| | OCTOBER 20218CIOReviewIN MY OPINIONEach year organizations take on the task of doing their annual budgets or forecasts. Some even go through the process of doing a reforecast five or six months into the year. These are important exercises for the organization to go through for a few reasons. First, it ensures all of the key players are on the same page with the direction of the organization and the direction of their individual departments. Secondly, it allows the key decision makers to make decisions within the organization based on data. Annual budgets usual start several months before the budget year begins. The finance or budgeting department will send out spreadsheets to the individuals responsible for the department's budget and ask them to fill out. This will include a section for revenue (if applicable) with a cost of goods section, payroll, benefits and other operating expenses. The departments would send back to finance and finance would take the data and input or copy it into the master file of the budget. If any questions came up or something needed to be adjusted, the finance or budget team would copy the department's spreadsheet and send them back out to the department and would ask them to update or make corrections. This process could happen several times. Once the budget is completed and approved, the finance or budget department would send each department their approved budget spreadsheet (hard copy) and the departments would use those on a monthly basis to manage their departments. The reforecast process is similar to that of the budget process with the exception the process usually starts around halfway through the current year, and the spreadsheets that are sent out to departments will have the first five or six months of actuals and will ask the department to project or forecast the remainder of the year. Once this process is completed, the finance and budgeting department has an idea how the current year will end and uses that as a baseline for the upcoming budget. This budget and forecast process is probably still used in several organizations, however, some of the trends that have emerged over the last several years in the area of budgeting and forecasting By Paul Feltman, Chief Financial Officer at Casino Del Sol ResortBUDGETING AND FORECASTING ­ TODAY'S TRENDS
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