Shaun Killeen (CA)

You really have to nail down your Audience as this will allow you to tailor the message. Different stakeholders (executives, managers, team members) have different concerns and levels of financial literacy. Adjust your presentation accordingly. - Of your stakeholders you have to highlight the relevance to each by focusing on what matters most to each stakeholder group . If you can do this you are 80% there

Keep it Simple, create a realistic budget that outlines your income and expenses. Track all expenses to understand where your money is spent & identify areas where you can cut on unnecessary. By cutting expenses, you can free up funds to allocate towards savings or paying off debt. Setting financial goals will help you stay motivated and focused on improving your financial situation. It's also important to build an emergency fund with at least three to six months' worth of living expenses to provide a safety net in case of unexpected financial challenges. Regularly monitoring your cash flow and reviewing your budget will help ensure that you can cover your expenses and make necessary adjustments to stay on track with your goals.

Plan it / Plan for it : Analyze the negotiation process and identify specific tasks that can be delegated then match them to an appropriate team member. Clearly communicate expectations and deadlines and track progress. Take the pressure off as well to be clear to use you as an escalation point if things are going a bit hairy. Adjust as needed based on the particulars of the situation.

Ultimately who is responsible for the budget, it's you. Nothing gets your mindset into your budget than doing it yourself. Not a glamourous answer, mine rarely are but you know it's the truth.

Its not working for a reason, so you have to listen to the end users. Go have a coffee with them and listen , typically you quickly identify gaps and areas where your program falls short. You can do it through surveys, feedback sessions, or one-on-one discussions with participants. Going out and having a beer or a coffee is best, get outside the office and people loosen up :)

We all know what a Budget is, it's essential for teams and organizations as it aligns goals, allocates resources, evaluates performance, aids decision-making, ensures financial control, fosters communication, promotes motivation and accountability, and identifies opportunities and risks. It provides a roadmap for success and enables efficient resource management, leading to improved efficiency, cost reduction, revenue growth, and customer satisfaction. Your company needs to in some way understand the plan as it will make more sense in how their company is operating around them in their day to day. Remember this, don't be fooled, Team is much larger than your Finance team. Team is the entire company that the budget covers!