Before plant budgets were submitted, controller staff from the head office visited each
plant. These visits were extremely important because they provided an opportunity for plant
managers to explain their situation and allowed controllers to familiarize themselves with the
reasoning behind the managers’ numbers so that they could better explain them when they were
presented to corporate management. The controllers also used these visits to provide guidance
as to whether the budgeted profits were in line with corporate goals, and to reinforce the notion
that headquarters was in touch with the plant.