Insight into Foresight
Budgeting is an essential tool used to monitor a business. It allows business owners to monitor what the business is actually doing, compared to what it wants to do. This seems a rather straight forward concept to understand, but it can often be met with scepticism when it comes to setting a budget. The “trying to predict the future” concept is inevitably an impossible task and is probably why most business owners feel it is a wasted exercise. This is a common misconception, as budgets need not be exact, but merely indicative.
The idea behind setting budgets is to help carve out a path to follow in the coming year. It allows you to think about where you want to take the business and how you are going to achieve it. Once these questions are answered, the budget simply shows you what the expected financial results would look like. Over the year, you can identify whether the business is following that predetermined path you carved out, or whether it is straying off and needing to be reined in.
Thinking about your business in this way is immensely productive. It will often identify opportunities and threats currently present and force you to think proactively to try and capitalise on the opportunities and manage the dangers.
In today’s economic climate, uncertainty is increasing, which makes the budgeting process more complex. However, here at Green & Co we pride ourselves in helping clients achieve their goals. With our insight into budgeting techniques, we can help you carve out that path for your business.
Please note: This article is a commentary on general principles and should not be interpreted as advice for your specific situation.
