Projections

Fiscal analyses that help departments with fiscal planning. Estimates capture how much has been expended, while projections capture how much will be needed for a future period. Estimates and projections are based on a number of factors, such as services provided versus services to still be provided, supplies purchased versus supplies to be purchased, number of staff versus staff vacancies, time spent versus time remaining, etc. Estimates and projections can be used to analyze population trends, whereby estimates generalize an entire population based on a small sample, and projections predict what the future population would be based on current trends.