Run a Multi-Account FinOps Review

Analyze AWS spend in Excel and add a monthly budget alert.

Introduction

30 Second Summary

A monthly cloud bill can show one large total. That number leaves teams unsure who owns the spend or what to do next.

In this project, you will turn live multi-account AWS costs into a monthly FinOps review in Microsoft Excel. You will use AWS Cost Explorer to identify the biggest cost drivers before AWS Budgets watches the highest-spend account.

What You'll Build

You will open one workbook to show which account spends the most, which service drives that spend, what action should happen next, and whether the monthly alert is active.

By the end of this project, you'll have:

A repeatable monthly review that traces organization-wide spend to linked accounts and service drivers using reusable CSV exports.
A management-ready workbook with PivotTables, a PivotChart, concentration percentages, and an owned optimization decision.
A monthly cost guardrail that alerts a verified email recipient when the highest-spend account reaches 80 percent of its approved ceiling.
Secret Mission: Add an account-to-owner showback map that classifies shared spend and calculates an Allocation Accuracy Index.

Are there any prerequisites?

You need a Windows device with Microsoft Excel access. You also need billing permissions for the AWS Organizations management account, cost data from at least two linked accounts, and an email address you can verify in that AWS account.

Before We Start

Before the analysis starts, this is your moment to commit to a repeatable monthly multi-account AWS FinOps cost review. Naming the audience ties every later chart to an owned optimization or cost-control decision.

Verify the FinOps Workspace

A monthly cost review fails immediately when its source data or analysis workspace is inaccessible. This step proves that both sides of your workflow are ready before you begin the analysis.

You will confirm that the AWS Organizations management-account billing view exposes live data in AWS Cost Explorer. You will also save the blank Microsoft Excel workbook that becomes your review pack.

In this step, get ready to:

Open the management-account billing view in Microsoft Edge.
Verify live organization cost data with linked-account analysis.
Save a blank Excel workbook in a restricted local folder.

Open the management-account billing view

The AWS Management Console gives the management account access to billing information for the organization. You will use Microsoft Edge to reach that view.

This is a read-only check, so you will not create charges or AWS resources.

Press the Windows key to open the Windows search bar.
Type Microsoft Edge into the search bar.
Press Enter to open Microsoft Edge.

Navigate to the official AWS Management Console sign-in page.
Sign in with the identity that has access to your AWS Organizations management account.
Complete any identity verification requested by your organization's AWS access flow.
Select the account menu in the upper-right corner of the console.
Confirm that the displayed account matches your AWS Organizations management account.

Why Does the Management Account Matter?

The management account can see costs incurred by itself and its member accounts. That organization-wide scope makes the later linked-account comparison possible.

Open the official Billing and Cost Management console.
Select Cost Explorer in the left navigation pane.

You should see Cost Explorer with a cost chart and a data table for the organization.

Cannot Open Cost Explorer?

Check the account menu again if the billing view only covers one member account. Ask your AWS administrator to confirm your billing permissions if the Cost Explorer page remains unavailable.

Help me diagnose why Cost Explorer is unavailable from my AWS Organizations management account.

Prove linked-account access

Cost data becomes useful for allocation when you can connect spend to its owning account. The Linked account dimension identifies the member accounts in your organization.

Inspect the chart to confirm that it contains cost values across visible dates.
Use the grouping control to group the report by Linked account.

You should see separate linked accounts in the chart or table. Seeing at least two accounts proves that your identity can perform the multi-account analysis required for this review.

Linked Accounts Missing?

Confirm that the console header still shows the management account. A member-account billing view cannot provide the organization-wide linked-account breakdown required here.

Help me check why linked-account analysis is missing from Cost Explorer.

Save the blank review workbook

The workbook will later contain account identifiers and spend values. A restricted local folder limits access to this sensitive business data.

Press the Windows key to open the Windows search bar.
Type Microsoft Excel into the search bar.
Press Enter to open Microsoft Excel.
Select Blank workbook on the Excel start screen.

You should see an empty worksheet ready to become the management review.

Select File in the Excel ribbon.
Select Save As.
Select Browse to choose a local location.
Choose a local folder that only you or approved reviewers can access.
Enter AWS-FinOps-Review.xlsx in the File name field.
Confirm that Excel Workbook is selected under Save as type.
Select Save.

Your Excel title bar should now show AWS-FinOps-Review.xlsx above a blank worksheet.

Workbook Name Did Not Update?

Return to Save As if the title bar still shows the default workbook name. Check that the file name includes the .xlsx extension before saving again.

Help me save my blank Excel workbook with the correct name in a local folder.

Before you make the final check, do you expect both applications to preserve the states you just proved?

Switch back to Microsoft Edge.
Confirm that Cost Explorer still displays organization cost data.
Confirm that the report displays multiple linked accounts.
Switch back to Microsoft Excel.
Confirm that the title bar shows AWS-FinOps-Review.xlsx.

You should now have organization cost data visible in Microsoft Edge. You should also have a blank local workbook open in Microsoft Excel.

That is the access risk cleared: your organization data is visible. Your saved workbook is ready for the baseline that exposes the first reporting blind spot.

Expose the Total-Spend Blind Spot

Your FinOps workspace is ready. AWS Cost Explorer already shows live organization cost data.

Your Microsoft Excel workbook now needs a trustworthy organization-wide baseline. This step tests how far one monthly total can support the owned cost decision you defined.

In this step, get ready to:

Configure an ungrouped monthly organization-wide cost view.
Record the latest complete-month total in the Management Summary.
Expose the ownership questions that the total cannot answer.

Configure the monthly organization baseline

A monthly view makes periods comparable. Keeping the current month-to-date visible also makes the incomplete reporting period clear.

Switch back to the Cost Explorer tab in Microsoft Edge.
Set the start date to the first day of the earliest complete month available in your Cost Explorer history.
Set the end date to today so the current month-to-date remains visible.

The chart now begins with the earliest complete month. It ends with the current month-to-date.

Choose Monthly for the time granularity.
Clear any active grouping so the organization total remains ungrouped.

Each chart point now represents one month. The data remains combined at the organization level.

Clear any active account or service filters so the view covers the whole organization.

Before refreshing, how much decision detail do you expect a single organization-wide total to reveal?

Refresh the Microsoft Edge tab to test the ungrouped monthly view.

You will see organization-wide monthly spend in the chart. The table shows the same totals for all available complete months plus the current month-to-date.

The chart cannot identify the linked account that owns the most spend. The table cannot identify the service that drives that account.

This shortfall is the intended total-spend blind spot.

Missing months or seeing a split view?

Confirm that the date range begins with the earliest complete month available to your account.
Clear any remaining grouping that divides the total into separate categories.
Confirm that you are still using the management-account billing view from the previous step.

Ask for help if the organization baseline still looks incomplete: help me troubleshoot an incomplete or grouped AWS Cost Explorer monthly view

Why This Gap Matters

An organization total establishes the scale of spend. Allocation connects that spend to accountable owners.

The baseline is useful for reporting. Ownership remains unresolved until the cost is divided by a meaningful dimension.

Record the latest complete-month total

The current month is still accumulating charges. The latest complete month provides a stable baseline for this review.

Locate the latest complete month before the current month-to-date in the Cost Explorer table.
Record that month here: latest complete month.
Record its organization-wide total here: latest complete-month total.

You now have one complete reporting period. You also have the organization total associated with it.

Switch back to AWS-FinOps-Review.xlsx from earlier.
Double-click the blank worksheet tab at the bottom of the Excel window.
Rename the worksheet to Management Summary.

You will see Management Summary on the worksheet tab.

Select cell A1.
Enter Latest complete month.

Cell A1 now labels the reporting period.

Select cell B1.
Enter latest complete month.

The first row now identifies the complete month used for the baseline.

Select cell A2.
Enter Organization-wide total.

Cell A2 now labels the baseline amount.

Select cell B2.
Enter latest complete-month total.

The two-row summary now pairs the latest complete month with its organization-wide total.

Save AWS-FinOps-Review.xlsx to its existing restricted local folder.

Your baseline is now preserved in the workbook. The next part makes its decision-making limit visible.

Summary values in the wrong cells?

Confirm that B1 contains the month. Confirm that B2 contains the matching organization-wide total.

Ask for help if the worksheet structure still differs: help me fix my Management Summary worksheet layout

Document the unanswered ownership questions

A management summary needs to show what the available evidence can support. Unanswered prompts make the allocation gap explicit.

Select cell A4.
Enter Which linked account owns the most spend?.

The first prompt now captures the missing ownership decision.

Select cell A5.
Enter Which service drives that account?.

The second prompt now captures the missing service driver.

Save AWS-FinOps-Review.xlsx in its restricted local folder.

Before the final check, do you think refreshing the same ungrouped view can fill either prompt?

Switch back to the Cost Explorer view in Microsoft Edge.
Refresh the Microsoft Edge tab.

You will still see the ungrouped monthly organization-wide trend. The latest complete-month total remains visible.

Neither prompt has an answer in this view. Refreshing the same total does not create ownership or service detail.

Return to AWS-FinOps-Review.xlsx from earlier.
Inspect cells A1:B2 plus cells A4:A5.

You will see the latest complete-month baseline in the first two rows. You will also see both unanswered prompts beneath it.

Protect Billing Data

AWS account identifiers and spend values are sensitive business data. A redacted screenshot proves the workflow without exposing those details.

You have exposed the reporting gap that matters. Next, you will trace the spend to accountable cost drivers.

Trace Account and Service Cost Drivers

The organization-wide baseline from the previous step proves that spend exists. It still cannot assign that spend to an account or explain its service driver.

This step applies allocation in AWS Cost Explorer. The Linked account dimension reveals ownership. The Service dimension reveals the largest product-level driver.

In this step, get ready to:

Attribute the latest complete-month spend to its highest-spend linked account.
Trace that account's largest service cost driver.
Export two monthly CSV files for later analysis.

Group spend by linked account

Account grouping partitions the same total by member account. The largest value for the latest complete month answers the ownership prompt without changing your review scope.

Why use Cost Explorer dimensions?

The console dimensions answer account and service questions without requiring a separate data pipeline. This keeps the monthly review focused on allocation decisions.

Duplicate the ungrouped baseline with the tab menu in Microsoft Edge.

You should see two matching Cost Explorer tabs. The original tab preserves your ungrouped organization baseline.

Switch to the duplicated Cost Explorer tab.
Check that the view still covers all available complete months plus the current month-to-date.
Use the grouping control to select Linked account.

You'll see the chart split organization spend across linked accounts. The table provides the monthly values you need for ranking.

Locate the latest complete month in the table.
Compare the linked-account values for that month.
Record the account with the largest value as highest-spend linked account.

Good, the first unanswered prompt now has a named account behind it.

Choose Download CSV to export the linked-account analysis.

You'll see a new CSV download in your Windows Downloads folder.

Can't see linked-account data?

Confirm that the browser still uses the management-account billing view.
Restore the monthly date range if the duplicated view shows a different period.

Ask for help with missing linked-account results in Cost Explorer.

Trace the largest service driver

The account ranking shows where the largest share of spend sits. A filtered service view reveals which AWS product drives that account's cost.

Duplicate the linked-account analysis with the browser tab menu.

You should now have separate tabs for the organization baseline and linked-account analysis. The new duplicate becomes your service analysis.

Switch to the new duplicate.
Select Filters.
Select Linked account.

The filter panel now lists the linked accounts available to the management account.

Choose highest-spend linked account from the account values.
Choose Apply filters.

You'll see Cost Explorer redraw the chart for the selected account.

Use the grouping control to select Service.

You'll see the selected account's spend split across AWS services. Every value in this view belongs to the linked-account filter you applied.

Locate the latest complete month in the table.
Identify the service with the largest value for that month.
Record that service as largest service driver.

That's the second reporting gap closed. Your leading account now has a specific service driver.

Choose Download CSV to export the filtered service analysis.

You'll see a second CSV download in your Windows Downloads folder.

Still seeing every account?

Confirm that the selected account appears in the active Filters area.
Choose Apply filters after selecting the account.
Select the Service grouping after the chart redraws.

Ask for help with a Cost Explorer service view that still includes multiple linked accounts.

Rename and verify the exports

Cost Explorer exports place time in rows and costs in columns. Reopening both files in Microsoft Excel confirms that each export contains the data needed for the management review.

Press the Windows key to open Windows search.
Type Downloads.
Select the Downloads folder result.

You'll see the two recent CSV downloads in the folder.

Identify the earlier download as the linked-account export.
Use its context menu to rename it to finops-account-trend.csv.

You'll see finops-account-trend.csv in the Downloads file list.

Identify the later download as the filtered service export.
Use its context menu to rename it to finops-top-account-services.csv.

You'll now see both project filenames in the Downloads folder.

Before you reopen the files, what common date-and-cost structure do you expect both exports to have?

Double-click finops-account-trend.csv.

In Excel, you'll see monthly date rows. You'll also see spend columns for the linked-account analysis.

Switch back to the Downloads folder from earlier.
Double-click finops-top-account-services.csv.

You'll see monthly date rows in the second file. You'll also see spend columns for the selected account's service analysis.

Both exports use dates in YYYY-MM-DD format. Their confirmed structure proves that the two analyses are ready for the workbook.

Missing dates or spend fields?

Match the earlier download to the linked-account analysis.
Match the later download to the filtered service analysis.
Repeat Download CSV from the relevant Cost Explorer tab if an export contains the wrong fields.

Ask for help with checking which Cost Explorer export contains the wrong data.

Protect billing data

AWS account identifiers and spend values are sensitive business data.

Capture only the Downloads file list when you complete the checkpoint.

Your organization baseline now has a highest-spend account. Its largest service driver is also clear.

Next, you'll turn these two exports into a portable Excel management review.

Build the Excel Management Review

Your two CSV exports now give your FinOps review the account and service evidence it needs. Microsoft Excel is ready to turn that evidence into a review your audience can reuse.

AWS Cost Explorer console views answer individual questions. A stakeholder needs one portable review that combines trends, concentration, and a recommended action.

In this step, get ready to:

Import the account and service datasets into dedicated workbook sheets.
Build two PivotTables with spend values and concentration percentages.
Add a PivotChart and complete the owned optimization decision.

Import the source datasets

The workbook needs its source data inside dedicated worksheets. This keeps the management review connected to the account and service exports.

Keep cost data restricted

AWS account identifiers and spend values are sensitive business data.

Keep the workbook inside the restricted local folder from earlier.
Redact account identifiers and spend values before capturing a screenshot.

Switch to finops-account-trend.csv in Excel.
Select the populated dataset.
Copy the selected cells.
Switch back to AWS-FinOps-Review.xlsx.
Add a blank worksheet using the add-sheet control beside the worksheet tabs.

You will see a blank worksheet with a new tab at the bottom of the workbook.

Rename the new worksheet Account Trend.

You will see Account Trend on the worksheet tab.

Paste the copied dataset into the upper-left cell of Account Trend.

You should see monthly date rows and linked-account spend columns on the worksheet.

Switch to finops-top-account-services.csv in Excel.
Select the populated dataset.
Copy the selected cells.
Switch back to AWS-FinOps-Review.xlsx.
Add another blank worksheet using the add-sheet control beside the worksheet tabs.

You will see another blank worksheet ready for the service data.

Rename the new worksheet Service Drivers.

You will see Service Drivers on the worksheet tab.

Paste the copied dataset into the upper-left cell of Service Drivers.
Save the changes to AWS-FinOps-Review.xlsx.

Good progress. Both source datasets now travel with the workbook in clearly named worksheets.

Build the PivotTables

A PivotTable summarizes a large dataset without changing its source rows. You will use one PivotTable for linked-account trends and another for service drivers.

Return to the Account Trend worksheet.
Select the populated data range.
Choose Insert on the ribbon.
Choose PivotTable.
Choose New Worksheet as the destination.
Select OK.

You will see a new worksheet with an empty PivotTable and a field list.

How the field layout works

The Date field in Rows gives each month its own line.
Numeric spend fields in Values reveal how costs change across those months.
A duplicate value field can show the same spend as a percentage through Show Values As.

Drag the Date field into Rows.
Drag each numeric spend field into Values.
Drag the identified highest-spend linked account field into Values a second time.
Open Show Values As for the duplicate field.
Choose % of Grand Total.

You should see the account's spend value beside a percentage version of the same field.

Return to the Service Drivers worksheet.
Select the populated data range.
Choose Insert on the ribbon.
Choose PivotTable.
Choose New Worksheet as the destination.
Select OK.

You will see a second PivotTable worksheet connected to the service dataset.

Drag the Date field into Rows.
Drag each numeric spend field into Values.
Drag the identified largest service field into Values a second time.
Open Show Values As for the duplicate field.
Choose % of Grand Total.
Save the changes to AWS-FinOps-Review.xlsx.

You should now have two PivotTables with monthly rows, spend values, and percentage views.

PivotTable fields missing?

Confirm that the selected range includes the header row and every populated data row.
Check that the spend cells contain numbers instead of text.
Recreate the affected PivotTable after correcting the source range.

Ask for help with fixing missing or unusable fields in my Excel PivotTable created from an AWS Cost Explorer CSV export.

Finish the management review

A PivotChart turns the account PivotTable into a trend that stakeholders can scan quickly. The management summary then connects that trend to one owned decision.

Return to the account PivotTable worksheet.
Select a cell inside the account PivotTable.
Choose Insert on the ribbon.
Choose PivotChart.
Select a chart suitable for showing the monthly account trend.
Select OK.

You will see a chart connected to the account PivotTable. Changes to the PivotTable are reflected in the chart.

How concentration supports a decision

Account concentration measures the highest-spend linked account against the organization total for the latest complete month. Service concentration measures the largest service driver against that account's total for the same month.

Higher concentration gives the review a clearer place to investigate first. Both percentages should use the same latest complete month.

Return to the Management Summary worksheet.
Enter the identified highest-spend linked account beside Which linked account owns the most spend?.
Enter the identified largest service driver beside Which service drives that account?.
Enter the account concentration percentage using the latest complete-month account spend divided by the organization total.
Enter the service concentration percentage using the latest complete-month service spend divided by the highest-spend account total.
Write one optimization hypothesis that targets the identified service driver.
Enter one accountable owner for investigating the hypothesis.
Enter the next monthly review date.

Before you check the finished review, do you expect every conclusion to trace back to one of the two source worksheets?

Save AWS-FinOps-Review.xlsx in the restricted local folder.
Review the workbook's worksheet tabs.
Select each PivotTable worksheet.
Inspect the account-trend PivotChart.
Return to the completed Management Summary worksheet.

What should I see?

You can see Management Summary, Account Trend, Service Drivers, and two PivotTable worksheets.
You can see the imported account and service datasets on their dedicated source worksheets.
Each PivotTable places Date in Rows with numeric spend fields in Values.
Each PivotTable includes a duplicate field displayed as % of Grand Total.
You can see an account-trend PivotChart and a completed optimization decision with an owner and review date.

That is the management review complete: your workbook now turns billing data into an owned optimization decision. Next, you will back that decision with a recurring monthly cost guardrail.

Create a Monthly Cost Guardrail

Your Microsoft Excel workbook now ranks the highest-spend linked account. It also gives the service-level optimization decision an owner.

A monthly report explains yesterday's spend. AWS Budgets creates a recurring alert before the selected account reaches its monthly ceiling.

In this step, get ready to:

Create a recurring monthly fixed cost budget for the selected linked account.
Add an Actual email alert at 80 percent of the budgeted amount.
Verify the email recipient so the budget detail page confirms active notifications.

Set the budget scope

A fixed monthly budget gives one account a clear ceiling for every monthly cycle. The budget needs a defensible amount from your existing review.

Switch back to the Management Summary worksheet in AWS-FinOps-Review.xlsx.
Record the account for this guardrail here: your highest-spend linked account.
Choose the approved monthly ceiling as your target when one exists.
Use the latest complete-month cost from Management Summary when no formal target exists.
Record the chosen amount here: your monthly budget amount.

Your guardrail now has a clear account scope. It also has a defensible monthly limit.

Why Use Unblended Costs?

Unblended costs show actual resource costs charged at the time of usage. This cost basis suits a budget scoped to one linked account.

Switch back to Microsoft Edge.
In the Billing and Cost Management console from earlier, select Budgets.

You'll see the AWS Budgets page for the management account.

Select Create budget.
Select Customize (advanced).

The budget wizard now displays the available budget types.

Select Cost budget.
Select Next.

You'll see the fields that define the cost budget.

Enter FinOps Monthly Guardrail as the budget name.
Select Monthly as the budget period.

The budget is now aligned with the monthly review cycle in your workbook.

Select Recurring budget.
Select Fixed as the budgeting method.

The budget now repeats each month with the same ceiling.

Enter your monthly budget amount as the budget amount.
Add a Linked account filter under the budget scope controls.

The budget scope now offers the linked accounts available to the management account.

Select your highest-spend linked account in the filter.
Select Use unblended costs.

The budget is now limited to the selected account's actual resource costs.

Select Next.

You'll arrive at the alert configuration with the monthly account scope ready.

Add the 80 percent alert

An Actual alert evaluates spend already recorded against the monthly ceiling. An 80 percent threshold gives the accountable owner time to investigate before the full amount is reached.

Select Add an alert threshold.
Enter 80 as the threshold.

The alert form now has the threshold value for your early warning.

Select % of budgeted amount as the threshold unit.
Select Actual as the alert type.

The alert now evaluates recorded spend against 80 percent of the monthly budget.

Enter your alert email address under Email recipients.
Leave budget actions unconfigured.

The budget sends a notification when the threshold is reached. It does not make automated changes to AWS resources.

Select Next to reach the review stage.
Review the budget settings against the account and amount recorded earlier.

The review should show a recurring monthly fixed budget for the selected linked account.

Select Create budget.

Good progress. You'll see FinOps Monthly Guardrail listed in AWS Budgets with its account-specific monthly ceiling.

Can't Create the Linked-Account Budget?

Confirm that you are still using the management-account billing view if the Linked account filter is unavailable.
Check that the budget amount contains a valid numeric value.
Check that the email recipient field contains one complete email address.
Get help with the budget configuration.

Verify the email recipient

AWS requires the recipient to follow its verification link while signed in to the account that added the address. The budget detail page provides the final confirmation.

The verification message can be a little tricky to spot because mailbox filters may move it away from the main inbox.

Open the inbox for your alert email address.
Find the verification message from an @aws.com sender.

You'll see a message containing the recipient verification link.

Open the verification message.

The verification link may request another AWS sign-in.

Follow the verification link.
Sign in to the same AWS account if the link asks you to authenticate.

The link records the recipient verification against your budget.

Switch back to the budget detail page in Microsoft Edge.

Before you refresh, consider which status AWS should show after accepting the verification.

Refresh the budget detail page.

What Should I See?

The email recipient status shows Active.
The budget period shows Monthly.
The budget type shows Recurring budget with the Fixed method.
The cost basis shows Use unblended costs.
The alert shows 80 with % of budgeted amount.
The alert type shows Actual.
No budget actions are configured.

Recipient Status Not Active?

Check the junk or spam folder for a message from an @aws.com sender.
Compare the recipient address on the budget with the inbox address.
Follow the verification link while signed in to the AWS account that added the address.
Get help with recipient verification.

That's the operating loop closed. Your monthly review now has a live warning tied to the account you chose.

Redact the recipient email address in your screenshot.
Redact the linked-account identifier in your screenshot.
Redact all spend values in your screenshot.

Secret mission

Secret Mission: Turn Account Spend into Showback

Add an account-to-owner map to your FinOps workbook. Define how shared costs are treated. Calculate an Allocation Accuracy Index that exposes ownership gaps.

Clean Up Your Resources

Choose a cleanup path based on whether you need another monthly review. Your AWS Budgets alert is free, while normal AWS resource charges continue separately.

Cost warning

The 80% actual-spend alert sends a notification. It does not stop resources or cap spend.

Your normal AWS service charges continue until you manage those services separately.

Resources you used:

Recurring monthly fixed AWS cost budget for the highest-spend linked account, with an Active email recipient.
Two CSV exports named finops-account-trend.csv and finops-top-account-services.csv in the Windows Downloads folder.
Microsoft Excel workbook named AWS-FinOps-Review.xlsx in the restricted local folder.

Keep everything running

No action is needed. Choose this if you plan to refresh the review each month.

Retain AWS-FinOps-Review.xlsx as your management review pack.
Retain finops-account-trend.csv and finops-top-account-services.csv as the source exports for this review period.
Keep the recurring budget active so its verified recipient continues receiving the actual-spend alert.
Use the next review date in the workbook to schedule your next monthly refresh.

Pause - I'll come back to this later

Stop active alerting while keeping the local review pack for later. The budget must be recreated when you resume the monthly review.

Budget Deletion Is Permanent

Deleting the budget cannot be undone. Your workbook and CSV exports remain available for a later review.

In AWS Budgets from earlier, select the recurring monthly fixed cost budget for the highest-spend linked account.
Choose Actions.
Choose Delete.
Choose Confirm.
Retain finops-account-trend.csv in the Windows Downloads folder.
Retain finops-top-account-services.csv in the Windows Downloads folder.
Retain AWS-FinOps-Review.xlsx in the restricted local folder.

The budget and its associated email notification are removed. Your local FinOps review remains ready for future analysis.

Delete - I don't want to use this again

Remove the project alert and local cost data when your organization no longer needs the review. Your underlying AWS workloads continue running until they are managed separately.

Deletion Is Permanent

AWS budget deletion cannot be recovered. It also removes the associated email notification.

The CSV exports and workbook contain sensitive business data. Follow your organization's retention and secure-deletion policy.

Delete the AWS budget:

In AWS Budgets from earlier, select the recurring monthly fixed cost budget for the highest-spend linked account.
Choose Actions.
Choose Delete.
Choose Confirm.

Delete the local cost data:

Close AWS-FinOps-Review.xlsx in Microsoft Excel.
Delete finops-account-trend.csv from the Windows Downloads folder.
Delete finops-top-account-services.csv from the Windows Downloads folder.
Return to the restricted local folder from earlier.
Delete AWS-FinOps-Review.xlsx from that folder.
Complete your organization's approved secure-deletion process for all three files.

The budget alert and local review pack are now removed. Your AWS workloads remain untouched by this cleanup.

Nice Work!

You made it. Your multi-account AWS FinOps package now turns billing data into an owned decision with a verified monthly guardrail.

You've learned how to:

Use AWS Cost Explorer to identify the highest-spend linked account. Trace that account to its largest service driver.
Build a management-ready Microsoft Excel review that ranks account spend. Rank service spend in the same workbook. Present concentration through PivotTables plus a PivotChart. Record an optimization decision with an accountable owner. Set the next review date.
Create a recurring AWS Budgets cost guardrail for the highest-spend account. Send an actual-spend email alert at 80% of the budgeted amount. Verify the recipient status as Active.
Secret Mission: Turn linked-account spend into showback with a complete owner map. Document a treatment for shared costs. Display the Allocation Accuracy Index as a percentage.

Your next monthly cost review now has a proven path from spend data to accountable action.

Ready to quiz yourself?