Build the budget review packet
Plan, actuals, variance, owner
After this, you'll be able to create a budget review packet with plan, actuals, variance, source notes, owner, and approval question.
Before you start
Complete Clean the finance table.
The idea
A budget review packet turns a spreadsheet into a decision conversation.
- GoalAfter this, you'll be able to create a budget review packet with plan, actuals,
- InputsVariance needs a driver
- Build the budget review packetThe packet uses plan and actuals
- ReviewIt applies a material threshold
- ProofBuild one budget review packet with top variances, drivers, owners, and approval
Packet rule: plan, actuals, variance, driver note, source, owner, and decision question belong together. A variance number alone is not enough.
AI can draft the first review, but it needs the sign convention, audience, and what counts as material. Material means large enough to change the decision.
Worked example: travel is 18 percent over plan. The packet shows actual spend, budget, variance, source export, owner, and the question: approve the overage or cut July travel.
Budget review works when every variance points to a decision owner.
Budget review is a comparison, not a complaint. The question is not "what went wrong?" The question is what changed against plan, whether the change is timing or permanent, and who owns the next decision. That framing keeps the review from turning into blame.
Use AI to group variance by driver. Price, volume, timing, scope, vendor, and one-time events should not be mixed in the same explanation. A useful memo says which driver explains the variance, what source proves it, and what the owner should decide before the next close.
Try it (14 min)
Watch out for
- Listing variances without drivers.
- Hiding the material threshold.
- Summarizing for the wrong audience.
- Calling an unexplained variance approved.
Paste this into Claude
Create a budget review packet. Budget table: [paste table] Sign convention: [positive variance means good/bad] Material threshold: [amount or percent] Audience: [CFO, team lead, client, board] Decision needed: [approve, reduce, defer, explain] Return: 1. Top variances. 2. Driver notes. 3. Questions for owners. 4. Approval-ready summary.
What a good response looks like
Top variance: Travel is $4,800 over plan, 18 percent. Driver: two added client trips. Owner question: can July travel absorb the overage? Summary: Travel and contractors need approval before next month closes.
What good looks like
- The packet uses plan and actuals
- It applies a material threshold
- It names owners or questions
- It creates an approval-ready summary
When this breaks
- Breaks when every variance gets equal attention.
- Breaks when the summary omits the decision question.
AI can help with this
Use your approved AI tool to help you you can create a budget review packet with plan, actuals, variance, source notes, owner, and approval question. Start with the exercise prompt and your real input. Ask for one draft, then check it against this proof: The packet uses plan and actuals. Accept only the version you can verify yourself.
You can now
You can rank variances
- You can name drivers
- You can ask owners
- You can prepare approval
Key takeaways
Budget review is not a list of numbers. It is a decision packet with evidence, owners, and questions.
- Variance needs a driver.
- Materiality focuses attention.
- Audience changes summary style.
- Approval needs a named question.