After completing this chapter you should be able to: Describe different types of cost behavior in relation to production and sales volume, describe several applications of costvolume-profit analysis, compute the contribution margin and describe what it reveals about a company's cost structure, analyze changes in sales using the degree of operating leverage. | Chapter 22 Master Budgets and Planning Chapter 22: Master Budgets and Planning Communicates management plans throughout the organization. Provides a benchmark for evaluating performance. Promotes analysis and a focus on the future. Converts long-term strategic plans into short-term financial plans. Motivates employees through participation in the budgeting process and the establishment of attainable goals. Enhances coordination so that activities of all units contribute to meeting the company’s overall goals. Budget Process C 1 Most companies prepare long-term strategic plans spanning 5 to 10 years. Then they prepare shorter-term financial plans, called budgets, to guide their actions toward achieving the goals set forth in the strategic plan. Budgets are most often prepared on an annual basis, but can be prepared for any period of time. The budget process: Converts long-term strategic plans into short-term financial plans, and promotes analysis and a focus on the future. Provides a benchmark for evaluating performance, and communicates management plans throughout the organization. Enhances coordination so that activities of all units contribute to meeting the company’s overall goals, and motivates employees through participation in the budgeting process and the establishment of attainable goals. Managers must also be aware of potential negative outcomes of budgeting. Some employees might be tempted to understate sales budgets and overstate expense budgets to allow themselves to more easily meet budget targets. Also, pressure to meet budgeted results might lead employees to engage in unethical behavior or commit fraud. Finally, some employees might always spend their budgeted amounts, even on unnecessary items, to ensure their budgets aren’t reduced for the next period. Consists of managers from all departments of the organization. Provides central guidance to insure that individual budgets submitted from all departments are realistic and coordinated. Budget . | Chapter 22 Master Budgets and Planning Chapter 22: Master Budgets and Planning Communicates management plans throughout the organization. Provides a benchmark for evaluating performance. Promotes analysis and a focus on the future. Converts long-term strategic plans into short-term financial plans. Motivates employees through participation in the budgeting process and the establishment of attainable goals. Enhances coordination so that activities of all units contribute to meeting the company’s overall goals. Budget Process C 1 Most companies prepare long-term strategic plans spanning 5 to 10 years. Then they prepare shorter-term financial plans, called budgets, to guide their actions toward achieving the goals set forth in the strategic plan. Budgets are most often prepared on an annual basis, but can be prepared for any period of time. The budget process: Converts long-term strategic plans into short-term financial plans, and promotes analysis and a focus on the future. Provides a
