CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
The process of preparing and using budget to achieve management objectives is called “budgeting”. Budgeting is an essential element which is vital to management accounting technique which can benefit all aspect of business if it is understood and properly used. The growing complexity of the business environment and the ever increasing competition among firms in the modern time makes planning and budgeting inevitable tool for business success (Lucey 2010). Successful management is no longer just a matter of flair, skill and determination, a conscious effort is needed to harness available resources towards the achievement of enterprise objectives (Pandy, 1985).
Therefore budgeting is one of the tools adopted by management for effective cost planning, control and increase in productivity. Wildarsky (1984:213) argued that because a budget served diverse purposes, it mean different things to different people, among the various possible interpretations given by him include; it is a plan, it is a prediction, and it is a link between financial resource and human behavior to accomplish policy objectives. Also, it is a mechanism for making choices among alternative expenditure. Rufus Wizon (2012) observed that without a budget a business may in order aim lessely. It may never know where it is going or where it should go. Even with a budget a business may not reach its planned objectives or destination, but the exercise of budgetary control will note the deviation from the plan and thus provide the opportunity for necessary corrective action. The making of such plans and the continuous review and execution are the essence of budgetary control. Batty (1982), defined budgetary control as a system which uses budgets as a means of planning and control-ling all aspects of producing and or selling commodities or services. This is true as we tend to prepare revenue and expenditure variance analysis to be able to deduce areas of divergencies for which the management needs to watch to avoid embarrassment as any adverse variance will translate into inability to meet the corporate objective which will eventually lead to disagreement with stakeholders.
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