---
name: manage-a-program-budget
category: start
description: Manage a program budget through an approved baseline, commitments, actuals, forecast, changes, benefits, risks, and accountable decisions. Use when multiple projects or workstreams share funding and financial constraints.
---

# manage-a-program-budget

Distinguish budget, forecast, committed cost, actual cost, and remaining exposure.

## When to use

- Use for transformation, implementation, construction, research, service, or portfolio programs.
- Do not move money between approved purposes without the required authority.

## Procedure

1. Define scope, entities, currencies, accounting basis, funding sources, categories, years, contingency, and approval thresholds.
2. Reconcile the approved baseline to authorizing decisions and finance systems.
3. Map work packages, contracts, purchase orders, headcount, internal cost, tax, capital or operating treatment, and benefits.
4. Record actuals, accruals, commitments, forecast-to-complete, contingency use, and unpriced exposure by period.
5. Analyze price, volume, timing, scope, currency, estimate, and accounting variances.
6. Connect budget decisions to schedule, scope, risk, dependencies, and benefits.
7. Route changes through evidence, options, authority, and updated baseline or forecast without rewriting history.
8. Report current position, scenarios, decisions, and forecast accuracy; close with final reconciliation.

## Done

- A program budget model and decision register record baseline, funding, actuals, commitments, forecast, contingency, changes, benefits, and owners
- Finance-system, contract, variance, currency, approval, forecast, contingency, and closeout checks verify the position