Are budgets inherently backward-looking?
On the face, this seems like a preposterous question. After all, it seems obvious that budgets are full of new ways to grow your accounts, operate more efficiently, and improve your company.
The budget process is central to a CFO's effectiveness. It is the top financial manager's primary method for ensuring that his or her company is moving forward, that the company's managers are well-coordinated, and that sound financial discipline prevails throughout the firm.
Full story:
http://businessfinancemag.com/article/getting-under-hood-flawed-budgeting-process-0419 Reprinted with permission from Business Finance
Jonathan Byrnes is Senior Lecturer at MIT, and the author of Islands of Profit in a Sea of Red Ink (forthcoming in October). You can contact him at: jlbyrnes@mit.edu http://islandsofprofitbook.com 
