget period.

Please note that the ASUCI is available to maintain and sevice your account at no charge.

INCOME	Projected Income	Actual Income
Candy sales (2 / quarter)	$ 600.00
Dues (50 @ $5 / yr.)	250.00
Car wash	450.00
Holiday Dance ticket sales	400.00
TOTAL INCOME:	$1,700.00
EXPENSES	Projected Expenses	Actual Expenses
Club Registration	$ 36.00
Ads in New U (2 / quarter)	250.00
D.J. for Dance	500.00
Publicity Flyers	150.00
Refreshments	300.00
Supplies/Misc.	100.00
Awards	200.00
TOTAL EXPENSES	$1,536.00

Back to Index