Discuss the value and role of budgets as managerial reports

What will be an ideal response?

Answer: Budgets are managerial reports that can be extracted from the general ledger and reporting system. Budgets are used for planning and evaluating the organization's performance. There are several different types of budgets that an organization may use in this regard. The operating budget shows the planned revenues and expenditures for each organizational unit. Cash flow budgets compare the estimated cash inflows from operations with planned expenditures, and they are particularly useful to determine the borrowing needs of the organization. A capital expenditure budget shows the projected cash inflows and outflows for a given project. Budgetary reports should be tailored to the nature of the unit or department being evaluated, and they should show actual versus projected budget amounts. Unfortunately, many budget amounts are viewed as fixed targets, and they are therefore static and inflexible. Such an approach may either reward or penalize managers for factors that are beyond their control. A solution to this problem is to develop a flexible budget, in which variable budgeted amounts change in relation to some measure of organizational activity, such as labor hours, or a percentage of sales. A flexible budget may also break amounts into their respective fixed and variable components. Variable amounts can then be adjusted for fluctuations in sales or production.