Budget planning calendar
/What is a Budget Planning Calendar?
A budget planning calendar is a schedule of the dates by which budget information must be submitted by department managers. The calendar also contains the dates of budget meetings, such as initial planning meetings and subsequent review meetings. The planning calendar typically covers at least two months and may extend up to four months, so that all budgeting activities can be addressed by the end of the fiscal year. It may be included in the budget manual that is issued to all department managers.
When to Use a Budget Planning Calendar
This calendar is especially important when certain budgets, such as the sales budget, must be completed before other departments can begin their budgeting work. For example, it is essential to budget for the number of units to be sold before anything else, so that the production manager can budget for how those units are to be manufactured. In addition, the sales budget is needed before the marketing manager can plan on when to offer the promotions that will generates those unit sales.
Related AccountingTools Courses
Controls for a Budget Planning Calendar
Several controls could be imposed on a budget planning calendar, to ensure that it is completed on-time and with appropriate oversight. The key controls are as follows:
Formal approval of the budget calendar. The budget calendar should be reviewed and approved by senior management or the budget committee to ensure alignment with organizational goals and timelines.
Defined responsibilities. Each task on the calendar should clearly identify the responsible person or department to prevent confusion and missed deadlines.
Deadline monitoring. The finance or budget office should regularly monitor whether deadlines are met, and escalate any delays to management for corrective action.
Version control for budget submissions. Departments must use standardized templates and maintain version control to ensure that only the latest and approved versions of budget documents are used in reviews.
Review and approval of budget submissions. Draft budgets should be reviewed in multiple stages (department-level, finance review, senior management) to ensure accuracy, reasonableness, and alignment with organizational strategy.
Documented budget assumptions and guidelines. All budget assumptions, inflation rates, and planning guidelines should be documented and distributed to ensure consistency across departments.
Audit trail of changes. A record of all significant changes to budget submissions, calendar dates, and assumptions should be maintained for accountability and potential audits.