Businesses setting targets
Companies that want a number the team can be held to and can influence.
Business Advisory & Finance
Budgeting & Forecasting
Budgets, financial forecasts, scenario modelling and budget-versus-actual analysis.
Overview
How we help with Budgeting & Forecasting
A budget is a set of decisions written down in advance. Done properly it tells you what you expect, what you will do if it does not happen, and how quickly you will know.
We build your annual budget from revenue drivers rather than last year plus a percentage: volumes, prices, conversion, headcount, capacity. That makes it possible to see which assumption broke when the actuals differ, instead of just noting that they did.
Each month we report budget against actual with variance analysis, and reforecast the remainder of the year so the target you are working to is still the one you believe.
What's included
Everything covered in this service
This service creates an agreed operating budget and a repeatable cycle for updating forecasts against actual performance. It is not limited to bank movements: businesses needing a short-term view of receipts and payments should use cash-flow forecasting. Actual-versus-plan reporting can feed into management accounts, while more complex scenario tools sit within financial modelling.
- Annual budget built from revenue and cost drivers
- Departmental or cost-centre budgets where relevant
- Rolling reforecast as the year progresses
- Budget versus actual reporting with variance analysis
- Best, base and downside scenario modelling
- Headcount and capacity planning
Who it's for
Built around how you actually operate
Owner-managers planning growth
Where hiring and investment decisions need a frame to sit in.
Businesses answering to a board
Companies reporting performance against plan to investors or lenders.
FAQs
Budgeting & Forecasting: common questions
When should we start next year's budget?
Two to three months before your year end. That leaves time to test assumptions and agree it before the year it applies to has already started.
What is the difference between a budget and a forecast?
A budget is the plan you set at the start and hold steady to measure against. A forecast is your current best estimate of where the year will actually land, updated as things change.
What information is needed to build the budget?
We use recent actual results, known commitments, staffing plans, sales assumptions and planned investment. The assumptions are documented so management can see what drives the numbers and challenge them before approval.
How does this differ from cash-flow forecasting?
Budgeting and forecasting track expected trading performance against a plan. A cash-flow forecast focuses specifically on when money enters and leaves the bank and whether the business has enough liquidity at each point.
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Let's talk about Budgeting & Forecasting
Bring the latest accounts, known commitments and the decisions the plan must support. We will agree the forecast horizon, reporting detail, assumptions and update cycle.
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