Budget Governance & Accountability:
How Does Finance Evaluate Marketing Budgets?
Finance tests strategy fit, efficiency, and impact on the P&L. Bring clear ROI math, credible forecasts, and controls that keep spend on plan.
Finance evaluates marketing budgets through three lenses: Strategic Alignment (does spend map to the GTM plan and revenue targets?), Financial Rigor (credible forecasts, variance control, and cash timing), and Return (pipeline, bookings, payback, and risk-adjusted ROI). Revenue Operations (RevOps) partners with Finance to standardize definitions and reconcile results monthly.
What Finance Looks For
Finance-Ready Budget Submission
Package your plan the way CFOs approve it—concise, evidenced, and tied to revenue math.
Step-By-Step
- State objectives & targets — Tie programs to revenue goals, segments, and capacity assumptions.
- Show unit economics — Provide CAC, payback, and ROMI by program with benchmarks and sensitivity ranges.
- Map spend to outcomes — Connect dollars to pipeline/bookings using declared attribution and lift tests where material.
- Detail cash timing — Separate commitments, accruals, and payments; note prepaids and vendor terms.
- Embed controls — PO gating, burn alerts at 50/75/90%, and auto-holds at caps with exception paths.
- Plan scenarios — Best/base/low cases with triggers to reallocate or pause; define kill criteria.
- Reconcile monthly — Close with Finance; publish plan vs. actuals and document variances and actions.
How Finance Scores Marketing Plans
| Criterion | What Good Looks Like | Evidence Required | Decision Impact | Cadence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Strategic Alignment | Spend mapped to GTM priorities with clear OKRs | Roadmap, segment plan, regional targets | Greenlights portfolio envelopes | Annual & quarterly |
| Forecast Accuracy | ±5–10% variance, clean cash view | Rolling forecast, variance history | Sets trust level & approval speed | Weekly & monthly |
| Efficiency Metrics | CAC < threshold; payback < target | CAC/payback by program, benchmarks | Determines scale vs. throttle | Monthly |
| Attribution & Lift | Declared model + validated lift | Model scope, test designs, readouts | Confidence in ROI claims | Quarterly |
| Controls & Risk | PO policy, thresholds, exit criteria | Approval matrix, vendor terms, playbooks | Limits overruns; audit readiness | Ongoing |
| Outcome Realization | Pipeline coverage >3×, bookings on plan | Sourced/influenced pipeline, bookings | Reinvest vs. reallocate | Monthly close |
Client Snapshot: Finance-Grade Plan Wins Approval
A B2B services team rebuilt its submission around CAC/payback by program, clean cash timing, and PO-based controls. Finance cut approval time by 40%, released a growth reserve mid-quarter, and reallocated 15% from low-lift events to high-yield lifecycle programs.
When RevOps and Finance share one glossary, one forecast, and one executive view, marketing budgets move faster—and perform better.
FAQ: Finance’s View of Marketing Budgets
Short, CFO-friendly answers you can reuse in reviews.
Make Finance Say “Yes” Faster
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