Budget Interview Summary

            I interviewed Gordon M. owner of Marble Ventures, Incorporated. Gordon uses Quickbooks and Microsoft Office to track his budget, along with Google Docs so he can access his budget at any time. He hires a specific employee to keep track of the budget who is required to report weekly to Gordon about the company’s progress. Gordon will then analyze them in his executive meetings, which are weekly as well.

            Gordon initially anticipates growth production and then assigns a budget for the year. He will project monthly actuals and then tweak the budget as needed for excess growth or unforeseen expenses. Gordon feels that cash flow revenue affects his budget more than expenses do. Although, he will immediately cut expenses if his company has not met monthly budget goals.

            The areas that are allocated the most monies in his budget are definitely Payroll to employees. Ideally, Gordon would like to have a 3-year budgeted plan for the future, but he has not quite gotten there yet. He does, however, continue with his annual projected budgets and compares it to past years.

            Gordon’s company is dependent on the housing market and its interest rates. When the economy failed in 2008, the “bottom fell out of the housing market” and he had to cut expenses more in his company. Upticks in the interest rates, slows the housing market down, and his company usually sees the effects of it 3 to 6 months later. To be prepared for this, Gordon looks at bank projections for growth in the upcoming years, as well as the nationwide finances since this is what causes interest rates to fluctuate. Gordon considers an interest rate of less than 5% for the housing market as “good”, but an interest rate of less than 4% is considered “fabulous” for his company. This means increased revenue and growth for his company.

             Overall, I was impressed at how often Gordon analyzes his budget. By looking at expenses and revenue weekly, he is able to tweak his budget accordingly and ultimately be more prepared for what the future brings. I feel this diligence is what keeps a company thriving, even when the economy is down and housing interest rates are higher. I like how he uses up-to-date budgeting systems such as Quickbooks and Google Doc spreadsheets. This way the monies are tracked efficiently and documented in an organized way. In summary, I want to follow his example with my own personal financial budget, and hope to carry those habits over to a corporate situation when I take on that role in my nursing profession.