Information and Decision Tool 1

IST 309 – Winter 2020

Spreadsheets

Overview:

You are the Budget Analyst for a small company. One of you primary tasks is to carefully monitor expenses to ensure you do not spend more than allocated/budgeted by the top management.

Requirements:

Your manager has asked you to generate a report using the following criteria:

1) Develop a table using the information provided in Attachment 1 (do not forget columns for rent and insurance).

2) Utilize cell arithmetic.

3) Provide totals for each expense category (e.g., salary) and for each month.

4) Calculate the following:

a) Average of the actual expenses incurred for each expenses category.

b) Estimate to Complete (ETC). This is the amount you are forecasting will be spent for each of the expense categories for the remainder of the year. (Use the monthly average times the number of remaining months except for the insurance payment)

c) Estimate at Completion (EAC) – total actual expenses plus the ETC.

d) Difference between the budget (attachment 1) and your EAC for each expense category.

5) Generate a pie chart based on the total actual expenses for each category (e.g., Salary, Supplies, etc.). Include the following in the chart:

a) Chart Title as “Total Actual Expenses”

b) Data Labels as a percentage of the total expense and including the category name

6) Generate a report to your supervisor indicating your findings. Include the following:

a) Introduction explaining why you have decided to perform this analysis.

b) Methodology utilized.

c) Findings of your analysis. Develop a single table that shows all calculations. Provide a narrative of the significant differences between the budget and EAC.

d) Recommendations. Suggest a course of action that should be taken in order to ensure that the established budget is not exceeded.

What to Turn In?

1) Your written report to your supervisor with charts embedded into the text to support your findings.

2) Your spreadsheet file.

The grade will be based on completion of the requirements stated above and your recommendation to meet the organizational goal of not exceeding your budget.

Both files must be title with your name in the filename (ex: Mosher Tool 1) and be submitted as indicated in the course schedule.

Attachment 1

	Salaries	Supplies	Phone	Utilities	Travel	Training	Advertising
Jan	13,043	1,256	159	485	1,254	546	658
Feb	10,453	753	175	387	845	897	799
Mar	11,745	1,089	236	446	2,879	547	589
Apr	14,178	758	187	478		299	541
May	12,505	589	145	515	2,898	684	879
Jun	11,245	968	198	625	1,985	486	632
Jul	11,986	1,546	250	695	1,656	525	823
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

· Monthly rent for the office is $2,850

· Insurance is $187 (per month) for the first 3 months and goes up to $195 in April

Annual Budget Information:

Salaries 135,000

Supplies 12,000

Phone 2,400

Utilities 5,750

Travel 12,000

Training 7,000

Rent 33,000

Insurance 2,136

Advertising 10,000