Правление готовило смету.

Because правление is a neuter singular noun.

In the past tense, Russian verbs agree with the subject in gender and number:

• masculine: готовил
• feminine: готовила
• neuter: готовило
• plural: готовили

So:

• правление готовило = the board/management was preparing / prepared

Even though правление refers to a group of people, grammatically it is a singular neuter noun, so the verb must also be neuter singular.

Here правление most likely means the board, the management, or the governing body.

This word can have different meanings depending on context, such as:

• board / administration / management
• rule / reign in historical or political contexts

In the sentence Правление готовило смету, the meaning is almost certainly the organizational one, because a board or management body can prepare a budget or estimate.

Смету is the accusative singular form of смета.

The noun смета is feminine, and here it is the direct object of the verb готовило:

• что? = смету

That is why Russian uses the accusative case.

Case forms:

• nominative: смета
• accusative: смету

So the sentence structure is:

• правление = subject
• готовило = verb
• смету = direct object

Смета usually means a cost estimate, budget estimate, or project budget.

It is often used in administrative, financial, or construction contexts. Depending on context, English translations might include:

• estimate
• budget
• cost projection
• budget draft

So готовило смету can mean something like:

• was preparing the budget
• was drawing up an estimate
• prepared the cost estimate

Готовило comes from готовить, which is imperfective.

The imperfective aspect can suggest:

• an ongoing process: was preparing
• repeated action: used to prepare
• simple fact without emphasis on completion: prepared

So Правление готовило смету does not strongly emphasize the finished result. It focuses more on the process or activity.

If you wanted to stress completion, Russian would more likely use a perfective verb, for example:

• Правление подготовило смету. = The board prepared / finished preparing the estimate.

You often can, but the meaning changes slightly.

• готовило = imperfective, process-focused
• подготовило = perfective, result-focused

Compare:

• Правление готовило смету.
  The board was preparing the estimate / prepared it, with attention on the process.

• Правление подготовило смету.
  The board prepared the estimate, with emphasis that it was completed.

A learner should notice that Russian aspect often carries a nuance that English may or may not express clearly.

The word order Правление готовило смету is a neutral, standard order:

• subject + verb + object

Russian word order is flexible, so other orders are possible, for example:

• Смету готовило правление.
• Готовило правление смету.

These alternatives can shift emphasis or sound more marked. The original sentence is the most straightforward and natural if you are simply stating a fact.

The stress is:

• правле́ние
• гото́вило
• сме́ту

So it is pronounced approximately:

• prav-LYE-ni-ye ga-TO-vi-la?
  Not quite — note that the final verb ending is -ло, because it is neuter:
• better approximation: prav-LYE-ni-ye ga-TO-vi-la would be wrong
• closer: prav-LYE-ni-ye ga-TO-vi-la is still misleading because of the final vowel

A rough English-friendly approximation is:

• prav-LYE-nee-ye ga-TO-vee-lah — but this wrongly suggests feminine
• the correct neuter ending is closer to -luh or -loh, so:
• prav-LYE-nee-ye ga-TO-vee-loh SMYE-too

Most important stresses:

• правле́ние
• гото́вило
• сме́ту

No. Russian has no articles like a or the.

So Правление готовило смету can mean:

• The board was preparing the estimate
• A board was preparing an estimate

Which one sounds best depends on context. Russian leaves that distinction to the situation rather than marking it with articles.

Yes. That is a very common point of confusion for English speakers.

The Russian imperfective past tense can correspond to several English possibilities, depending on context:

• was preparing
• prepared
• used to prepare

By itself, Правление готовило смету does not force only one translation. Context decides.

For example:

• if the sentence describes an ongoing background action, it may mean was preparing
• if it simply states what the board was engaged in, it may be translated as prepared
• in a habitual context, it could mean used to prepare

Grammatically, it is singular.

Semantically, it refers to a group, but Russian treats many collective or institutional nouns as singular. That is why you get:

• Правление готовило...

not

• Правление готовили...

If you wanted an explicitly plural subject meaning individual people, you would use a plural noun, for example:

• Члены правления готовили смету.
  The board members were preparing the estimate.

So правление behaves like a single institution or body, not like multiple separate individuals.