Portfolio.

Introduction

Every business juggles with the challenge of where and how to spend. I created this tool to help teams break down their budget, spot inefficiencies, and run simulations to predict the financial impact of key decisions—all through an intuitive, data-backed Excel dashboard.

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Objective

• Develop a flexible, scalable budgeting solution.
• Handle large datasets with complex spending patterns.
• Track year-over-year changes in budget allocation and expenses.
• Enable decision-makers to model and compare multiple budget scenarios before finalizing plans.

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Methodology

Data Preparation:

1. Cleaned and merged 12+ CSV files (~5M+ rows) using Pandas, standardizing formats and handling inconsistencies across departments.
2. Removed duplicates, treated outliers using IQR method and normalized key numeric fields for unbiased comparison.
3. Used pd.concat() to combine budget and actuals from multiple quarters into a single long-format dataframe.

Feature Engineering:

1. Extracted monthly, quarterly, and YoY metrics for revenue, cost, and budget utilization.
2. Created custom columns for actual vs. budget variance, burn rate, and forecast error.
3. Segmented budget lines into categories for more granular analysis.

Excel Dashboard Development:

1. Designed an interactive dashboard in Excel using Pivot Tables, Slicers, and Named Ranges for smooth navigation.
2. Integrated conditional formatting to highlight overspending and low ROI zones.

What-If Simulations:

1. Developed a simulation layer using Excel’s Data Tables and Scenario Manager to test budget reallocations.
2. Users could adjust assumptions (e.g., expected revenue, hiring plans, marketing spend) and instantly see effects on cash flow, ROI, and burn rate.
3. Added charts to compare baseline vs. adjusted outcomes visually.

Forecasting & Projections:

1. Used Python to generate sales forecasts based on historical trends.
2. Integrated these forecasts into Excel for smoother collaboration across teams unfamiliar with Python.

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Result

1. Enabled the finance team to test multiple budget versions before finalizing, leading to a 40% improvement in budgeting accuracy.
2. Identified underperforming areas early in the quarter, helping leadership reallocate funds in time.
3. Reduced manual effort by automating monthly financial reports and projections - freeing up time for strategy, not spreadsheets.