Bottom Line on Budgeting --Dickeson

If you weren't a publicly traded company, it was seen as a cause for joy or guilt as the year went along. There was always that column in the financial statements headed "Budget," followed by an "Over or Under Budget" column. Something had to appear in those columns.

Unfortunately this took a lot of time and effort, both for the accountants and for the staff that were entailed. And there was the "gaming" involved. Department heads always started with a fat estimate expense, knowing they'd be cut back in the budget process.