These include:
sales
output
costs - operating and fixed
profits
cash flow
capital investment
the budget will be based on key assumptions about likely business conditions for the year ahead. These inform the detailed operation budgets that plan month-to-month sales, activity levels and expenditure, for example, staff costs. Managers may need to accommodate unexpected changes with flexible budgets. For example, sales may be lower than originally expected, so the budget may need to reduce marketing expenditure and/or operational activities. An increase in orders may require additional recruitment costs for temporary staffing. Sometimes managers use zero budgeting. this means that they must start every year from zero and justify all planned expenditure, rather than starting from the previous year'S figures. This may be appropriate for a specific, self-contained project. In larger firms budgets are allocated for defined areas of responsibility such as:
- cost centers sub-divisions of an organisation that are a significant source of financial cost, for example, a factory or laundry operation