2024: Week 17 - Budget vs Actuals Part 2

Challenge by: Michał Mioduchowski

We're continuing with DS43's challenges so over to Michał to explain the her next challenge. 

_____________________________________

Superbytes has tasked us with examining their historical budgets once more, this time focusing on 2023, when the company began tracking actual spending on a monthly basis. The objective is to determine primary areas contributing to over-expenditure over the course of the year. CEO Phil suspects that the company may have invested too much into inventory without witnessing a corresponding uptick in sales performance last year. If suspicion turns out to be true, it will provide actionable insights for optimising resource allocation, and enhancing overall financial performance in line with Superbytes' strategic objectives.

Inputs

There are 13 inputs this week:
  • Forecasted Spending 
  • Actual Monthly Spending (1 table per month) 

Requirements

  • Input the Excel file:
    • Combine the Monthly sheets into a single table
  • Since we are trying to find the key areas of overspending, let's exclude any area that is below budget at an annual level
  • For the remaining areas, work out the difference between forecasted and actual expenditure on a monthly basis:
    • Since the budget estimates were not prepared on a monthly basis, the available numbers should be spread out across the year evenly
    • Round the values to the nearest whole number
  • For each month, find the category which has the highest overspending 
  • Output the data

Output

  • 5 fields
    • Month
    • Category
    • Actual Spending
    • Budget
    • Difference
  • 12 rows
After you finish the challenge make sure to fill in the participation tracker, then share your solution on Twitter using #PreppinData and tagging @Datajedininja, @JennyMartinDS14 & @TomProwse1

You can also post your solution on the Tableau Forum where we have a Preppin' Data community page. Post your solutions and ask questions if you need any help! 

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