Case Study: A Budget Reset After Leadership Turnover

After leadership turnover left a midsized nonprofit operating on an overly aggressive budget, I helped reset its financial assumptions, prevent cash depletion, and put a realistic, board-approved plan in place within one budget cycle.

The organization had grown steadily for several years. Following leadership turnover, new management wanted a clear, unvarnished picture of its current financial position and a credible path forward.

The organization entered 2025 with a budget built on aggressive revenue and expense growth assumptions. Within a few months, before much of that growth plan could be implemented, there was leadership turnover. The executive most responsible for creating the budget was no longer with the organization.

New leadership faced a real risk: If they proceeded with planned expense growth without the corresponding revenue materializing, the organization would begin drawing down cash reserves quickly. They needed an independent assessment of where they actually stood — not where the prior budget assumed they would be.

The organization needed to:

• Understand whether the 2025 budget was financially viable.
• Identify near-term risks to cash and expense commitments.
• Reset expectations ahead of the next budget cycle.
• Establish a planning and tracking process grounded in operational reality.

The organization already had the raw inputs it needed. My role was to bring them together, pressure-test assumptions, and translate them into decision-ready models.

I began by pouring through financial data from the accounting system, but the work went well beyond spreadsheets. I conducted detailed conversations with:

• Revenue teams (grants and earned revenue).
• Senior leadership and department heads.
• Finance and operations staff.
• Outside accountants.

These conversations surfaced gaps between the official budget and how the organization was actually operating. In several cases, planned spending assumed revenue that was uncertain or delayed. Those risks were not obvious from the budget alone.

The engagement was deliberately collaborative, but it also involved challenging assumptions that had gone unexamined under prior leadership.

• Reviewed historical financial data and current-year performance.
• Built a rolling 2025 forecast to identify cash and expense risks early.
• Developed models for forecasting revenue and expense streams.
• Trained internal staff to maintain and update models independently.
• Led a bottom-up 2026 budget process involving all budget owners.
• Clarified roles, classifications, and reporting cadence for ongoing budget tracking.

• Leadership and the board gained a clear view of the organization’s true 2025 financial position.
• Short-term expense management decisions were made before risks became acute.
• Staff entered the 2026 budget process with aligned expectations about constraints.
• The 2026 budget reflected current reality rather than inherited assumptions.
• The budget was approved by the board without revision.
• A tracking mechanism and contingency plans are now in place to address future variance early.

After the budget reset, the organization had:

• A clear picture of its current financial reality.
• A credible, board-approved financial plan for 2026.
• A repeatable process for forecasting and tracking performance.
• Improved internal communication around financial tradeoffs.
• Clear expectations for how each stakeholder contributed to financial goals.

Leadership transitions can leave organizations executing plans designed for a different reality. This project shows how to reset quickly — without panic or paralysis — by grounding decisions in transparency, disciplined forecasting, and shared understanding.

Up One Rung works with organizations facing growth, transition, or leadership change that need a clear, credible financial plan — fast. Book an appointment here.