The budgeting element relates to the planning of expenditure. It can be based on
allocated funds or can be used to determine what funds are required. It is usually a
combination of the two. When budgeting, it is important to consider all expenditure
related to ICT, not just the cost of the equipment itself.
The accounting element is concerned with the tracking of actual expenditure. This is
then used as input to the next cycle as it gives useful information on costs and how
money was actually spent.
Financial management may stop at budgeting and accounting, or it may include
charging. This relates to the process of recharging ICT users for the ICT service
they receive. It may range from simple charging at cost for equipment and
consumables to complex charging for the entire service based on the overall cost
including support, administration, shared infrastructure, maintenance,
accommodation charges and so on. If the school decides to use a charging policy
for ICT services it cannot take place without budgeting and accounting.
