back to the financial planning group. Examples of suggested report formats will be shown and described. The reports include: Departmental expenses and fixed assets: communications man- agement department Communications expenses and fixed assets: all departments 12 BUDGETING AND FINANCIAL PLANNING Communications Departmental Expense Table 12-3 is an example of the way a departmental expense sum- mary should appear. Table 12-4 is an example of a total communications cost summary for all departments or cost centers in an organization. It shows clearly and concisely where the dollars are being spent for manageable cost items. Table 12-5 is a summary of fixed assets in use by each department or cost center. This report allows communications cost management and individual department managers to see and understand where their investments are and to be reminded once a month about the necessity to plan those investments wisely on an ongoing basis. It only takes a glance to see the "who, what, where, when" and the level of detail covering the past few months to grasp and see the trends. The principal changes from those shown in Table 12-1 are due to revisions in practices dealing with invoices and the institution of standard cost for circuits, equipment, facilities, and services. Also, note the inclusion of a depreciation line. This is a simple summary; however, it is supplemented by the detail in the new fixed asset report. This is perhaps an appropriate point to acknowledge that a commu- nications cost management function or department can be staffed internally or outsourced. More likely it will be a combination of both. Whatever the approach, it doesn't reduce the complexity or mitigate the need to account for, budget, and plan. While the oper- ation may vary from organization to organization, there still should be executive responsibility and oversight applied to the increasingly important part of business operations. COMMUNICATIONS BUDGET AND PLAN STRUCTURE An organization's annual business plan consists of several co