Budgeting Basics and Beyond

Chapter 3. Administering the Budget: Reports, Analyses, and Evaluations

Abudget should be prepared for each department. Divisional budgets should be consolidated in a binder, and each department should have a separate file folder. The chief executive officer should distribute an executive budget memorandum to each department manager detailing the schedule, policies, and benchmarks for next year's budget. Responsibility should be assigned for collection and consolidation of budget information. Budget instructions, forms, and timetables should be provided. Budget forms should be simple and easy to follow. The budget committee should consider these items before approving a budget: accuracy of budgetary numbers, reliability of information on which estimates are based, budget integration, reliability of source data, budgetary assumptions, and achievability of budgetary goals.