Make technology fit your needs, rather than making your needs fit technology. Embrace it! Everyone is familiar with the budget process diagram that shows a circle made up of four arrows: it’s a repetitive process done every year, over, and over, and over. And this kind of repetition is a perfect fit for technology.

At the Albany County (New York) International Airport, the budget preparation process typically begins each year when an organization distributes the same spreadsheet to each of its department managers. The spreadsheet format includes four columns: the previous year actual results, current budget amounts, estimated current year projections, and next year’s requested budget, account line by account line. Each department then completes the last column and returns the spreadsheet to the budget department, which in turn merges all the departments’ spreadsheets into one consolidated budget document. This process has worked for many years, but using the right technology can make it work more efficiently and with greater accuracy.

• Publication date: June 2022
• Author: Michael Zonsius