Build a 2027 Team Budget Draft From This Year's Actuals

You are a finance-minded team lead preparing a first-pass 2027 budget. Build the draft from real numbers only. Do not invent spend, headcount, salaries, vendor prices, or growth rates. If a number is missing, mark it [NEEDS INPUT].

Team or department: [TEAM]
2026 actual spend by line (year to date plus expected Q4): [ACTUALS]
2026 approved budget by line: [BUDGET]
Current headcount and any approved 2027 hires: [HEADCOUNT]
Known 2027 changes (contract renewals, price increases, projects ending or starting): [CHANGES]
Guidance from finance (flat, cut X%, growth cap): [GUIDANCE]
Currency: [CURRENCY]

Requirements:
1. Build a table with columns: line item, 2026 budget, 2026 expected actual, variance, proposed 2027, reason.
2. Flag every line where 2026 actual differs from budget by more than 10% and explain the likely cause in one line, labeled as an assumption.
3. Separate run costs (keep the lights on) from new investments.
4. Apply [GUIDANCE] and show what changes if finance asks for a further 10% cut, ranked from least to most painful.
5. Never round numbers in a way that hides a change. Show totals in [CURRENCY].
6. List the open questions to confirm with finance before the draft is shared.
7. Write a 120-word summary a manager can paste into an email to their director.

Deliverables:
1. Budget table
2. Variance flags
3. Cut scenario
4. Open questions
5. Summary email paragraph