Budgeting for Play Outside: Staffing and Operating Budget

This paper discusses the staffing and operating budget for Play Outside, a non-profit organization that develops and maintains playgrounds in neighborhoods with no playgrounds or fields. It explains how changes in revenues and costs influence budget decisions, the role of accounting department and budget in planning and decision making, and application of budgetary control and variance analysis in monitoring function, control, and adjustment on organization cost and performances.

Running head: BUDGETING 1
Budgeting
Name
Institution

BUDGETING 2
Introduction
The essence of staffing and operating budget is an initiative of inclusion within this
company’s affairs as the company seeks to diversify its corporate environmental agendas. Within
these aspects, the company creates a culture of inclusion with established workplace that support
such communicative initiative that boost the employees and customers’ collective motivations to
build a business community through funding diversity and inclusive recruitment as well as
initiatives of retention. In an extensive perspective, it is not smooth as it is to some companies
because budgeting and staffing have functional definitions that are also not the same across all
companies. However, information is shared on functions that have increasing importance. This
paper, therefore, seek to explain how the changes in revenues and the cost influence the
decisions that are made on budget. More than that, the study will emphasize on the role of the
accounting department and information to managers, the role of the budget in planning and
decision making in budgeting process. The paper also explains the application of budgetary
control and variance analysis in the monitory function, control, and adjustment on organization
cost and performances.
Background Information
Play Outside is a not-for-profit organization that develops and maintains playgrounds in
neighborhoods with no playgrounds or fields. Play Outside has been operating since 2007. Play
Outside’s mission is to help put smiles on the faces of children and build a better future, one
playground at a time. During the 10 years of its operation, Play Outside has built 20 playgrounds.
Every year at least 6new projects are submitted for evaluation, but with limited resources only 2
new playgrounds can be chosen, planned, designed and built. The cost for a new playground is

BUDGETING 3
$9,000 and the cost of maintenance is $1,800 for each site. The majority of the work is carried
out by 15 to 20 volunteers. Play Outside's volunteers maintain the playgrounds for 10 years and
afterwards a local community organization takes over maintenance (Ghanes, et al. 2014). The
paid staff oversees the administration of external grants, project applications and evaluation,
maintenance schedules and volunteers. With the growing number of maintenance projects and
volunteers Play-Outside will hire a new half-time Volunteer Assistant in 2018.
Play Outside’s revenue is from a lottery projects grants, individual and corporate donations. The
operating expenses and some project costs are in the operating budget. The budget goal is have a
surplus at the end of the year equal to 5% of total revenue received. In 2016 and 2017 Play
Outside did not meet this target.
Staffing Budget
According to the memo, the 2018 staffing and operating budgets for the Play Outside were to be
prepared using the following guidelines:
The first step was to hire volunteer Assistant position at half-time in 2018. The salary between
$42,000 and $47,000 per year. The position will start on January 1st. The two basic positions for
the budgeting are the manager’s and administrative assistant’s position, whose position, based on
year 2017’s position, received a benefit of $65,000 plus benefits and $45,000 plus benefits
respectively. It is also quoted in the memo that a benefit rate of 39% was to accrue the
management crews. More than that, all the current employees will receive a 3% increase, as of
January 1, 2019. This would bring the total staffing budget cannot be more than $165,202 for all
2.5 position for 12 months.
Therefore, in the year 2017, the following table shows the Play Outside’s fiscal year from 2016.

BUDGETING 4
Table 1: Play Outside’s fiscal year is January to December.
ACTUALS
Play Outside 2016 2017
Revenue
Lottery grant for new
playgrounds and maintenance 32,000 36,000
City grant 8,000 5,000
Donations from individuals 100,500 125,00
0
Donations from corporations 17,500 15,000
Total Revenue 158,000 181,00
0
Staffing Budget Totals 129,409 136,01
2
Expenses
Office supplies 1,000 1,000
Telephone 200 200
Marketing presentations and outreach 2,500 5,500
Sports field maintenance project 10,800 14,400
Sports field development projects 12,000 18,000
Miscellaneous expenses 850 2,250
Lease for printers and copiers (annual fee) 500 500
Lease for computers ($225 annual fee) 450 450
Total Expenses 28,300 42,300
Actual Surplus or Deficit 291 2,689
Using the adjustments on the exhibit table above, the staffing budget becomes adjusted as shown in the
table below:

BUDGETING 5
2018 Staffing Budget with 2017 Actuals
January to December 2018
Employee Salaries 2018 Actuals
Manager 55,000.00
Administrative Assistant 40,000.00
Volunteer Assistant (half-time) -- New
Salary Totals 95,000
Benefits
Manager 21,450
Administrative Assistant 15,600
Volunteer Assistant -- New -
Benefits Totals 37,050
Staffing Budget Grand Total 132,050
Operating expenses
The Play Outsides 2017 actual operating and project expenses were $42,300 and are
shown in the table above. In 2018, additional operating expenses are a new computer lease for
the Volunteer Assistant for $225 and 3 new playground projects. Playgrounds costs $9,000 to
design and build. Play Outside’s goal is to finish 2018 with a surplus of 5% of total revenue
received. The adjustments to the 2017 operating expenses to include the 2017 operating expenses
are as shown in the table below:
Operating Budget with 2018 Actuals
January to December 2019

BUDGETING 6
Description 2018
Actuals
Revenue
Playground maintenance project 3,500
Sports field maintenance project 5,000
Playground development projects 5,250
Sports field development projects 5,000
Operating grant 28,613
Total Revenue 47,363
Expenses
Office supplies 1,500
Telephone 450
Marketing presentations and outreach 5,200
Office supplies 3,200
Playground maintenance project 4,300
Sports field maintenance project 5,500
Playground development projects 9,400
Sports field development projects 7,250
Miscellaneous expenses 2,000
Lease for printers and copiers (annual fee) 8,000
Lease for computers ($225 annual fee) 563
Total Expenses 47,363
Operating Budget with 2017 Actuals
January to December 2018
Description 2017
Actuals
2018
Budget
Revenue
Lottery grant for new playgrounds and maintenance 36,000 5,000
New grant playground projects 2018 - 8750
City grant (new grant project) 5,000 28,613
Donations from individuals 125,000
Donations from corporations 15,000
Total Revenue 181,000 47,363

BUDGETING 7
Staffing Budget Totals 136,012
Operating Expenses
Office supplies 1,000 1500
Telephone 200 450
Marketing presentations and outreach 5,500 5,200
Sports field maintenance project 14,400 5,500
Sports field development projects 18,000 7250
Miscellaneous expenses 2,250 2,000
Lease for printers and copiers (annual fee) 500 8,000
Lease for computers ($225 annual fee) 450 563
Total Expenses 42,300 47,363
Grand Total 94,726
Total Surplus or Deficit (Revenue less Staffing
Expenses and Operating Expenses)
2,688
0
Goal is a surplus is 5%
the goal is a balanced budget
Considering the fact that the staffing budget grand total is 132,050 and the Grand total for
staffing and budgeting expense is 94,726, then goal is a deficit of 74,648.
Recommendation
For purposes of increasing support and sustainability of the diversity and inclusion
function, staff and resources, Play Outsides should increase the staffing allocated to support
business units also on the rise (Ilk, et al. 2018 and Newman, 2016). The emblematic inclusion of
the salaries and benefits of the management of the event should create involvement of diversity
and inclusion staff members that are usually directly attributed to the overall budget, or, in
certain instances, companies use dotted-line budget shares.
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BUDGETING 8
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