You then get asked to produce yet more spreadsheets, forms, documents and supporting evidence to predict exactly how you intend to spend what you've been allocated, by when, etc. And, when you pause for breath, to account for why you deviated from last year's crystall ball gazing outcomes.
The fact that this could account for someone's full day, every day, if one were actually to _comply_ with these requests has yet to strike home with whomever decides on these matters. You're still expected to do your Real Job alongside all of this.
But the really interesting thing is not just what a colossal waste of time all of this is. It's that The System actively rewards non-compliance, and punishes "good practice". The HOD who does it all to spec, and then spends carefully through the year according to some agreed spending plan, will find that - towards the end of the year - that last 10% of "allocated budget" doesn't get released after all. Why? Because the HOD in the department next door played differently, and spent their entire budget by July, going to the Dean with outstretched hands to plead for a bail-out. And got - with the obligatory talking to about not doing it again, but got nonetheless.
The faster you spend, the more you get.
The less you plan, the more you achieve.
The less you comply, the better you fare.
It's all a game, and those who play by the official rules get bested every time by those who know what the Real Rules are...