---
title: Plansmith Blog | reforecasting
description: reforecasting |
---

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# Plansmith Blog

## [Budgets & Board Approvals: Meet Tough Questions with Confident Answers](https://blog.plansmith.com/budgets-board-approvals-meet-tough-questions-with-confident-answers)

 Posted by [David Schwieder](https://blog.plansmith.com/author/david-schwieder) on 10/2/26, 6:45 AM

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[![](https://blog.plansmith.com/hubfs/Board%20Presentation.png)](https://blog.plansmith.com/budgets-board-approvals-meet-tough-questions-with-confident-answers)

During budgeting season, management has two important responsibilities: developing a sound financial plan and helping the Board understand it well enough to evaluate and approve it.

That second responsibility can be easy to underestimate.

Directors aren't involved in every detail management considers while developing the budget. When it's time to present the plan, management has to turn weeks or even months of detailed financial work into information the Board can readily understand and use.

[Read More](https://blog.plansmith.com/budgets-board-approvals-meet-tough-questions-with-confident-answers)

## [Why Every Financial Institution Should Budget for Multiple Scenarios](https://blog.plansmith.com/why-every-financial-institution-should-budget-for-multiple-scenarios)

 Posted by [Jim Groark](https://blog.plansmith.com/author/jim-groark) on 9/1/26, 7:08 AM

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[![](https://blog.plansmith.com/hubfs/Evaluate%20outcomes.png)](https://blog.plansmith.com/why-every-financial-institution-should-budget-for-multiple-scenarios)

Annual budgeting has always required financial institutions to make educated assumptions about the future. Loan growth, deposit trends, funding costs, operating expenses, and other variables all shape the strategic decisions that guide an institution through the coming year.

What’s changed in recent years is the level of uncertainty surrounding those assumptions. Shifts in customer behavior, margin pressure, changing economic conditions, and evolving growth expectations have reinforced an important reality: a budget built around a single set of assumptions may not provide management with the flexibility it needs when conditions change.

[Read More](https://blog.plansmith.com/why-every-financial-institution-should-budget-for-multiple-scenarios)

## [Blueprint for Success: The Plansmith Planning Cycle](https://blog.plansmith.com/blueprint-for-success-the-plansmith-planning-cycle)

 Posted by [Sue West](https://blog.plansmith.com/author/sue-west) on 8/3/26, 7:23 AM

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[![](https://blog.plansmith.com/hubfs/Planning-Cycle.png)](https://blog.plansmith.com/blueprint-for-success-the-plansmith-planning-cycle)

After 40 years in this industry, I’ve seen the same pattern in too many boardrooms: planning treated as a static "check-the-box" exercise. In today’s volatile market, that is a liability.

Having worked with thousands of financial institutions, I’ve seen the full spectrum of planning processes. My own journey — from running our support department for years to serving as a hands-on budget and ALM model operator for our clients — has given me a front-row seat to the challenges you face. I’ve helped institutions prepare for everything from intense regulatory exams to high-stakes board presentations. Needless to say, I have seen exactly what works and what doesn't when it comes to effective planning.

[Read More](https://blog.plansmith.com/blueprint-for-success-the-plansmith-planning-cycle)

## [Planning: Many Aspects, One Purpose](https://blog.plansmith.com/many-aspects-one-purpose)

 Posted by [Sue West](https://blog.plansmith.com/author/sue-west) on 7/17/23, 11:01 AM

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[![reforecasting](https://blog.plansmith.com/hubfs/16.png)](https://blog.plansmith.com/many-aspects-one-purpose)

I’m often asked, “What are the differences between a plan, a budget, forecasting, reforecasting, what-ifs, and stress testing?” Although some of the actions are similar and often intermingled in conversation, it’s their purpose that defines them. If you’re a client, most even involve similar keystrokes using your Plansmith software navigation; yet each plays a unique role within your organization’s total planning process. Let’s discuss.

**Budget**

To start, everyone’s familiar with a budget, but let’s make sure we see it for what it really is. A budget is a prediction or forecast of a financial position at a set time in the future, typically one year. A budget represents a desired financial outcome and requires consent by your board of directors. Most often a Budget is primarily thought of as cost allocations, but when combined with ideas regarding new business, you will often hear it referred to as a Plan. Once approved, the Budget Plan never changes. It is ‘set in stone’ for the duration of your selected time period.

[Read More](https://blog.plansmith.com/many-aspects-one-purpose)

## [Control Performance: Best Practices for Financial Institutions](https://blog.plansmith.com/control-performance-best-practices-for-financial-institutions)

 Posted by [Sue West](https://blog.plansmith.com/author/sue-west) on 5/15/23, 12:23 PM

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[![control-performance](https://blog.plansmith.com/hubfs/LiquidityIRR%20Postcard%20Bleed%202023.04.10.png)](https://blog.plansmith.com/control-performance-best-practices-for-financial-institutions)

A common misconception is that planning is an annual event. Budgeting: setting targets and allocating expenses; true, but what happens next? As life goes on, rates fluctuate, new opportunities for growth appear, and your ever-changing customer expectations must be managed. Your budget, as it was initially locked in, must die and be reborn accordingly.

There are several ways to get a better handle on your financial future and get your plan back on track to meet your goals.

[Read More](https://blog.plansmith.com/control-performance-best-practices-for-financial-institutions)

## [Planning: Many Aspects, One Purpose](https://blog.plansmith.com/planning-many-aspects)

 Posted by [Sue West](https://blog.plansmith.com/author/sue-west) on 7/12/22, 2:41 PM

- [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share)

[![reforecasting](https://blog.plansmith.com/hubfs/16.png)](https://blog.plansmith.com/planning-many-aspects)

I’m often asked, “What are the differences between a plan, a budget, forecasting, reforecasting, what-ifs, and stress testing?” Although some of the actions are similar and often intermingled in conversation, it’s their purpose that defines them. If you’re a client, most even involve similar keystrokes using your Plansmith software navigation; yet each plays a unique role within your organization’s total planning process. Let’s discuss.

**Budget**

To start, everyone’s familiar with a budget, but let’s make sure we see it for what it really is. A budget is a prediction or forecast of a financial position at a set time in the future, typically one year. A budget represents a desired financial outcome and requires consent by your board of directors. Most often a Budget is primarily thought of as cost allocations, but when combined with ideas regarding new business, you will often hear it referred to as a Plan. Once approved, the Budget Plan never changes. It is ‘set in stone’ for the duration of your selected time period.

[Read More](https://blog.plansmith.com/planning-many-aspects)

## [Reforecasting: Planning for Real Life](https://blog.plansmith.com/reforecasting-planning-for-real-life)

 Posted by [Megan Plis](https://blog.plansmith.com/author/megan-plis) on 7/17/20, 11:00 AM

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[![reforecasting](https://blog.plansmith.com/hubfs/concept-1868728_1920.jpg)](https://blog.plansmith.com/reforecasting-planning-for-real-life)

If COVID-19 has taught us anything, it’s that plans change.

For example, I had a cruise booked and paid for, including excursions to play with sea turtles and visit Mayan ruins this spring. Two of my close friends and I were set to venture from Tampa to Cozumel, Belize, and Honduras – live our best tropical lives, if you will. We were supposed to set sail April 19th and return April 26th.

[Read More](https://blog.plansmith.com/reforecasting-planning-for-real-life)

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