What is a Strategic Budgeting Plan?
A strategic budgeting plan is a tool used for financial teams of all sizes and industries to create a plan for budgeting. It typically focuses on preparing multiple budgets and forecasts, and aligning short-term costs with long-term goals. The plan is typically tailored to the budget of the company, and the main objective is to maximize financial resources and reduce spending on short-term costs.
What's included in this Strategic Budgeting Plan template?
- 3 focus areas
- 6 objectives
- 6 projects
- 6 KPIs
Each focus area has its own objectives, projects, and KPIs to ensure that the strategy is comprehensive and effective.
Who is the Strategic Budgeting Plan template for?
The strategic budgeting plan template is for any financial team who is looking for an organized approach to budgeting that can help them better manage cash flow and analyze financial trends. The template is designed to help teams prepare multiple budgets and forecasts, align short-term costs with long-term goals, and optimize cash flow to maximize budget efficiency.
1. Define clear examples of your focus areas
The first step in the strategic budgeting plan template is to define the focus areas. These are the main topics or activities that the plan will cover. Examples of focus areas could include financial budgeting, financial planning, and cash flow management.
2. Think about the objectives that could fall under that focus area
Once the focus areas have been established, the next step is to think of the objectives that could fall under each focus area. These objectives should be specific and measurable goals that the team wants to achieve in order to reach the overall budgeting goal.
Examples of some objectives for the focus area of Financial Budgeting could be: Prepare Multiple Budgets, and Align Short-Term Costs with Long-Term.
3. Set measurable targets (KPIs) to tackle the objective
The third step is to set measurable targets, also known as KPIs, to tackle each objective. These KPIs should be numerical targets that can be tracked and used to measure the success of the objectives.
An example of a KPI for the focus area of Financial Budgeting could be: Increase accuracy of forecasted budget.
4. Implement related projects to achieve the KPIs
The fourth step is to implement related projects to achieve the KPIs. These projects should be specific actions that can be taken to reach the objectives and KPIs of the budgeting plan.
An example of a project related to Financial Budgeting could be: Create multiple budgets and forecasts.
5. Utilize Cascade Strategy Execution Platform to see faster results from your strategy
Finally, teams can utilize the Cascade Strategy Execution Platform to track and measure progress towards their objectives and KPIs. This platform allows teams to see faster results from their strategic budgeting plan and make course corrections in real time as needed.