Building a better budget nctc 2012
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Building a Better Budget Hannah Grannemann Managing Director, PlayMakers Repertory Company North Carolina Theatre Conference July 23, 2012
Transcript of Building a better budget nctc 2012
Building a Better Budget Hannah Grannemann
Managing Director, PlayMakers Repertory Company
North Carolina Theatre Conference
July 23, 2012
Agenda
101: Budgeting basics
201: Budget management
301: Telling a story with numbers
Questions
101: Budgeting Basics
PREPARE
What question are you trying to answer?
Who is your audience?
What will you want to track or measure?
101: Budgeting Basics Example: PlayMakers Operating Budget
PREPARE
What question are you trying to answer?
Primary: Can we afford the season we want to do?
Secondary: Are we making good decisions?
Who is your audience?
Primary: Staff responsible for financial oversight
Secondary: Chair and University administrators
What will you want to track or measure?
Primary: Income and expenses in enough detail for decision making
Secondary: Finances in format that allow our accountant to translate from university systems
101:Budgeting Basics
GETTING STARTED
Start with the essential costs with fixed prices
Add the essential costs with variable prices
Build the marginal costs
Build for success, not a specific cost
101:Budgeting Basics
FINDING BENCHMARKS
Theater Communications Group (TCG)
www.tcg.org
Theater Facts (under Tools & Research)
With membership and participation
Raw data of Fiscal Survey
Salary Survey results and custom reports
101:Budgeting Basics
GETTING STARTED
Start with the essential costs with fixed prices
Add the essential costs with variable prices
Build the marginal costs
Build for success, not a specific cost
Move to the revenue side
→ This is an iterative process
201: Budget management Finalize budget
Determine timeline and process for reviewing and adjusting Incorporate goals and tracking set in preparation
Determine level of autonomy at each level (department heads, leaders, board)
Autonomy ownership
Autonomy≠ lack of oversight by leaders
Consider how to incorporate new opportunities
201: Budget management
PLAYMAKERS OPERATING BUDGET PROCESS
Request budgets from departments
Iterative process to get to balanced budget
Departments manage their own spending
Make requests if changes in strategy, significant re-allocations, or more funds are required
Quarterly re-projections
201: Budget Management FINAL Q3 Q2 Q1 Budget
DEPARTMENT
Category $ $ $ $ $
Subcategory $$ $$ $$ $$ $$
DEPT TOTAL $$$ $$$ $$$ $$$ $$$
201: Budget management Staff Role Board Role
• Determine content and frequency of reports
• Commit to open, pro-active communication
Provide information and
welcome transparency
Request information
Eagerly assist in the ongoing
education of Board
Take responsibility for
educating yourself
Respect members’ skills,
experience and
fiduciary duty
Respect staff’s professional
skills and perspective
Recommended book:
The Art of Governance: Boards in the Performing Arts
Edited by Nancy Roche and Jaan Whitehead
**Chapter on Financial Statements by Pat Egan and Nancy Sasser
Published by TCG
201: Budget management
301: Telling a story with numbers To the Board and internally:
Clarity: using notes, comparisons, appropriate level of detail
Transparency
For grant proposals and others outside: Present yourself honestly, to your advantage
Transparency doesn’t mean sharing every detail
Answer the question
Put yourself in their shoes
Questions?
