Budgeting - module 9 Flashcards

1
Q

what is strategic planning?

A

systematic long term process that entails setting goals, determining the strategies to achieve those goals and mobilizing resources to execute the strategies

  • done by senior managers
  • has implications for budgeting
  • –> objectives, longer term, qualitative
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2
Q

what is budgeting

A

a budget is a detailed financial plan for a specified future time period - one year time period
has the planning and the control stages

—.> detailed financial planning, certain period of time, quantitative

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3
Q

what is the planning and the control stage of budgeting?

A

planning - developing objectives and preparing various detailed budgets to achieve those objectives
control - during implementation, steps are taken to ensure that objectives set at the planning stage are achieved

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4
Q

what are the reasons for budgeting?

A
  • makes it possible to control financial matters better
  • performance can be measured
  • quality of planning is enhanced
  • allows for management by exception
  • goal orientation
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5
Q

how does budgeting make it possible to control financial matters?

A
  • actual results (perhaps money spent and received) are compared with the budgeted amounts and any material variance is investigated and corrective measures are taken
  • this is especially important when revenue is not guaranteed (e.g. churches). expenses are only incurred if the budget allows
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6
Q

how does budgeting allow the measurement of performance

A

performance of business, individual departments, individuals etc. can be measured against the budget
- e.g. an employee that achieves cost savings without compromising quality of service can be rewarded accordingly

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7
Q

how does budgeting allow the enhancement of the quality of planning?

A
  • forces consideration of the uncertain future
  • e.g. the use of spreadsheets enables sensitivity analyses to be applied to budget “what if “ scenarios - this makes it possible to ascertain the effect of unexpected changes and deviations from the budget
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8
Q

how do budgets allow for management by exception

A

variances between actual and budgeted amounts are generated and reported on a regular basis - allows managers to only focus on those variances that are material (problem areas) - that is management by exception

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9
Q

how does budgeting allow for and better goal orientation?

A
  • offer positive direction (common goals) for the energy and activity of all the employees
  • set specific goals - therefore serve as motivation for employees
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10
Q

the level of participation in the budgeting process seek to ensure that ……

A
  • there is buy-in and acceptance from the entire organization
  • there is a well defined budget that is not manipulated by people
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11
Q

what are the two major approaches to budgeting

A

top-down (imposed)

bottom-up(participatory)

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12
Q

explain the top down approach to budgeting

A

top management preps the budget (with little or no direct input from the operating staff ) according to the goals of the organization and passes it onto the operating staff for implementation

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13
Q

advantages of top-down/imposed budgeting

A
  • have an overall corporate functional approach rather than a divisional approach
  • in experienced hands and outside help can be easily sought
  • faster, since inter-department issues can b ignored
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14
Q

what are the disadvantages of top-down/imposed budgeting

A
  • lower managers are demotivated - dont have ownership of budget, think that top management set impossible targets
  • top management dont have close/personal knowledge or info of business operations - may impact on budget
  • inter-departmental communication will take a hit as top management will have no idea how this is achieved
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15
Q

explain the bottom-up/participatory approach to budgeting:

A

budgets are developed through the process of joint decision making by top management and operating staff. The degree of participation is dependent on the organization

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16
Q

advantages of bottom-up/participatory approach to budgeting:

A
  • lower level managers are motivated
  • more realistic budget
  • top management can concentrate on overall business strategy rather than the units or departments
17
Q

advantage of bottom-up/participatory approach to budgeting:

A
  • slow - inter-departmental disputes may arise
  • padding of the budget - involves under estimating revenue (money that the department will make) or overstating expenses (when they achieve a lower expense they will be rewarded)
18
Q

what are the reasons for padding the budget?

A
  • performance can look better
  • its a way of coping with uncertainty - conservatism
  • insulates against initial budget requests being cut back by top managers (top managers trim the budget e.g. need R10k say we need R15k, top management trims to R12k, we still get our R10K)
19
Q

what are the two most popular budgeting measures

A

the incremental budgeting method

zero base budgeting

20
Q

explain incremental budgeting method

(note: This method is still widely used in many organizations (large and small companies, not-for-profit organizations and individuals))

A

previous year budget or actual results are used as a budget with incremental amounts added for the new budget (e.g. for inflation)

21
Q

advantages of incremental budgeting method

A
  • less time and effort needed

suitable for small businesses and individuals

22
Q

main disadvantage of incremental budgeting method

A
  • costs incurred in prior years (legacy costs) are not examined or justified
  • out of date and inefficient operations are not identified
23
Q

explain zero-based budgeting method

note: The ZBB has recently gained a lot of popularity among large companies.

A
  • budget for new period is created starting from a “zero base” (unlike the incremental method) - focuses on goals and directly examines the alternative way of achieving them
  • every budget item is examined and justified
24
Q

advantages of a zero-based budgeting method

A
  • ensures that managers examine and justify all operating expenses, hence (a) no legacy costs and (b) out of date and inefficient operations are identified
25
Q

disadvantages of zero-based budgeting method

A
  • resource intensive - lots of time, effort and expertise
  • The process can be manipulated or gamed by savvy managers in order to get more resources into their departments
  • not suitable for small or medium sized organizations
26
Q

what are the two groups of budgets?

A

master and subsidiary

27
Q

what is the master budget

A

budgets with the lowest level of detail (highest level of summary)

28
Q

what is included in the master budget

A

budgeted income statement, budgeted Statement of Financial Position, budgeted statement of cash flows

29
Q

what are the subsidiary budgets

A

sales - most important for retail/manufacturing firms - starting point for all budgeting.
production budget - manufacturing firms
capital expenditure budget - relating to non-current assets
operating expenses budget - relating to each operating expense
cash budget - incorporates other budgets mentioned above

30
Q

factors considered when drawing up budgets (specifically sales budgetw)

A

Past experience, future pricing policy, unfulfilled orders, market research, economic conditions, advertising & product promotion, market share, competition, new products introduced.

31
Q

what is the cash budget

A

estimation of the cash inflows and cash outflows for an organization

32
Q

what is the purpose of a cash budget

A

show the cash position of the organization at end of period

33
Q

how is the cash budget an important part in financial planning?

A
  • determine when to expect cash surpluses and when it will need to borrow to meet its cash deficeits
    –Allows a business to plan ahead and begin the search for financing BEFORE the money is actually needed

––hence it helps avoid shortages of cash.

34
Q

what are the conditions for successful budgets

A
  • top management support and involvement
  • line management support and involvement
  • definition and communication of long term objectives
  • responsibility and authority
  • effective management information systems
  • regular revision of budgets