Fill online: Budget versus actual variance analysis and monthly CFO commentary

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Name of the client

Fills 3 places in the document.

Period end date

Fills 4 places in the document.

Name of the firm

Fills 3 places in the document.

Commentary threshold amount in Rs

Fills 2 places in the document.

Runway trigger in months

Appears later in the document.

Commentary threshold percentage

Both / Either

Revenue for the previous period in Rs

Credit sales including GST in Rs

Credit purchases including GST in Rs

Trade receivables in Rs

Trade payables in Rs

Inventory in Rs

Opening cash in Rs

Funds raised in Rs

Loans repaid in Rs

Closing cash in Rs

Net burn of the previous period in Rs

Net burn of the period before in Rs

Undrawn committed facilities in Rs

Headcount at the period end

Revenue from operations: products: Budget for the period (Rs)

Revenue from operations: products: Actual for the period (Rs)

Revenue from operations: products: Budget YTD (Rs)

Revenue from operations: products: Actual YTD (Rs)

Revenue from operations: services: Budget for the period (Rs)

Revenue from operations: services: Actual for the period (Rs)

Revenue from operations: services: Budget YTD (Rs)

Revenue from operations: services: Actual YTD (Rs)

Other operating revenue: Budget for the period (Rs)

Other operating revenue: Actual for the period (Rs)

Other operating revenue: Budget YTD (Rs)

Other operating revenue: Actual YTD (Rs)

Cost of materials and stock-in-trade, net of: Budget for the period (Rs)

Cost of materials and stock-in-trade, net of: Actual for the period (Rs)

Cost of materials and stock-in-trade, net of: Budget YTD (Rs)

Cost of materials and stock-in-trade, net of: Actual YTD (Rs)

Direct costs: freight, job work, hosting: Budget for the period (Rs)

Direct costs: freight, job work, hosting: Actual for the period (Rs)

Direct costs: freight, job work, hosting: Budget YTD (Rs)

Direct costs: freight, job work, hosting: Actual YTD (Rs)

Employee benefits expense: Budget for the period (Rs)

Employee benefits expense: Actual for the period (Rs)

Employee benefits expense: Budget YTD (Rs)

Employee benefits expense: Actual YTD (Rs)

Rent and facilities: Budget for the period (Rs)

Rent and facilities: Actual for the period (Rs)

Rent and facilities: Budget YTD (Rs)

Rent and facilities: Actual YTD (Rs)

Sales, marketing and customer acquisition: Budget for the period (Rs)

Sales, marketing and customer acquisition: Actual for the period (Rs)

Sales, marketing and customer acquisition: Budget YTD (Rs)

Sales, marketing and customer acquisition: Actual YTD (Rs)

Technology and subscriptions: Budget for the period (Rs)

Technology and subscriptions: Actual for the period (Rs)

Technology and subscriptions: Budget YTD (Rs)

Technology and subscriptions: Actual YTD (Rs)

Professional and legal fees: Budget for the period (Rs)

Professional and legal fees: Actual for the period (Rs)

Professional and legal fees: Budget YTD (Rs)

Professional and legal fees: Actual YTD (Rs)

Travel and conveyance: Budget for the period (Rs)

Travel and conveyance: Actual for the period (Rs)

Travel and conveyance: Budget YTD (Rs)

Travel and conveyance: Actual YTD (Rs)

Administrative and other expenses: Budget for the period (Rs)

Administrative and other expenses: Actual for the period (Rs)

Administrative and other expenses: Budget YTD (Rs)

Administrative and other expenses: Actual YTD (Rs)

Other income: Budget for the period (Rs)

Other income: Actual for the period (Rs)

Other income: Budget YTD (Rs)

Other income: Actual YTD (Rs)

Finance costs: Budget for the period (Rs)

Finance costs: Actual for the period (Rs)

Finance costs: Budget YTD (Rs)

Finance costs: Actual YTD (Rs)

Depreciation and amortisation: Budget for the period (Rs)

Depreciation and amortisation: Actual for the period (Rs)

Depreciation and amortisation: Budget YTD (Rs)

Depreciation and amortisation: Actual YTD (Rs)

Exceptional items, net (income as positive): Budget for the period (Rs)

Exceptional items, net (income as positive): Actual for the period (Rs)

Exceptional items, net (income as positive): Budget YTD (Rs)

Exceptional items, net (income as positive): Actual YTD (Rs)

Tax expense, current and deferred: Budget for the period (Rs)

Tax expense, current and deferred: Actual for the period (Rs)

Tax expense, current and deferred: Budget YTD (Rs)

Tax expense, current and deferred: Actual YTD (Rs)

Debtor days (DSO): Budget, this period

Creditor days (DPO): Budget, this period

Inventory days: Budget, this period

Closing cash and bank balances (Rs): Budget, this period

Net burn for the period (Rs): Budget, this period

Runway (months): Budget, this period

Product or service line 1

Budget units, row 1

Budget price (Rs), row 1

Actual units, row 1

Actual price (Rs), row 1

Product or service line 2

Budget units, row 2

Budget price (Rs), row 2

Actual units, row 2

Actual price (Rs), row 2

Product or service line 3

Budget units, row 3

Budget price (Rs), row 3

Actual units, row 3

Actual price (Rs), row 3

Product or service line 4

Budget units, row 4

Budget price (Rs), row 4

Actual units, row 4

Actual price (Rs), row 4

Product or service line 5

Budget units, row 5

Budget price (Rs), row 5

Actual units, row 5

Actual price (Rs), row 5

Product or service line 6

Budget units, row 6

Budget price (Rs), row 6

Actual units, row 6

Actual price (Rs), row 6

Addressees of the commentary

Date of issue of the commentary

Three sentences: how the month went against budget, the single biggest reason, and what management needs to decide or watch.

Revenue for the month in Rs lakh

Revenue variance in Rs lakh

Above / below

Revenue achievement YTD percentage

EBITDA for the month in Rs lakh

Budgeted EBITDA for the month in Rs lakh

Closing cash in Rs lakh

Runway in months

Explain the revenue variance by line, using the Price and volume sheet: volume, price, mix, timing. Name the customers or products that drove it. Separate new business from existing customers. State the order book, pipeline or bookings for the next month where the business tracks them.

Gross margin of __ per cent against __ per cent budgeted. Explain each point of movement: input prices, freight, discounts, product mix, wastage, hosting or delivery costs. Say whether the movement is expected to persist.

Every cost line marked Comment needed, with amount, cause and consequence. Show headcount against plan and the payroll effect of joiners and leavers. Identify costs committed but not yet booked.

Opening and closing cash; the three largest movements; collections against plan; debtor days, creditor days and inventory days against target, with the customers or items that moved them; MSME suppliers beyond 45 days; status of the cash-credit limit and drawing power; lowest point in the thirteen-week forecast and any funding gap.

Customer credit risk or overdue receivable

Amount at stake (Rs lakh), row 1

High / Medium / Low (1)

Action and owner, row 1

By, row 1

Covenant, limit or funding risk

Amount at stake (Rs lakh), row 2

High / Medium / Low (2)

Action and owner, row 2

By, row 2

Statutory or tax exposure

Amount at stake (Rs lakh), row 3

High / Medium / Low (3)

Action and owner, row 3

By, row 3

Operational or people risk

Amount at stake (Rs lakh), row 4

High / Medium / Low (4)

Action and owner, row 4

By, row 4

Decision required, for example approve a revised hiring plan, defer a capital item, renegotiate a customer's terms, draw on a facility or start a fund-raise.

Recommendation

Effect on profit, cash and runway

Date by which the decision is needed

Second decision.

Recommendation on the second decision

Date by which the second decision is needed

Date of Board approval of the budget

Name of the preparer

Name of the engagement partner

[Name of the client] · month ended [Period end date] · prepared by [Name of the firm]

BUDGET VERSUS ACTUAL AND MONTHLY CFO COMMENTARY

An internal management document, compiled from unaudited books. It sits behind page 1 of the MIS pack (MIS pack, commentary and summary, FV06-L10-1) and feeds the board and investor update. Use the same trial balance for all three.

How the workbook works

1. One budget, phased by month. Enter the Board-approved budget, phased month by month on the drivers that move it (working days, seasonality, price changes, hiring dates, campaign calendar), not one-twelfth of the annual figure. Where the budget has been reforecast, keep the approved budget in the budget columns and show the reforecast in the commentary: a budget that is overwritten every quarter stops measuring anything.

2. Actuals from closed books only. Take the period and year-to-date actuals from the trial balance after the monthly close review, mapped to the same line items as the budget. Accruals, depreciation and the month's inventory change must be booked first, or the cost lines will show variances that are not real.

3. Sign convention. Variance is actual less budget. Each line is marked Income or Cost in the Nature column. For an Income line a positive variance is favourable; for a Cost line a positive variance is adverse. The Flag columns apply this for the period and the year to date. Variance % is the variance divided by the absolute budget, so that it reads sensibly where the budget is a loss.

4. When a comment is needed. On the Inputs sheet set an amount (for example Rs [Commentary threshold amount in Rs]) and a percentage (for example ten per cent), and choose whether a variance must cross both or either. The Comment needed column marks every line whose period or year-to-date variance crosses the threshold, and every line with actual spend but no budget ("Yes: unbudgeted"). Comment on every marked line, and on any line the commentary relies on, even if unmarked.

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