A finance department wants to compare actual expenses against budgeted amounts for each of 10 departments over the past 12 months. They need to show the variance (over/under budget) as well as the trend of expenses over time. The data includes monthly actual and budget figures for each department. The audience is the CFO who needs a quick overview. Which visualization approach should be used?
Dual-axis allows direct comparison of actual vs budget over time, and the line highlights variance trend.
Why this answer
Option B is correct because a dual-axis chart (bars for budget vs actual per month, line for variance) shows both comparison and trend clearly. Option A is wrong because a single stacked bar for all departments obscures monthly trends. Option C is wrong because a table is not a quick-visual overview.
Option D is wrong because a waterfall chart is for cumulative changes, not month-by-month trends.