Budget Variance Explanation
Explain why a project is over or under budget, in terms finance will accept.
Prompt preview
Write a budget variance explanation for Data platform build for Q3. Budgeted: $180,000 Actual: $211,000 What drove the difference: - Cloud costs 40% above estimate during load testing - Contractor extended 3 weeks We're over budget. Don't be defensive: state the overspend, what we've done to stop it growing, and whether we need extra funding or can absorb it from contingency. Calculate the variance in amount and percent. Explain each driver in one or two sentences, say whether it's one-off or ongoing, and give the revised forecast to completion. Written for the finance business partner. I'm a project manager. Use these placeholders where needed: [Project name], [Team], [Sponsor], [My name]. My readers are busy stakeholders who skim. Lead with the status or the decision needed, then the detail. Flag risks and slips plainly, with an owner and a date, and never soften bad news into vague language. Use short sentences and bullet points, no corporate filler like 'synergy' or 'circle back', and never invent numbers, dates or names I didn't give you.