Accounting allocation should be distinguished from the actual work and resources supporting the applicant.
Connect the budget with genuine operating arrangements
Explain who performs the tasks, the available resources and the applicant’s responsibilities. A cost allocation alone does not prove that the proposed primarily managerial or executive role is supported, and it is separate from official immigration charges.
Use the budget as corroboration, then test it against operations. Trace which entity pays each colleague, what services the charge covers, whether the applicant controls that work, and whether the people shown actually relieve the applicant of routine duties. An intercompany allocation may explain finances, but L-1A eligibility rests on a primarily managerial or executive role, one continuous qualifying foreign year within the preceding three, active related organizations except that a qualifying new US office need not already be doing business, and the required parent, branch, subsidiary, or affiliate link. For a new office, that foreign year must itself have been managerial or executive, sufficient premises must be secured, and funds, staffing plans, and operating forecasts should credibly show the financial ability to remunerate the beneficiary and commence business and support the role within one year of petition approval. Keep government charges, professional preparation costs, payroll, and ordinary launch expenses in separate budget lines, and consult the current official fee schedule. Mistaking a large cross-charge for proof of managerial support is the recurring error. Long-term projections should also respect the seven-year L-1A ceiling.
Hypothetical example: A Sainte-Rose-du-Nord woodworking-machinery wholesaler assigns foreign engineering expenses to a proposed US affiliate. Its general manager documents which engineers perform product troubleshooting and which decisions she retains. The ledger supports that account, but the company does not claim the journal entry itself creates subordinate staff or qualifying authority.