Question: Budget Presentation

Our Treasurer faithfully presents a spreadsheet of numbers every month. Projected, actual, and activity during the past month are noted, however it is difficult to see the big picture, such as how much each specific fundraiser nets, what the total costs are for an event, etc. Are there any good examples of monthly budget presentations to help get this information easier to digest?

Asked by Topeka Dad

Answers:

Advice from PTO Today

Craig writes:
To help you get a better handle on your finances, your treasurer should create two reports each month. One, as you noted, shows financial activity during the past month. The other report is performance to budget. The performance to budget report includes four numbers for each line item in your budget: the amount budgeted (what you expected to spend or raise), actual to date (actual expenses or income, as opposed to what was budgeted), variance (difference between what was budgeted and actual to date), and balance on hand at end of period. There's a sample performance-to-budget report on the File Exchange, available to PTO Today Plus members. The same form, along with a discussion of treasurer's reports, is also available in our Treasurers Toolkit.