Plain-English budget variance explanation

I need to explain budget variances to people who don't work in finance. Help me write it clearly. Period: [for example, the third quarter] Audience: [for example, department heads, the leadership team] Budget vs actual (paste the table, including line items, budget, actual and difference): [paste numbers] What I know about why things moved: [notes on causes, for example a delayed hire, a one-off software cost, higher shipping prices] Our threshold for explaining a variance: [for example, anything over 5% or over 10,000] Please: 1. Check my differences and percentages and tell me if any don't add up. Show your working for anything you flag. 2. List only the variances above the threshold, biggest first. 3. For each one, write two plain sentences: what happened and whether it's a timing difference or a real over- or underspend. 4. Add a three-sentence summary at the top with the overall position. 5. End with what we expect next period, using only what I've told you. No jargon. If I haven't given a reason for a variance, write "reason to confirm" instead of guessing.