Budget Creation Workflow

Budget Creation Workflow

This skill provides a structured workflow for comprehensive budget development using the budget-planner agent.

Workflow Overview

The budget creation workflow follows 6 phases:

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Phase 1: Planning

MANDATORY: Define budget parameters before building

Questions to Answer

Methodology Selection

Blocker Check

If ANY of these are unclear, STOP and ask:

• Budget period
• Methodology choice
• Approval requirements
• Timeline constraints

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Phase 2: Assumption Development

MANDATORY: Document ALL assumptions before building

Required Assumptions

Assumption Documentation Standard

Anti-Rationalization

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Phase 3: Line Item Build

Dispatch to specialist with full context

Agent Dispatch

Task tool:
  subagent_type: "ring:budget-planner"
  model: "opus"
  prompt: |
    Build budget per these specifications:

    **Period**: [budget period]
    **Type**: [annual/​departmental/​project]
    **Methodology**: [from Phase 1]

    **Assumptions**:
    [From Phase 2]

    **Constraints**:
    [Any targets or limitations]

    **Prior Period Reference**:
    [Attach prior budget/​actuals]

    **Required Output**:
    - Line item detail with owners
    - Assumption linkage for each item
    - Variance to prior period
    - Monthly/​quarterly phasing

Required Output Elements

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Phase 4: Consolidation

MANDATORY: Review consolidated budget for reasonableness

Consolidation Checks

Reasonableness Tests

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Phase 5: Approval

MANDATORY: Document all approvals

Approval Workflow

Approval Documentation

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Phase 6: Documentation

MANDATORY: Finalize with full audit trail

Documentation Checklist

Output Format

See shared-patterns/​execution-report.md for base metrics.

Budget-Specific Metrics:

• line_items: N
• departments: N
• assumptions_documented: N
• variance_to_prior: X.X%
• approval_status: DRAFT/​SUBMITTED/​APPROVED

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Pressure Resistance

See shared-patterns/​pressure-resistance.md for universal pressures.

Budget-Specific Pressures

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Anti-Rationalization Table

See shared-patterns/​anti-rationalization.md for universal anti-rationalizations.

Budget-Specific Anti-Rationalizations

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Execution Report

Upon completion, report:

Quality Indicators