Guessing is not a strategy: How to build decision velocity with AI and real-time data
June 10, 2026 | Live Webinar
Project Budgeting and Funding: Making Your Case
Michael R. Wood is a Business Process Improvement & IT Strategist Independent Consultant. He is creator of the business process-improvement methodology called HELIX and founder of The Natural Intelligence Group, a strategy, process improvement and technology consulting company. He is also a CPA, has served as an Adjunct Professor in Pepperdine's Management MBA program, an Associate Professor at California Lutheran University, and on the boards of numerous professional organizations. Mr. Wood is a sought after presenter of HELIX workshops and seminars in both the U.S. and Europe.
When it comes to budgeting and getting funding approvals for projects, most IT professionals have much to learn. Whenever I present at conferences and groups on this topic, I am always taken back at how little project managers understand about finance.
Like it or not, getting funding for a project goes beyond presenting the numbers and hoping that they speak for themselves. Getting approval for projects requires a superior business case complete with persuasive arguments as to why the project in question deserves funding and support amongst all the other competing requests for resources.
What follows is a primer on creating project budgets, preparing the business case and presenting that case to management in a way that positions the project for approval. As a companion to this article there is also a template available, the Project Budgeting and Business Case Worksheet.
To start with, there are two basic types of budgets: cash based and financial accounting based. The major difference between the two is how capital investments are treated. In a cash-based budget, the focus is on the deployment of cash resources and contractual commitments, so a 1 million dollar acquisition would be reflected in the budget based on the date of the cash being spent and/or the debt instrument being created.
In a financial accounting budget, the focus is on…
Please log in or sign up below to read the rest of the article.
ADVERTISEMENTS
|
"The scientific theory I like best is that the rings of Saturn are composed entirely of lost airline luggage." - Mark Russell |