This assignment is designed to help you build an annual operating budget, and to practice and/or improve your Excel skills. When totaling rows and columns in your budget, be sure to allow Excel to do the math for you (use formulas or the Auto Sum feature); do not use a calculator to obtain the amount and then type the number into the budget. Please note that this assignment does not pertain to the health care business that you are creating in this class.

Develop a budget for a small department within a hospital or other organization that delivers health care, such as a rehabilitation facility, nursing home or home health care agency. Select ONE department or division within that organization for which you can develop a 12-month operating budget. For example, you might prepare a budget for the Ultrasound Division of the Radiology Department; it is not necessary to prepare a budget for the entire department, only Ultrasound.

Download the Department Budget Template Excel file. Six revenue categories have been inserted along with the percentage that each payer represents of the total revenue. You may NOT change any of the revenue sources. Eleven (11) operating expense categories have been inserted for you. You MAY add or delete expense categories as you see fit.

Prepare a 12-month annual budget by doing the following:

1. Insert the months of July through December for the budget.

2. Assume that the annual incoming revenue for this department is $500,000. Allocate the $500,000 across the 12 months as you like; this can be consistent for each month or some months could have more revenue coming in and some can have less revenue, but the total annual must be $500,000.

3. Insert amounts of money for all operating expense items that you choose to have in the budget for all 12 months.

4. Total vertically each month of revenue.

5. Total vertically each month of expenses.

6. Total each line item horizontally to obtain the total annual amount.

7. Insert any comments (assumptions) that you wish. For example, for “Salaries”, you may wish to add a comment that there is one physician, one nurse, one technician and one receptionist in the department.

8. Be sure to budget to incoming revenue. In other words, total expenses for all categories for all 12 months must NOT exceed $500,000 or you would be “over budget”.

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9. Prepare a short write-up regarding your final budget. What categories did you find the most challenging to budget for?

10. Assume that the Chief Financial Officer has informed you that next year, there will only be $450,000 of incoming revenue. Discuss how you will handle this. What operating expense categories could be reduced in total cost or could be eliminated altogether?