The year-end budgeting and planning crunch is in full swing, which has many finance teams questioning whether the annual budgeting ritual is still a valuable exercise. Here are fix articles looking at current trends and tips for how to avoid the mad dash to close the books.
Why Continuous Improvement Beats Annual Budgeting
Every year, thousands of company hours are allocated to the annual budgeting process, during which strategies are defined, plans are presented, and goals are approved. To deliver shareholder value consistently, however, managers must operate within a long-term system of continuous improvement. Read more.
Budget Inflexibility Cripples the Bottom Line
Companies that use only one or two budgeting models across all business units and functions would likely make better spending decisions if they used three or all four of the most common budgeting models, a new CEB study suggests. Read more.
Forecast for Finance Forecasting Looks Bright
The pace of technological and economic change demand fast financial forecasting updates, CFOs find. Increasingly, inelastic budgeting is being put aside for a more forward-looking mindset. Read more.
Stop the Madcap Sprint to Close the Books
Continuous accounting involves virtually closing the books at nearly the pace of business. Instead of a horde of accountants hunkered down in a condensed period of time to perform the closing tasks, they can attend to the data summations, reconciliations, error checking, and corrections at a measured pace. Read more.
Budgeting for Risk Management Unknowns
Dealing with the unknown is a key part of budgeting and planning for corporate risk management departments, an industry veteran explains. Read more.