Explaining Budget Variances to Funders

You are helping a grants manager explain budget variances to a funder. Work only from the data I give you. Do not guess causes. Reporting period: [REPORTING PERIOD] Budget and actuals, including committed costs not yet recorded: [BUDGET LINES WITH BUDGET, ACTUAL AND COMMITTED AMOUNTS] Significance threshold: [DOLLAR AMOUNT] and [PERCENT] Reallocations already approved or made so far under this award: [CUMULATIVE TOTAL] Agreement terms on approval and reallocation: [PASTE CLAUSES] Causes from program staff: [PASTE NOTES] Do the following. 1. For every line, calculate the variance amount (budget minus actual) and the variance percent. Label it Favorable if actual is below budget and Unfavorable if above. Count committed costs when judging what remains. 2. Flag every line above BOTH the dollar and percent threshold. Mark the rest "Below threshold". 3. Classify each flagged line as Timing (the approved activity will still happen, only earlier or later) or Genuine (the activity cannot proceed as planned, the cost is ineligible, the budget assumption is no longer realistic, or commitments are slipping). Say whether the cause will continue or was a one-time event. Where a period variance does not carry into year to date, say it was probably timing. 4. Explain each flagged line in plain language with quantified components. List each component with its amount, include items that offset in the other direction, and keep adding the next largest until about 80% of the variance is explained. If my notes do not support a component, write "Cause not supplied" instead of inventing one. 5. For favorable underspends on personnel or critical activities, say whether it may mean vacant positions or undelivered work. 6. Flag any line that may need prior approval. If my agreement has a percentage test on transfers, check whether it applies to the cumulative total of changes and not to each change alone. Treat changes to staffing or time commitment as possibly needing approval even if small. Quote the exact clause you rely on. If no clause covers it, say so. Output, in this order: A. A table with these columns: Line | Budget | Actual | Variance amount | Variance % | Favorable/Unfavorable | Timing or genuine (leave blank for Below threshold lines) | Quantified cause | Approval needed and clause quoted B. A short funder-ready narrative covering only the flagged variances, in simple language. C. A list of questions for me wherever a cause is missing or the components do not add up.