Offices & Services
Office of Finance

Annual FP&A Lifecycle

About Our Fiscal Year

Unlike a traditional calendar year that begins in January and ends in December, Harvard's fiscal year (FY) runs from July 1 through June 30. Our key activities follow this fiscal cycle and repeat each year.

Each deliverable is described in greater detail below. 

Multi-Year Capital Plan (MYCP)
Purpose:
 
Key Deliverables:
  • Alignment of capital plan with strategic and space priorities
  • Capital spending and funding summary for the next five years
  • Refreshed list of active and proposed capital projects
  • Updated project timing, phasing, and funding sources
 
Key Stakeholders:
  • School and finance leadership
  • Office of Financial Strategy and Planning
  • Central Administration
Fiscal Year-End Close
Purpose:
  • Collaborate with Accounting to finalize annual financial results and ensure accurate reporting
 
Key Deliverables:
  • Completion of revenue, expense, and balance sheet results for the prior fiscal year
  • Variance analyses related to current budget versus prior year budget and actuals
  • Year-end presentation materials for School and University leadership
 
Key Stakeholders:
  • Local unit managers
  • School and finance leadership
  • Office of Financial Strategy and Planning
  • Central Administration
Multi-Year Financial Plan (MYFP)
Purpose:
  • Provide a forward-looking projection over the next five years that synthesizes operating, capital, and technology plans
 
Key Deliverables:
  • 5-year projections of revenue, expense, and net results
  • Assumptions for enrollment, tuition, fundraising, compensation, and other major drivers
  • Scenario analysis where applicable
     
Key Stakeholders:
  • School and finance leadership
  • Office of Financial Strategy and Planning
  • Central Administration
Capital Budget Planning
Purpose:
 
Key Deliverables:
  • Review of annual capital budget by project and funding source
  • Project identification by type (renewal and infrastructure vs. faculty and program)
  • Integration of impacts of depreciation and interest expenses into the operating budget
 
Key Stakeholders:
  • School and finance leadership
  • Office of Financial Strategy and Planning
  • Central Administration
Operating Budget Planning
Purpose:
  • Develop a detailed operating budget for the upcoming fiscal year at the school and local unit level
 
Key Deliverables:
  • Construction of baseline unit-level revenue and expense budgets and adjustments as needed
  • Consolidation of budget to compare to target and prior year
  • Development of a detailed budget narrative using key assumptions
 
Key Stakeholders:
  • Local unit leaders 
  • School and finance leadership
  • Office of Financial Strategy and Planning
  • Central Administration
Quarterly Current Fiscal Year Reporting
Purpose:
  • Provide unit managers with timely, standardized financial results and accompanying analysis throughout the fiscal year
 
Key Deliverables:
  • Document current year actuals versus budget and prior year actuals for revenue, expense, and staff headcount
  • Comment on key drivers and variances where needed
  • Track areas of risk and opportunity where applicable
  • Share standardized reports with unit leaders for review
 
Key Stakeholders:
  • Local unit leaders
  • School and finance leadership
Quarterly Current Fiscal Year Forecasting
Purpose:
  • Revise the current fiscal year outlook based on year-to-date performance and updated assumptions
 
Key Deliverables:
  • Updates to full-year forecast versus original budget projection
  • Update areas of risk and opportunity and document reason for changes from budget
  • Development of mitigation actions and recommended budget adjustments as needed
 
Key Stakeholders:
  • School and finance leadership
  • Office of Financial Strategy and Planning