A budget (from old French bougette, purse) is a financial plan and a list of all planned expenses and revenues. It is a plan for saving, borrowing and spending.[1]
A budget is an important concept in microeconomics, which uses a budget line to illustrate the trade-offs between two or more goods. In other terms, a budget is an organizational plan stated in monetary terms.
In summary, the purpose of budgeting is to:
1. Provide a forecast of revenues and expenditures, that is, construct a model of how our business might perform financially if certain strategies, events and plans are carried out.
2. Enable the actual financial operation of the business to be measured against the forecast.
3. Establish the cost constraint for a project, program, or operation.
Why do we produce budgets?
Budget helps to aid the planning of actual operations by forcing managers to consider how the conditions might change and what steps should be taken now and by encouraging managers to consider problems before they arise. It also helps co-ordinate the activities of the organization by compelling managers to examine relationships between their own operation and those of other departments. Other essentials of budget include:
• To control resources
• To communicate plans to various responsibility center managers.
• To motivate managers to strive to achieve budget goals.
• To evaluate the performance of managers
• To provide visibility into the company's performance
Business start-up budget
The process of calculating the costs of starting a small business begins with a list of all necessary purchases including tangible assets (for example, equipment, inventory) and services (for example, remodeling, insurance), working capital, sources and collateral. The budget should contain a narrative explaining how you decided on the amount of this reserve and a description of the expected financial results of business activities. The assets should be valued with each and every cost. All other expenses are like labour factory overhead all freshmen expenses are also included into business budgeting.
Corporate budget
The budget of a company (law)|company is often compiled annually, but may not be. A finished budget, usually requiring considerable effort, is a plan for the short-term future, typically one year (see budget year). While traditionally the Finance department compiles the company's budget, modern software allows hundreds or even thousands of people in various departments (operations, human resources, IT, etc.) to list their expected revenues and expenses in the final budget.
If the actual figures delivered through the budget period come close to the budget, this suggests that the managers understand their business and have been successfully driving it in the intended direction. On the other hand, if the figures diverge wildly from the budget, this sends an 'out of control' signal, and the share price could suffer as a result.
Event management budget
A budget is a fundamental tool for an event director to predict with reasonable accuracy whether the event will result in a profit, a loss or will break-even. A budget can also be used as a pricing tool.
There are two basic approaches or philosophies when it comes to budgeting. One approach is telling you on mathematical models, and the other on people.
The first school of thought believes that financial models, if properly constructed, can be used to predict the future. The focus is on variables, inputs and outputs, drivers and the like. Investments of time and money are devoted to perfecting these models, which are typically held in some type of financial spreadsheet application.
The other school of thought holds that it’s not about models, it’s about people. No matter how sophisticated models can get, the best information comes from the people in the business. The focus is therefore in engaging the managers in the business more fully in the budget process, and building accountability for the results. The companies that adhere to this approach have their managers develop their own budgets. While many companies would say that they do both, in reality the investment of time and money falls squarely in one approach or the other.
Government budget
For more details on this topic, see Government budget.
The budget of a government is a summary or plan of the intended revenues and expenditures of that government. There are three types of government budget : the operating or current budget, the capital or investment budget, and the cash or cash flow budget.[2]
budget Definition
An estimate of costs, revenues, and resources over a specified period, reflecting a reading of future financial conditions and goals.
One of the most important administrative tools, a budget serves also as a (1) plan of action for achieving quantified objectives, (2) standard for measuring performance, and (3) device for coping with foreseeable adverse situations.
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