Budget Performance Audit Dashboard — Zentra Dynamics

Project Overview

This project simulates an executive-level Budget vs Actual performance monitoring solution for a mid-sized organization operating across multiple regions and departments in Canada.

The goal is to provide a decision-ready dashboard that helps finance and business leaders quickly identify budget deviations, cost overruns, and areas for improvement.

At a glance:

• Overall spending finished 1.33% under budget ($21,632 favorable variance)
• Cost overruns were concentrated in Software, Repairs, and Training
• Montreal and Toronto showed the strongest budget adherence
• Budget deviations varied by month, suggesting seasonal or project-driven patterns

Quick Links

• 📊 Dashboard (Excel) — dashboard/Zentra_Budget_Performance_Dashboard.xlsx
• 📄 Executive Summary — documentation/Executive_Summary.md
• 🧠 Methodology & Workflow — documentation/Methodology_Workflow.md
• 🧩 Project Context — documentation/Project_Context.md

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Business Problem

Zentra Dynamics lacked a centralized and visual way to monitor budget execution. Reporting was fragmented and reactive, limiting visibility into:

• Which departments and regions were overspending
• What expense categories were driving variances
• How performance evolved month-over-month and year-to-date

Solution

An interactive Excel dashboard built with Power Query and Power Pivot that enables:

• Budget vs Actual comparisons (monthly and YTD)
• Variance analysis ($ and %)
• Identification of top deviation categories
• Performance flags to highlight overspending and cost-saving opportunities
• Filtering by region, department, and reporting period

Key Features

• Star-schema data model implemented in Power Pivot
• Power Query transformations for clean and repeatable refresh steps
• Custom DAX measures for variance and cumulative analysis
• Executive-focused layout with clear KPI storytelling

Tools & Skills Demonstrated

• Microsoft Excel (Power Query, Power Pivot)
• DAX (variance, percentage variance, cumulative/YTD logic)
• Data modeling (star schema)
• Financial performance analysis and executive reporting

Repository Contents

• dashboard/ — Final Excel dashboard file
• screenshots/ — Dashboard and model screenshots for quick review
• documentation/ — Project context, methodology, and executive summary (Markdown)
• data/ — Source data notes and structure overview

How to Review (Recommended)

1. Start with /screenshots/ for a fast visual overview
2. Open the Excel dashboard from /dashboard/
3. Review the documentation in /documentation/ for context and insights

Author

Juan Pablo Briceno Ramos
Business & Financial Analyst | Toronto, Canada
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/juan-p-briceno