Budget Office Overview
The Budget Office develops systems, policies and procedures for the budgeting and planning of the College’s financial resources on both an annual and five-year basis. These systems, policies and procedures are evaluated and measured on an annual basis and refined accordingly.
The Budget Office creates the tools necessary for the College to capture and prioritize its programs to ensure that resources are utilized in concert with the five-year strategic goals of the institution. This process involves financial modeling, benchmark studies, enrollment projections, debt capacity and investment strategy analysis, understanding fundraising expectations, inflationary conditions and capital project needs, and the implementation of new initiative planning driven by the institution’s strategic goals.
Specific responsibilities include: annual budgets, five-year planning, financial projections, and budget systems maintenance.
Contacts
Jeff Dubois, Budget Director, duboisj@babson.edu, x4048
Teresa Pitaro, Finance & Operations Analyst, tpitaro@babson.edu, x4452
Philip Smith, Sr. Budget Analyst, psmith1@babson.edu, x5848
Budget Office FAQ’s
Accounts & Activities:
A1 How do I view my budget? (Gaining access to Breago)
A2 How do I get authorization to view an account or to charge expenses to an account?
A3 How do I set up a new account/activity?
Funding:
F1 I just received a check for one of my budgets…
F2 How do I move budgeted money from one account to another?
F3 How do I request additional funding?
Spending:
S1 I’ve overspent (will overspend) one of my budget lines (i.e. Travel)…
S2 What happens if I don’t spend my entire budget?
Positions/Salaries:
PS1 How do I increase/decrease a new hire’s pay?
PS2 How do I adjust an existing employee’s salary?
PS3 I want to hire a new or temporary employee…
Projections:
P1 Why do I have to do budget projections?
P2 When are projections due?
P3 How do I submit projections?
Fiscal Year and Quarters:
FY1 What is Babson’s fiscal year? What are the dates for each quarter?
Accounts & Activities:
A1 How do I view my budget? (Gaining access to Breago)
Budgets are available online at https://finance.babson.edu/. Use your Babson Network username and Password (the same as your e-mail) to log in. Once logged in, select the timing of the report you would like to see: Last Accounting Close, Realtime, or Historical. Most users will want to view a report in Realtime, as it reflects the most current data in the accounting system (GreatPlains).
Within each of these, you may select Babson Active Accounts, Babson Active Accounts with Balance Sheet, or Babson Active Accounts with Net. If you only want budget vs. actual information on expenses and revenue, choose Babson Active Accounts. You may occasionally find Babson Active Accounts with Balance Sheet to be useful as it also displays deferred revenue and capital asset postings to the account. Once you’ve clicked on your selection, you will see a list of accounts that you have access to. Click on an account number to run a Budget Status Report for that account. You can also run a report on a group of accounts by selecting the accounts and choosing “Account Rollup” from the Reporting menu.
For additional Breago training, please contact Philip Smith.
A2 How to I get authorization to view an account or to charge expenses to an account?
The cabinet member or other manager responsible for the account should fill out the AccountView Authorization form and send it via e-mail to Carol Leahy (leahy@babson.edu) with a cc to Barbara Burke (bburke@babson.edu) and Philip Smith (psmith1@babson.edu). In general, it will take about a day for your account access to be updated. If approved to charge expenses to an account, your name will be added to the list of authorized purchasers for that account.
A3 How do I set up a new account/activity?
Send Philip Smith an e-mail with the activity name, the Management Center the activity should belong to, the names of employees who should have viewing access and signatory rights, and, if known, the object codes to include. We prefer to receive a budget for the activity at the time when the account is set up. If the activity will not generate enough revenue to cover its expenses, let us know which existing activity to move funding from to pay for the new activity.
Sometimes, instead of needing a new account, you may need a new object code (i.e. Travel or Telephone Usage) to be added to an existing account. To assist in your decision with this, please contact Philip Smith to discuss if the planned activity would fit in an existing account or if a new account is necessary.
Funding:
F1 I just received a check for one of my budgets…
If the payment is for an existing activity, program or grant, send it to Pamela Driscoll (pdriscoll@babson.edu) with a completed Cash Receipt Voucher http://www3.babson.edu/offices/financial_services/general_accounting.cfm
If the payment is for a grant, contact Wendy Silverman of Corporate, Government and Foundation Relations (silverman@babson.edu) with information about the grant and payment.
F2 How do I move budgeted money from one account to another?
If you have responsibility for all the accounts in question, send an e-mail to Philip Smith listing both account numbers and the amount you would like to move. If you do not have responsibility for these accounts, have the person responsible send the e-mail.
F3 How do I request additional funding?
Contact Philip Smith to request a copy of the “Funding Request” form. If the funds will be spent on a new program, project or initiative, the Cabinet Member that will be responsible should submit the form. Cabinet Members should be very detailed and specific in describing the initiative, how it fits in with the College’s Strategic Goals and how to measure the initiative’s success. Financial resources are limited and we stress that you should identify potential revenue sources or reallocation possibilities to fund the initiative if possible.
The Budget Office determines due dates for funding requests for on an annual basis. Generally, both types of requests are due to the Budget Office by October for consideration at the November Cabinet Meeting, or by April for consideration at the May Cabinet Meeting.
Spending:
S1 I’ve overspent (will overspend) one of my budget lines (i.e. Travel)…
For college-funded accounts, spending is primarily monitored at the bottom line. For instance, overspending Travel by $1,000 and underspending Office Supplies by $1,000 would not need to be addressed immediately. If you believe that this change in spending will extend to future fiscal years, send an e-mail to Philip Smith to request a budget adjustment.
For grant accounts, spending is often limited to specific amounts in specific lines. For these accounts any deviation from budgeted spending must be within allowable limits. The funder must approve budget revision requests.
S2 What happens if I don’t spend my entire budget?
For college-funded accounts, positive balances offset the college’s use of funds in other accounts. For grant-funded accounts, underspending may mean having to give funds back to the funder. Budgets should reflect the costs of the associated activity, and if there is more money in your budget than you expect to spend, consider requesting a reduction or reallocation of budgeted funds. If the unused balance in your account is a result of the timing of an expense, you may want to consider requesting a carry-forward of the balance into the next fiscal year. Ask Philip Smith for a “Carry-forward Request” form.
Positions/Salaries:
PS1 How do I increase/decrease a new hire’s pay?
Human Resources determines salary ranges. HR has some funds available to align salaries with the current market, but the primary source for pay increases must come from “permanent” funding sources, like a reduction in the non-salary expense portion of your departmental budgets. The use of “vacancy savings” to increase salaries is generally prohibited as it is not a permanent source of funding.
PS2 How do I adjust an existing employee’s salary?
First, contact Human Resources. In most cases, you will need to reduce non-salary expenses to pay for the increase. If you wish to re-structure the positions in your department, HR can provide guidance. HR will give you the form to submit to the budget office.
PS3 I want to hire a new or temporary employee?
Human Resources is the place to start. If there is money in your budget for temporary employees, or if the employee will temporarily replace a permanent position (such as a temp employee hired during a permanent employee’s maternity leave) you do not need to reduce non-salary expenses to fund the position. If the position is new, or if you do not have a budget for temporary employees, you need to find a permanent source of funding for the position.
Projections:
P1 Why do I need to do budget projections?
At the end of the 2nd and 3rd quarters each fiscal year, budget managers are asked to project what they believe their spending will be at year end. Accurate projections allow management to make timely decisions on initiatives, resource allocation and budget planning for future years.
P2 When are projections due?
Projections are typically due in December and April. You will be notified via e-mail four weeks in advance of the due date. You will also be provided with more detailed instructions at that time.
P3 How do I submit projections?
Budget managers submit projections using the Budget Projection WebApp. Before beginning this process, the Budget Office asks Cabinet Members to supply a list of employees that should have access to the WebApp. If you are one of the employees that have this responsibility, a link to the Budget Projection WebApp should appear on your Portal homepage. If it does not, please contact the Budget Office.
The WebApp will ask for projections in all of the revenue and expense categories that are active for each activity in your Management Center. Once submitted, the projections are analyzed for variances to allow departments and the college to make any adjustments in spending that may be necessary for the fiscal year and future years.
Fiscal Year:
FY1 Babson’s Fiscal Year (FY) begins July 1st and ends June 30th.
The quarters are:
Q1: Jul 1 – Sep 30
Q2: Oct 1 – Dec 31
Q3: Jan 1 – Mar 31
Q4: Apr 1 – Jun 30
