Description
Financial statements are one example of data we use on a regular basis, and they are an example of the pitfalls of not taking data seriously. In the workplace, an income statement is an example of a report you can pull out of your plethora of data, in order to help you make good decisions quickly.
As a leader in an organization it is vital that you pay attention to the income statement information associated with your department or area of responsibility. Many of the decisions you make in leadership can be aided by careful assessment of the information found in an income statement like this. Rather than have you set up a statement for a fictional organization, you will create a household financial statement so you can work with familiar categories, while simultaneously learning a skill set that is of vital importance in organizational leadership. This statement will help you determine if the way you spend your money is in line with what you budget for categories, and if you are happy with the way you are spreading out your income over categories.
*REQUIRED ELEMENTS*
1. Using Excel, or Google Sheets, create a household income statement.
2. Use all the actual categories you can think of, but you need not use your real amounts. So, for example, you could make your salary what you think it will be in five years, or budget your phone bill at what you think it will be when you switch carriers or you add all of your family members to your plan.
3. Down the side of the sheet have an Income section with a Total and below that an Expenses section with a Total.
4. Below that have a Grand Total that subtracts Total Expenses from Total Income.
5. Across the top put the months of the year, starting with January and next to each month make a:
a. Budget column,
b. Actual column
c. Budget to Actual column and
d. Percent of Total column.
i. The Percent of Total column is the percent of Total Income or Total Expenses. For example, if the only contribution to your household income is your paycheck, that paycheck is 100 percent of Total Income.
6. With this spreadsheet PROVIDE A FEW PARAGRAPHS that describe what use you would make of the information this spreadsheet confers to you. You do not need an introduction or conclusion for this “essay,” just a coherent, well organized discussion of how you would use this information to make your life better.
7. INCLUDE AT LEAST ONE PARAGRAPH about how mitigation measures related to COVID-19 have influenced your spending, or how you imagine it may influence your spending. E.g. people working from home report saving money on gas but spending money on office supplies.
