Budget and budgetary control as a means of achieving organizational objectives

CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

A budget is designed to express forecast of revenue and expenditures for the ensuring fiscal year, which may correspond to the calendar year with exemption of primitive economics. The budget is the key instrument for the expression and execution of policies, principles, procedures, plans and objectives of management in quantitative and monetary values. Management of an enterprises is efficient if, it is able to accomplish the objectives of the enterprise and it is effective when it accomplishes the objectives with minimum effort.

After planning and setting of designed goals which in essence means making a project in the form of predetermined statement of managerial policy during a given period that provides a standard for comparison with actual results to achieve an organizational objective. There is need to monitor the progress of the company towards these goals. In controlling, managers measure their firm’s performance against established objectives, determine the cause of deviation and take corrective action where necessary. Without budgets, controlling would lack a plan against which to measure performance and as such the companies organizational objectives would not be attained.

Horngren and foster (1999), defined a budget as “a quantitative expression of a plan of action and an aid to coordination and implementation”. Also, Warren and fess (1998) defined budgeting as “formal written statement of management plans for the future expressed in financial terms.

Almost everyone uses some form of budgeting to handle personal finances, whether it be a written plan for how much to spend on rent, food, clothing, entertainment, travel etc. In order to control this expenditure, they normally set limits on how much they will spend on each item. As they incur the actual expenditure, they make comparison with the budgeted estimate. Both the public and private enterprises use the budget and budgetary control system. The private enterprise, which are profit oriented are aimed among others at maximum profit achievable which forms the core objectives of the financial aim of the enterprises.

An organization must plan in order to decide what line of action to pursue in a future time period and effective ways of bringing it about. Planning is vital to the success of an organization because when formulated, it leads to making critical appraisal of existing condition and gives the business a sense of direction. Thus, we can say that a plan which is prepared to show how resource will be acquired and used over a period of time is known as budgeting. Its use to control activities is known a budgetary control. A budget draws the course of future action; thus it aids management in fulfilling its planning function. Managers set different goals for their business but a common goal for almost every business are a planned profit. To ensure that its goals is attained, a firm must set limits on what is to be spend and what is to be considered acceptable operating performances. The limits are set forth in a master budget ad compared with the actual result as the year progresses. Without budget such find that its cost have exceeded acceptable level. This brings about the budgetary control system.

The budgetary control system is a system where the act plans or goals to achieve an organization objective is monitored and actions are taken to improve performance or reverse goals which becomes unrealistic. According to Hussey, R (2000) the budgetary control system “is the setting of plans (or budget) which lay down policies for which managers are responsible”. Howard and Brown (1998) sees budgetary control as a “system of controlling cost which includes the preparation of budgets, coordinating the department and establishing responsibilities, comparing actual performance with budgeted and acting upon result to achieve maximum profitability”.

The process of budgetary entails the following:
1. Determining the company’s objective
2. Preparing preliminary forecasts
3. Considering alternative plans and selecting the optimum
4. Preparing and examining the functional budget
5. Summarizing budget into master budget
6. Comparing actual results with budget.
7. Calculating the variance and analysis the resources for their occurrence.
8. Taking corrective action to remedy the situation.

The budgeting process serves several purposes firstly; it provides a financial blueprint that enables a firm to coordinate all its activities. Using budgets, manager can project outcome and adjust strategies where they are needed before operations begins, thus avoiding costly errors.

Also, the budgeting process forces the managers to re-examine past performances, which may enable them to discover and correct inefficient outmoded method and operations.

In addition, budget enables manager to implement the planning and control functions some organization see the preparation formal budget as time consuming and expensive but, the cost of not budgeting may be far greater and many ultimately lead to the company’s failure. As a guard against total failures in and organization, adequate planning to reduce uncertainty about the future must be the watch wood. The planning process of an enterprise would involve four fundamental procedures:
– Establishing the objectives
– Determining the short-range objective
– Developing strategies
– Formulating profit plan or budget.

Using a budget and budgetary control system for frequent comparison between planned and actual performance, a firm is able to isolate deviations from the budget soon after their occurrence and take appropriate corrective action.

This study is therefore intended to examine the efficiency of budgeting as a means of achieving the financial objective of an organization.

1.1 STATEMENT OF PROBLEMS

The essence of budget and budgetary control is comparison of performance against plan or target. The implementation of plan without well designed budget and budgetary control system is a waste of time. In other to achieve and ensure efficiency there is need to plan and maintain effective and efficient budgeting control system. Such planning and control needs to be coordinated as a result of scarcity of resource and the need to achieve profitability. The following problems will therefore to critically examine in the study.

(i) To find out whether there is any relationship between the estimated figure and the actual.
(ii) To find out whether budgeting can help in achieving the organizational objectives
(iii) To find out whether budgeting can help in effective planning and control of the financial activities of an organization.
(iv) To find out whether budgeting can help in effective communication and performance evaluation.
(v) To find out whether budgeting can guide against resources wastage and how it helps it reduce cost and measure profit earnings.
(vi) And finally, to find out if there are any problems associated with budgeting in the company or organization i.e. the limiting factor of the company’s budget.

1.2 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

For management to achieve the firm’s objectives or organizational goals, it is charged with responsibility of planning, controlling and coordinating activities. Other objectives of the organization may include:
(a) The profitability of the organization
(b) The welfare of management and employees.
(c) Reduction of risk
(d) Growth and social responsibility
Therefore, the research will enable us to focus attention on the following areas.
– To review the system of budgeting operating in an organization.
– Show that budgeting helps to regulate inflow and outflow of the organization fund.
– Examine the effectiveness of its budgeting system
– Identify budget variance reports as an important guide to profit forecast
– Identify the procedure for formulating, preparing and evaluating budget.
– Verify that budget and budgetary control acts as device for measuring performance and acts as means of control and motivating employees.
– To reveal any weaknesses in budget and budgetary control.
– To draw conclusions and make more useful recommendation on how the system can be improved upon.

1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following questions formulated in the course of this work.
(a) Is there a positive relationship between budgeted estimates and the actual?
(b) Has budgeting help in effective planning and control of the financial activities of an organization?
(c) Will budget help in effective communication and performance evaluation?
(d) Finally, does budgeting assist an organization in achieving financial objective?

1.4 STATEMENT OF HYPOTHESIS 

The following hypothesis formulated will be tested in the course of this research.
Ho: represents the null hypothesis, that is the hypothesis which stands and is accepted as true.
Hi: represents the alternate hypothesis, that is, the hypothesis is not true and acceptable.
(a) Ho – That there is a positive relationship between budgeted estimates and the actual
Hi: – That there is no positive relationship between budgeted estimates and the actual.
(b) Ho – That budgeting helps in effective planning and control of the financial activities in an organization.
Hi – Budgeting does not help in effective planning and control of the financial activities in an organization.
(c) Ho – Budgeting helps in effective communication and performance evaluation
Hi – That budgeting does not help in effective and performance evaluation.
(d) Ho – That budgeting assist an organization in achieving financial objective
Hi – Budgeting does not assist and organization in achieving financial objectives

1.5 SCOPE AND STUDY

This research is limited to Rancor food and packaging Nig. Ltd. This study is essentially intended to access the system of budget and budgetary control as a tool in achieving organization objectives. In the course of this research, the researcher intends to look at the efficiency of budgeting that can improve the economic, social performance and profit in an organization.

The study will focus its attention on fixed and flexible budgets, incremental budget, zero based budgets. Production and administrative budget, sale budget as well as the master budget; The period for 2000-2004. Consequently, the scope encompasses the following
1. A review of budget and budgetary control system.
2. The nature of the master budget.
3. Types of budget system
4. To examine the variance between budget and actual result obtained and attempt to identify the cause of the variance.

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY

This research will help us to ascertain how budget and budgetary control can assist management in achieving the financial objective of a company. It will enable the organization to know whether existing budgetary control system is in line with laid down rules and procedures. It will help management in assessing their performance in profit, planning and control. This study will help management plan and set attainable measurable organizational goals and put into motion machinery that will make sure these goals are attained. The organization will see at a glance resources that will be acquired and assessed over a period of time. It will also help to measure improvement in the future.

The general public will benefit from this research work because they will now be able to assess the performance of management and the profitability of the firm. Staff will also benefit from budget because they will know what goals the firm has set and strive towards achieving such goals.

This research will lay emphasis on the importance of budget and budgetary control and planning in Ranccor food and packaging Nig. Ltd. and thus will assist future researchers in this area. It will highlight way of maximizing profit through efficient use of budget. The result from this work will enable the management and board of directors to know the problems associated with budgeting and to proffer solution to it.

Finally, the research will cause

This research will lay emphasis on the importance of budgeting, and budgetary control and planning in Ranccor food and packaging Nig. Ltd and thus will assist future researchers in this area. It will highlight way of maximizing profit through efficient use of budget. The result from this work will enable the management and board of directors to know the problems associated with budgeting an to proffer solution to it.

Finally, the research will cause achievable objective to be introduced in the profit and economic plan.

1.7 LIMITATION OF STUDY

The research work is certainly not without flaws due to the fact that one cannot claim to be an embodiment of knowledge in this field therefore perfection cannot be guaranteed.

The first and foremost important factor militating against the research is the problem of combining the research with other academic work. Besides, the time the researcher had to complete the study was very short.

Another factor that hampered this research work was finance. Funds were not adequate to our chase some material, to cover traveling expenses. As a result of this, the researcher could not study a large number of the department.

The attitude of the respondent was another problem encountered by the researcher. And because to be sensitive nature of this study, management, staff and personnel were reluctant to give adequate information regarding their departmental budget.

1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS

BUDGET:- A plan quantified in monetary terms prepared and approved prior to a define period of time, usually showing planned income to be generated and/or expenditure to be incurred during the period and the capital to be employed to attain a given objective.

BUDGETARY CONTROL:- The establishment of budget relating the responsibility of executives to the requirement of a policy, and the continuous comparison of actual with budgeted result either to secure by individual actions the objective of that policy or to provide a basic for its revision.

PLANNING:- Is the design of a desired future state of an entity and of the effective way of bringing it about.

OBJECTIVE:- The existence of procedure for mobilizing and coordinating the effort of various usually specialized sub groups in the pursuit of joint objective.