Of all items in an organization’s over-spending, which ones might cause a budget shortfall?
One might say, of course, that a 2% increase in X, or a 5% increase in Y, would be the cause an expected shortfall.
There’s a simple answer, though: each and every expenditure contributes to the overall shortfall.
An organization might have many costs: materials, salaries, benefits, advertising, utilities, etc. It’s not just a 5% increase in Y, but a continuing expenditure on Z (even at last year’s levels) that adds to a shortfall.
Pointing to some costs distracts from looking at others.
Emphasizing more-recent costs (for example), to the exclusion of long-standing expenditures, isn’t simply an objective financial calculation, but a subjective political one.
What really pushed the organization over the top? All that lies below.