Take action Based on the information, action may need to be taken. This means that an under spending on one budget item, for example travel, is transferred to an overspending on another budget item, for example salaries, at some point during the year. If virement occurs it will simply 'tidy up' the budget and actual statement. Permission to do this is usually needed from a donor or senior manager. Example of a budget and actual statement for the first three months of the year.
Donations are considerably lower than the budget.
Trainers' fees are well under budget. Most other costs of the training programme are fully spent so it is likely that part of the fees have simply not been paid. No adjustment is shown in the actual figure for this commitment. Overall actual expenditure is less than the actual income, however half of the grants have been received in this period and trainers' fees appear to be partially outstanding. Comparing the budget and actual expenditure is an important way of measuring how an organisation or project is progressing throughout the year.