Transcript
Transcript: Cup of Joe with Joseph Silva: Managing Budgets
[0:00 A man standing in front of the camera]
Joseph Silva: Hello, my name is Joseph Silva.
[0:02 Title "Cup of Joe with Joseph Silva: Managing Budgets" appears next to an animated coffee mug.]
As executives we know there are times when there is money in the system to add to your budget, while other times when budgets are tight or need to be reduced due to economic or political realities.
[0:12 Text appears on screen "Joseph Silva, Former Director General, Human Resources, Privy Council Office"]
[0:23-2:20 a white banner appears and stays at the bottom of the screen, with the text "Canada School of Public Service".]
Being able to keep up with what is going on in the world of finance and politics provides us with early warnings of what may be coming our way.
In addition to keeping up with the news, I learned some time ago to treat your budget like a highway. Your main budgetary allocation is your highway to get you where you want to go. But as an executive you must always be prepared for on ramps and off ramps from that highway.
In this sense, I would look at what can be removed from the program within a short period of time if money gets tight. Those are your off ramps.
I would also look at opportunities to add programing in a short timeframe for times where there is extra money available. These are your on ramps.
When planning for the fiscal year, I would ask myself a number of questions.
Do I have a good handle on my wage envelope in terms of surplus or deficits?
Am I going to need more staff?
Is there pressure to deliver more programing without new money?
Do I have some flex to stretch my budget, that is, how much in the red would my boss be comfortable with?
Do I have staff off ramps if I need wage space, do I have casuals, terms, students, upcoming mat leaves?
Do I have parts of programs that can be postponed till next fiscal year?
On the other side of the equation, if I am looking at surpluses, I would ask myself:
Do I have programming on-ramps? Things on my back burner that I can action in short order to burn through some cash while also adding some needed programing that, although not critical, are a good addition.
Another tip is to focus on the relationship with finance colleagues.
That relationship can provide you valuable and timely information to make sure you are able to navigate your budgetary pressures and surpluses in a manner that does not get you in trouble. Also, if you need more funding, they know who has the extra cash, so why not leverage that relationship?
When planning your budgets, I would encourage you to nurture your relationship with Finance and to think through your on ramps and off ramps.
[2:14 Title "Cup of Joe with Joseph Silva: Managing Budgets" appears next to an animated coffee mug.]
[2:22-2:32 The CSPS logo appears onscreen. A text appears on the screen: canada.ca/school. The Government of Canada logo appears onscreen.]
