Government agency data analytics for smarter, faster budget decisions

Consolidate government agency budget data on one analytics platform

When budget–related information is stored on spreadsheets and disparate systems, it can be difficult to answer oversight questions such as:

• "Why does this cost so much?"
• "What did it cost last year?"
• "Are there any spending trends?"

What may be needed is a data analytics framework that integrates planning, budgeting, and execution management into one platform that delivers a comprehensive financial view with easy–to–understand dashboard visualizations. This can enable leaders to evaluate program performance against plans and budgets and make informed decisions to produce better government agency outcomes.

Government agency budget analytics case study

​A large federal intelligence agency had more than a dozen homegrown financial databases—each with a different level of accuracy and completeness—plus two separate processes for budget submission and execution reporting. Analysts spent many hours entering data and manipulating spreadsheets to create a consolidated view of the government agency's spending.

The federal agency implemented Deloitte's integrated government budget analytics solution that links requirement planning, budget formulation, and execution tracking. The solution—built on IBM's planning analytics platform—interfaces with the federal agency's accounting system, effectively eliminating additional data entry and ensuring accuracy and completeness.

The government agency is now able to track spending against budget in near-real time. Another result is that the agency reduced its annual actual execution reconciliation process from three weeks to one day.

A comprehensive approach to government agency planning, budgeting, and performance

​Identify process gaps
How do your organization's budgeting processes compare with those of leading government agencies? A gap analysis against effective processes can help you identify where to make changes across people, processes, and technologies to create a holistic view that can help you improve planning, budgeting, and execution.

Clean up data
Standardizing and validating government agency data gathered from dozens of sources can be a tedious process, but the good news is that once data standards are established, ongoing maintenance is simple when the system automatically validates entries for consistency.

Integrate data into a consolidated platform
By having all data on one system, the planning and budgeting processes can be integrated with the execution year's data to inform planning and budgeting for future years.

Increase financial visibility
Data visualization tools can proactively deliver government agency–wide financial insights through intuitive dashboards, which are accessible to program control officers, comptrollers, agency resource managers and decision makers at all levels. They have the ability to ask questions and obtain reliable, detailed information to make more informed decisions, often faster than before.

Drive lasting change
Providing your people with easy access to the budget-related data they need, when they need it, can make their jobs easier, more productive, and more engaging. But it's easy to slip back into old habits, which is why effective training and change management should be integrated into your implementation plans to gain sustained long-term benefits.

Learn more

• Smarter teaming through the Deloitte and IBM alliance
• BudgetSync: Consolidate, automate, and modernize your federal agency budget