Question

Describe the flow of budget data in an organization. Who are the participants in the budgeting process, and how do they participate? Give details to support your responses.

Why even budget? Why does budgeting follow a sequence of schedules?

Share any experiences you may have had in participating in a budgeting process.

Answer 1

The flow of budget data in an organization moves in two directions, which is upward and downward. The initial flow should be from the bottom of the organization upward. Each person having responsible over revenues or costs should prepare the budget data against which his or her subsequent performance will be measured. As the budget data are communicated upward, higher-level managers should review the budgets for consistency with the overall goals of the organization and the plans of other units in the organization. Any issues should be resolved in discussions between the individuals who prepared the budgets and their managers. All levels of an organization should participate in the budget process-not just top management or the accounting department. Each level participates in the way it best can. Generally, the lower levels will be more familiar with details, day-to-day operating data, and for this reason will have primary responsibility for developing the specifics in the budget. Top levels of management will have a better perspective concening the company strategy.

Problems encountered with such imposed budgets have led accountants and management to adopt participatory budgeting. Participatory budgeting means that all levels of management responsible for actual performance actively participate in setting operating goals for the coming period. Managers and other employees are more likely to understand, accept, and pursue goals when they are involved in formulating them.

Within a participatory budgeting process, accountants should be compilers or coordinators of the budget, not preparers. They should be on hand during the preparation process to present and explain significant financial data. Accountants must identify the relevant cost data that enables management’s objectives to be quantified in dollars. Accountants are responsible for designing meaningful budget reports. Also, accountants must continually strive to make the accounting system more responsive to managerial needs. That responsiveness, in turn, increases confidence in the accounting system.Although many companies have used participatory budgeting successfully, it does not always work. Studies have shown that in many organizations, participation in the budget formulation failed to make employees more motivated to achieve budgeted goals. Whether or not participation works depends on management’s leadership style, the attitudes of employees, and the organization’s size and structure. Participation is not the answer to all the problems of budget preparation. However, it is one way to achieve better results in organizations that are receptive to the philosophy of participation.

A budget is a set of interconnected budgets of sales, production costs, purchases, incomes, etc. and it also includes pro forma financial statements. A budget is a plan of future financial transactions. A master budget serves as planning and control tool to the management since they can plan the business activities during the period on the basis of master budget. At the end of each period, actual results can be compared with the master budget and necessary control actions can be taken.

The components of budget are interconnected, which means that numbers from one component budget flow to another one. For example sales budget numbers are used in schedule of cash receipts from customers and unless the sales budget is prepared we are unable to prepare schedule of receipts from customers because of lack of information. This means that components of budget must be prepared in a specific order. We have ordered the above list in such a way that the necessary information needed by any component budget is provided by a preceding component.