Budget parameters released, budget timelines extended, and narrative requirements reduced to help Schools and Centers complete their planning amidst uncertainty

A detailed budget submitted in Planning to the University Budget Office is now due April 30 for resource and administrative centers and May 7 for schools. We have granted a week-long extension to give you more time to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on your budgets.  The final budget submission will be loaded into the University’s general ledger and will become available in the University’s accounting system in July.

In contrast to past years, your written narrative for the Trustee budget document is due the same date as your budget. This year’s submission should only include a discussion of your major areas of focus and activity and key budgetary assumptions (a brief update on your key initiatives in support of the Penn Compact should be sent separately to the Budget Office, which will consolidate the responses for inclusion in the document’s Introduction).  Administrative units that are part of the Provost or the Executive Vice President Centers should not submit separate narratives as the Provost and EVP will be preparing consolidated narratives for their respective units.

We expect that there will be significant changes in your final budget versus the initial submission given the changing economic circumstances.  Once your budget is complete, you should submit a summary email or memo to the Budget Office outlining major changes.