Budget Creation Workflow

This skill provides a structured workflow for comprehensive budget development using the budget-planner agent.

Workflow Overview

The budget creation workflow follows 6 phases:

| Phase | Name | Description | |-------|------|-------------| | 1 | Planning | Define budget scope, methodology, timeline | | 2 | Assumption Development | Document all budget assumptions | | 3 | Line Item Build | Build detailed budget by line item | | 4 | Consolidation | Consolidate and review totals | | 5 | Approval | Obtain required approvals | | 6 | Documentation | Finalize with version control |

Phase 1: Planning

MANDATORY: Define budget parameters before building

Questions to Answer

| Question | Purpose | |----------|---------| | What is the budget period? | Sets time scope | | What methodology will be used? | Incremental vs ZBB | | Who are the budget owners? | Establishes accountability | | What is the timeline? | Sets deadlines | | What are the constraints? | Defines boundaries |

Methodology Selection

| Method | When to Use | Characteristics | |--------|-------------|-----------------| | Incremental | Stable operations | Prior year + adjustments | | Zero-Based | Cost reduction | Every item justified | | Driver-Based | Scalable operations | Tied to activity drivers | | Top-Down | Corporate targets | Allocate from total | | Bottom-Up | Department input | Aggregate from detail |

Blocker Check

If ANY of these are unclear, STOP and ask:

Budget period
Methodology choice
Approval requirements
Timeline constraints

Phase 2: Assumption Development

MANDATORY: Document ALL assumptions before building

Required Assumptions

| Category | Examples | |----------|----------| | Revenue | Growth rate, pricing, volume | | Headcount | Hiring plan, attrition, merit | | Inflation | General inflation, specific items | | Timing | Seasonality, project timing | | Strategic | Initiatives, investments |

Assumption Documentation Standard

| Element | Requirement | |---------|-------------| | Assumption statement | Clear, specific description | | Value | Quantified assumption | | Rationale | Why this assumption | | Owner | Who owns this assumption | | Sensitivity | Impact if wrong |

Anti-Rationalization

| Rationalization | Why It's WRONG | Required Action | |-----------------|----------------|-----------------| | "Same as last year" | Each budget is independent | RE-EVALUATE assumption | | "Industry standard" | Industry varies | CITE specific basis | | "Conservative estimate" | Conservative needs quantification | DEFINE conservatism |

Phase 3: Line Item Build

Dispatch to specialist with full context

Agent Dispatch

Task tool:
  subagent_type: "ring:budget-planner"
  model: "opus"
  prompt: |
    Build budget per these specifications:

    **Period**: [budget period]
    **Type**: [annual/departmental/project]
    **Methodology**: [from Phase 1]

    **Assumptions**:
    [From Phase 2]

    **Constraints**:
    [Any targets or limitations]

    **Prior Period Reference**:
    [Attach prior budget/actuals]

    **Required Output**:
    - Line item detail with owners
    - Assumption linkage for each item
    - Variance to prior period
    - Monthly/quarterly phasing

Required Output Elements

| Element | Requirement | |---------|-------------| | Budget Summary | High-level totals | | Line Item Detail | Every line with owner | | Assumptions | Linked to line items | | Phasing | Monthly or quarterly | | Variance | To prior period/target | | Version | Version number and date |

Phase 4: Consolidation

MANDATORY: Review consolidated budget for reasonableness

Consolidation Checks

| Check | Validation | |-------|------------| | Math accuracy | All totals foot and cross-foot | | Assumption consistency | No conflicting assumptions | | Intercompany | Eliminations if applicable | | Completeness | All departments included |

Reasonableness Tests

| Test | Validation | |------|------------| | YoY change | Explainable variance | | Margin trends | Consistent with strategy | | Headcount | Reconciles to HR plan | | CapEx | Within investment guidelines |

Phase 5: Approval

MANDATORY: Document all approvals

Approval Workflow

| Level | Approver | Documentation | |-------|----------|---------------| | Department | Department head | Written approval | | Finance | Controller/CFO | Written approval | | Executive | CEO | Written approval | | Board | Board/Committee | Meeting minutes |

Approval Documentation

| Element | Requirement | |---------|-------------| | Approver name | Full name and title | | Approval date | Specific date | | Version approved | Version number | | Conditions | Any conditions or caveats |

Phase 6: Documentation

MANDATORY: Finalize with full audit trail

Documentation Checklist

| Element | Status | |---------|--------| | All assumptions documented | Required | | All line items with owners | Required | | All approvals documented | Required | | Version control in place | Required | | Change log complete | Required |

Output Format

See shared-patterns/execution-report.md for base metrics.

Budget-Specific Metrics:

line_items: N
departments: N
assumptions_documented: N
variance_to_prior: X.X%
approval_status: DRAFT/SUBMITTED/APPROVED

Pressure Resistance

See shared-patterns/pressure-resistance.md for universal pressures.

Budget-Specific Pressures

| Pressure Type | Request | Agent Response | |---------------|---------|----------------| | "Make the numbers work" | "Budgets must reflect realistic projections. I'll document achievable targets." | | "Skip departmental review" | "All budgets require owner sign-off. I'll coordinate with departments." | | "Use last year's assumptions" | "Each budget needs fresh assumption validation. I'll re-evaluate all assumptions." | | "We need it by EOD" | "Quality cannot be compromised by timeline. I'll document what's achievable." |

Anti-Rationalization Table

See shared-patterns/anti-rationalization.md for universal anti-rationalizations.

Budget-Specific Anti-Rationalizations

| Rationalization | Why It's WRONG | Required Action | |-----------------|----------------|-----------------| | "Just add X% to last year" | Every item needs justification | JUSTIFY each item | | "Department requested it" | Requests need validation | VALIDATE request basis | | "We always spend this much" | Historical ≠ justified | JUSTIFY current need | | "Round number is close enough" | Precision matters | USE calculated amounts |

Execution Report

Upon completion, report:

| Metric | Value | |--------|-------| | Duration | Xm Ys | | Line Items | N | | Departments | N | | Assumptions | N documented | | Approval Status | DRAFT/APPROVED | | Result | COMPLETE/PARTIAL |

Quality Indicators

| Indicator | Status | |-----------|--------| | All assumptions documented | YES/NO | | All items have owners | YES/NO | | All approvals obtained | YES/NO | | Version control in place | YES/NO |