VP Finance - planning and managing a $13k budget
Budgeting: the unsung engine behind every event and idea.
Summary
Planning: In summer 2025, I led planning for the 2025/26 IGEN Student Council budget, working closely with the Presidents to produce a balanced, neutral plan that covered every portfolio - from Academic to External. I improved last year’s framework by simplifying expense tracking and tightening the main dashboard. I coded a function to pull data from each VP page, drop empty rows, group entries, and present a clean roll-up on the dashboard. I also added an automated formatting script that standardizes layout and typography for readability. The budget was approved by the Alma Mater Society (AMS), and nearly all VPs received the allocations they requested. I also included conservative overestimates for select events and line items to amortize minor discrepancies over the year.
Managing: Working closely with all vice presidents to approve or deny budget increases and cuts. Partnering with the Alma Mater Society (AMS) to improve cohesion between financial teams and increase transparency. Coordinating with the Engineering Undergraduate Society (EUS) on event planning and school budgeting decisions. Actively updating the actuals and processing reimbursements for all expenses. Developing better systems, clear trial-balance documentation and an organised file system for next year’s VP Finance.
In detail
Motivation: I firmly believe that everyone should do at least some community service on a weekly basis. Some prefer to volunteer at events, while others prefer to pick up trash from our environment. It is a way of giving back to society, and this commitment slowly but surely builds to make stronger communities with more trust, more participation, and a habit of showing up for each other. In the second year of university, I was missing this purpose, which I filled by becoming VP Finance — my way of serving the community.
I also want to deepen my understanding of finance and accounting as I consider whether this could be a path I pursue long-term. Even now, I’m slowly starting to see improvements in my personal budgeting, clearer thinking around Bill of Materials (BOMs), and more structured decisions on projects. It also aligns with my goal of building my own business in the future.
The main dashboard formula (quite long)
=LET(
pres, IFERROR(FILTER(President!A4:H, President!A4:A<>""), {"","","","","","","",""}),
ext, IFERROR(FILTER(External!A4:H, External!A4:A<>""), {"","","","","","","",""}),
int, IFERROR(FILTER(Internal!A4:H, Internal!A4:A<>""), {"","","","","","","",""}),
acad, IFERROR(FILTER(Academic!A4:H, Academic!A4:A<>""), {"","","","","","","",""}),
studlife, IFERROR(FILTER('Stud Life'!A4:H, 'Stud Life'!A4:A<>""), {"","","","","","","",""}),
eweek, IFERROR(FILTER('E-Week'!A4:H, 'E-Week'!A4:A<>""), {"","","","","","","",""}),
comm, IFERROR(FILTER(Comm!A4:H, Comm!A4:A<>""), {"","","","","","","",""}),
merch, IFERROR(FILTER(Merch!A4:H, Merch!A4:A<>""), {"","","","","","","",""}),
sports, IFERROR(FILTER(Sports!A4:H, Sports!A4:A<>""), {"","","","","","","",""}),
sust, IFERROR(FILTER(Sustainability!A4:H, Sustainability!A4:A<>""), {"","","","","","","",""}),
grad, IFERROR(FILTER(Grad!A4:H, Grad!A4:A<>""), {"","","","","","","",""}),
mentor, IFERROR(FILTER(Mentorship!A8:H, Mentorship!A8:A<>""), {"","","","","","","",""}),
wellness, IFERROR(FILTER(Wellness!A4:H, Wellness!A4:A<>""), {"","","","","","","",""}),
presTotal, IF(pres<>{"","","","","","","",""},
{"", "", "", SUMIF(President!A4:A, "<>", President!B4:B) + SUMIF(President!A4:A, "<>", President!C4:C), "", "", SUMIF(President!A4:A, "<>", President!F4:F), ""},
{"","","","","","","",""}),
extTotal, IF(ext<>{"","","","","","","",""},
{"", "", "", SUMIF(External!A4:A, "<>", External!B4:B) + SUMIF(External!A4:A, "<>", External!C4:C), "", "", SUMIF(External!A4:A, "<>", External!F4:F), ""},
{"","","","","","","",""}),
intTotal, IF(int<>{"","","","","","","",""},
{"", "", "", SUMIF(Internal!A4:A, "<>", Internal!B4:B) + SUMIF(Internal!A4:A, "<>", Internal!C4:C), "", "", SUMIF(Internal!A4:A, "<>", Internal!F4:F), ""},
{"","","","","","","",""}),
acadTotal, IF(acad<>{"","","","","","","",""},
{"", "", "", SUMIF(Academic!A4:A, "<>", Academic!B4:B) + SUMIF(Academic!A4:A, "<>", Academic!C4:C), "", "", SUMIF(Academic!A4:A, "<>", Academic!F4:F), ""},
{"","","","","","","",""}),
studlifeTotal, IF(studlife<>{"","","","","","","",""},
{"", "", "", SUMIF('Stud Life'!A4:A, "<>", 'Stud Life'!B4:B) + SUMIF('Stud Life'!A4:A, "<>", 'Stud Life'!C4:C), "", "", SUMIF('Stud Life'!A4:A, "<>", 'Stud Life'!F4:F), ""},
{"","","","","","","",""}),
eweekTotal, IF(eweek<>{"","","","","","","",""},
{"", "", "", SUMIF('E-Week'!A4:A, "<>", 'E-Week'!B4:B) + SUMIF('E-Week'!A4:A, "<>", 'E-Week'!C4:C), "", "", SUMIF('E-Week'!A4:A, "<>", 'E-Week'!F4:F), ""},
{"","","","","","","",""}),
commTotal, IF(comm<>{"","","","","","","",""},
{"", "", "", SUMIF(Comm!A4:A, "<>", Comm!B4:B) + SUMIF(Comm!A4:A, "<>", Comm!C4:C), "", "", SUMIF(Comm!A4:A, "<>", Comm!F4:F), ""},
{"","","","","","","",""}),
merchTotal, IF(merch<>{"","","","","","","",""},
{"", "", "", SUMIF(Merch!A4:A, "<>", Merch!B4:B) + SUMIF(Merch!A4:A, "<>", Merch!C4:C), "", "", SUMIF(Merch!A4:A, "<>", Merch!F4:F), ""},
{"","","","","","","",""}),
sportsTotal, IF(sports<>{"","","","","","","",""},
{"", "", "", SUMIF(Sports!A4:A, "<>", Sports!B4:B) + SUMIF(Sports!A4:A, "<>", Sports!C4:C), "", "", SUMIF(Sports!A4:A, "<>", Sports!F4:F), ""},
{"","","","","","","",""}),
sustTotal, IF(sust<>{"","","","","","","",""},
{"", "", "", SUMIF(Sustainability!A4:A, "<>", Sustainability!B4:B) + SUMIF(Sustainability!A4:A, "<>", Sustainability!C4:C), "", "", SUMIF(Sustainability!A4:A, "<>", Sustainability!F4:F), ""},
{"","","","","","","",""}),
gradTotal, IF(grad<>{"","","","","","","",""},
{"", "", "", SUMIF(Grad!A4:A, "<>", Grad!B4:B) + SUMIF(Grad!A4:A, "<>", Grad!C4:C), "", "", SUMIF(Grad!A4:A, "<>", Grad!F4:F), ""},
{"","","","","","","",""}),
mentorTotal, IF(mentor<>{"","","","","","","",""},
{"", "", "", SUMIF(Mentorship!A8:A, "<>", Mentorship!B8:B) + SUMIF(Mentorship!A8:A, "<>", Mentorship!C8:C), "", "", SUMIF(Mentorship!A8:A, "<>", Mentorship!F8:F), ""},
{"","","","","","","",""}),
wellnessTotal, IF(wellness<>{"","","","","","","",""},
{"", "", "", SUMIF(Wellness!A4:A, "<>", Wellness!B4:B) + SUMIF(Wellness!A4:A, "<>", Wellness!C4:C), "", "", SUMIF(Wellness!A4:A, "<>", Wellness!F4:F), ""},
{"","","","","","","",""}),
VSTACK(
{"President", "", "", "", "", "", "", ""},
pres,
presTotal,
{"", "", "", "", "", "", "", ""},
{"External", "", "", "", "", "", "", ""},
ext,
extTotal,
{"", "", "", "", "", "", "", ""},
{"Internal", "", "", "", "", "", "", ""},
int,
intTotal,
{"", "", "", "", "", "", "", ""},
{"Academic", "", "", "", "", "", "", ""},
acad,
acadTotal,
{"", "", "", "", "", "", "", ""},
{"Stud Life", "", "", "", "", "", "", ""},
studlife,
studlifeTotal,
{"", "", "", "", "", "", "", ""},
{"E-Week", "", "", "", "", "", "", ""},
eweek,
eweekTotal,
{"", "", "", "", "", "", "", ""},
{"Comm", "", "", "", "", "", "", ""},
comm,
commTotal,
{"", "", "", "", "", "", "", ""},
{"Merch", "", "", "", "", "", "", ""},
merch,
merchTotal,
{"", "", "", "", "", "", "", ""},
{"Sports", "", "", "", "", "", "", ""},
sports,
sportsTotal,
{"", "", "", "", "", "", "", ""},
{"Sustainability", "", "", "", "", "", "", ""},
sust,
sustTotal,
{"", "", "", "", "", "", "", ""},
{"Grad", "", "", "", "", "", "", ""},
grad,
gradTotal,
{"", "", "", "", "", "", "", ""},
{"Mentorship", "", "", "", "", "", "", ""},
mentor,
mentorTotal,
{"", "", "", "", "", "", "", ""},
{"Wellness", "", "", "", "", "", "", ""},
wellness,
wellnessTotal
)
)
Handling reimbursements now -> full page update to follow...
