BUDGETING AND

19 BUDGETARY CONTROL
Budgeting is used by businesses as a method of financial planning for the
future. Budgets are prepared for main areas of the business – purchases,
sales, production, labour, debtors, creditors, cash – and provide detailed
plans of the business for the next three, six or twelve months. The focus of
this chapter is the cash budget.
In this chapter we shall be examining:
• the benefits of budgets and budgetary control
• the limitations of budgets and budgetary control
• the preparation and use of cash budgets

I NTRODUCTION TO B UDGETS

Businesses need to plan for the future. In large businesses such planning is very formal while, for
smaller businesses, it will be less formal. Planning for the future falls into three time scales:
• long-term: from about three years up to, sometimes, as far as twenty years ahead
• medium-term: one to three years ahead
• short-term: for the next year

Clearly, planning for these different time scales needs different approaches: the further on in time, the
less detailed are the plans. In the medium and longer term, a business will establish broad business
objectives. Such objectives do not have to be formally written down, although in a large business
they are likely to be. In smaller businesses, objectives will certainly be considered and discussed by
the owners or managers. Planning takes note of these broader business objectives and sets out how
these are to be achieved in the form of detailed plans known as budgets.
In this chapter we are concerned with planning for the more immediate future, ie the next financial
year.
 budgeting and budgetary control 363

W HAT IS A B UDGET ?

A budget is a financial plan for a business, prepared in advance.

A budget may be set in money terms, eg a sales budget of £500,000, or it can be expressed in terms
of units, eg a purchases budget of 5,000 units to be bought.
Budgets can be income budgets for money received, eg a sales budget, or expenditure budgets for
money spent, eg a purchases budget.
The budget we shall be focusing on in this chapter is the cash budget, which combines both income
and expenditure, estimating what will happen to the bank balance during the time period of the
budget.
Most budgets are prepared for the next financial year (the budget period), and are usually broken
down into shorter time periods, commonly four-weekly or monthly. This enables budgetary control
to be exercised over the budget: the actual results can be monitored against the budget, and
discrepancies between the two can be investigated and corrective action taken where appropriate.

B ENEFITS OF B UDGETS AND B UDGETARY C ONTROL

Budgets provide benefits both for the business, and also for its managers and other staff:

the budget assists planning

By formalising objectives through a budget, a business can ensure that its plans are achievable. It will
be able to decide what is needed to produce the output of goods and services, and to make sure that
everything will be available at the right time.

the budget communicates and co-ordinates

Because a budget is agreed by the business, all the relevant managers and staff will be working
towards the same end.
When the budget is being set, any anticipated problems should be resolved and any areas of potential
confusion clarified. All departments should be in a position to play their part in achieving the overall
goals.

the budget helps with decision-making

By planning ahead through budgets, a business can make decisions on how much output – in the form
of goods or services – can be achieved. At the same time, the cost of the output can be planned and
changes can be made where appropriate.
364 AS Accounting for AQA

the budget can be used to monitor and control

An important reason for producing a budget is that management is able to use budgetary control to
monitor and compare the actual results (see diagram below). This is so that action can be taken to
modify the operation of the business as time passes, or possibly to change the budget if it becomes
unachievable.

BUDGET FIGURES

CONTROL AND ACTUAL FIGURES

TAKE ACTION

MONITOR AND COMPARE

the budget can be used to motivate

A budget can be part of the techniques for motivating managers and other staff to achieve the
objectives of the business. The extent to which this happens will depend on how the budget is agreed
and set, and whether it is thought to be fair and achievable. The budget may also be linked to rewards
(for example, bonuses) where targets are met or exceeded.

L IMITATIONS OF B UDGETS AND B UDGETARY C ONTROL

Whilst most businesses will benefit from the use of budgets, there are a number of limitations of
budgets to be aware of:

the benefit of the budget must exceed the cost

Budgeting is a fairly complex process and some businesses – particularly small ones – may find that
the task is too much of a burden in terms of time and other resources, with only limited benefits.
Nevertheless, many lenders – such as banks – often require the production of budgets as part of the
business plan. As a general rule, the benefit of producing the budget must exceed its cost.

budget information may not be accurate

It is essential that the information going into budgets should be as accurate as possible. Anybody can
produce a budget, but the more inaccurate it is, the less use it is to the business as a planning and
control mechanism. Great care needs to be taken with estimates of sales – often the starting point of
the budgeting process – and costs. Budgetary control is used to compare the budget against what
actually happened – the budget may need to be changed if it becomes unachievable.
 budgeting and budgetary control 365

the budget may demotivate

Employees who have had no part in agreeing and setting a budget which is imposed upon them, will
feel that they do not own it. As a consequence, the staff may be demotivated. Another limitation is
that employees may see budgets as either a ‘carrot’ or a ‘stick’, ie as a form of encouragement to
achieve the targets set, or as a form of punishment if targets are missed.

budgets may lead to disfunctional management

A limitation that can occur is that employees in one department of the business may over-achieve
against their budget and create problems elsewhere. For example, a production department might
achieve extra output that the sales department finds difficult to sell. To avoid such disfunctional
management, budgets need to be set at realistic levels and linked and co-ordinated across all
departments within the business.

budgets may be set at too low a level

Where the budget is too easy to achieve it will be of no benefit to the business and may, in fact, lead
to lower levels of output and higher costs than before the budget was established. Budgets should be
set at realistic levels, which make the best use of the resources available.

W HAT B UDGETS ARE P REPARED ?

Budgets are planned for specific sections of the business: these budgets can then be controlled by a
budget holder, who may be the manager or supervisor of the specific section. Such budgets include:
• purchases budget – what the business needs to buy to make/supply the goods it expects to sell
• sales budget – what the business expects to sell
• production budget – how the business will make/supply the goods it expects to sell
• labour budget – the cost of employing the people who will make/supply the goods
• debtor budget – how much the business will receive from credit sales
• creditor budget – how much the business will pay for credit purchases
• cash budget – how much money will be flowing in and out of the bank account
The end result of the budgeting process is often the production of a master budget, which takes the
form of forecast operating statements – forecast trading and profit and loss account – and forecast
balance sheet. The master budget is the ‘master plan’ which shows how all the other budgets ‘work
together’.
Note that, in this chapter, we focus our attention on the cash budget; you will examine the other
budgets, including the master budget, if you go on to study A2 Accounting.
366 AS Accounting for AQA

B UDGETARY P LANNING

Many large businesses take a highly formal view of planning the budget and make use of:
• a budget manual, which provides a set of guidelines as to who is involved with the budgetary
planning and control process, and how the process is to be conducted
• a budget committee, which organises the process of budgetary planning and control; this
committee brings together representatives from the main functions of the business –
eg production, sales, administration – and is headed by a budget co-ordinator whose job is to
administer and oversee the activities of the committee
In smaller businesses, the process of planning the budget may be rather more informal, with the
owner or manager overseeing and budgeting for all the business functions.
Whatever the size of the business it is important, though, that the planning process begins well before
the start of the budget period; this then gives time for budgets to be prepared, reviewed, redrafted,
and reviewed again before being finally agreed and submitted to the directors or owners for approval.
For example, the planning process for a budget which is to start on 1 January might commence in the
previous June, as follows:
• June Budget committee meets to plan next year’s budgets
• July First draft of budgets prepared
• August Review of draft budgets
• September Draft budgets amended in light of review
• October Further review and redrafting to final version
• November Budgets submitted to directors or owners for approval
• December Budgets for next year circulated to managers
• January Budget period commences

C ASH B UDGET

A cash budget sets out the expected cash/bank receipts and payments, usually on a month-
by-month basis, for the next three, six or twelve months, in order to show the estimated
bank balance at the end of each month throughout the period.
From the cash budget, the managers of a business can decide what action to take when a surplus of
cash is shown to be available or, as is more likely, when a bank overdraft needs to be arranged.

layout of a cash budget

A suitable format for a cash budget, with sample figures, is set out on the next page.
 budgeting and budgetary control 367

Name ................................................Cash Budget for the .................. months ending ..............................

Jan Feb Mar Apr

£000 £000 £000 £000
Receipts
eg from debtors 150 150 161 170
cash sales 70 80 75 80
Total receipts for month (A) 220 230 236 250

Payments
eg to creditors 160 165 170 170
expenses 50 50 50 60
fixed assets 50
Total payments for month (B) 210 265 220 230

Net cash flow (Receipts less Payments, ie A–B) 10 (35) 16 20

Add bank balance at beginning of month 10 20 (15) 1

Bank balance (overdraft) at end of month 20 (15) 1 21

sections of a cash budget

A cash budget consists of three main sections:
• receipts for the month
• payments for the month
• summary of bank account
Receipts are analysed to show the amount of money that is expected to be received from cash sales,
debtors, sale of fixed assets, capital introduced/issue of shares, loans received etc.
Payments show how much money is expected to be paid in respect of cash purchases, creditors,
expenses (often described in cash budgets as operating expenses), purchases of fixed assets,
repayment of capital/shares and loans. Note that non-cash expenses (such as depreciation and
doubtful debts) are not shown in the cash budget.
The summary of the bank account at the bottom of the cash budget shows net cash flow (total
receipts less total payments) added to the bank balance at the beginning of the month, and resulting
in the estimated closing bank balance at the end of the month. An overdrawn bank balance is shown
in brackets.
The main difficulty in the preparation of cash budgets lies in the timing of receipts and payments –
for example, debtors may pay two months after date of sale, or creditors may be paid by the business
one month after date of purchase: it is important to ensure that such receipts and payments are
recorded in the correct month column.
368 AS Accounting for AQA

Remember that the cash budget, as its name suggests, deals only in cash/bank transactions; thus
non-cash items, such as depreciation, are never shown. Where cash discounts are allowed or
received, only the actual amount of money expected to be received or paid is recorded. Similarly,
where a business incurs bad debts, only the amount of money expected to be received from good
debtors is recorded in the cash budget.

WORKED EXAMPLE : CASH BUDGET

situation
A friend of yours, Mike Anderson, has recently been made redundant from his job as a sales
representative for an arts and crafts company. Mike has decided to set up in business on his own
selling art supplies to shops and art societies. He plans to invest £20,000 of his savings into the new
business. He has a number of good business contacts, and is confident that his firm will do well. He
thinks that some additional finance will be required in the short term and plans to approach his bank
for this.

Mike asks for your assistance in producing a cash budget for his new business for the next six months.

He provides the following information:

• The business, which is to be called ‘Art Supplies’ will commence in January 20-8.
• Fixed assets costing £8,000 will be bought in early January. These will be paid for immediately and
are expected to have a five-year life, at the end of which they will be worthless.
• An initial stock of goods costing £5,000 will be bought and paid for at the beginning of January.
• Monthly purchases of stocks will then be made at a level sufficient to replace forecast sales for that
month, ie the goods he expects to sell in January will be replaced by purchases made in January,
and so on.

• Forecast monthly sales are:

January February March April May June
£3,000 £6,000 £6,000 £10,500 £10,500 £10,500

• The selling price of goods is fixed at the cost price plus 50 per cent; for example, the goods he
expects to sell in January for £3,000 will have cost him £2,000 (two-thirds of the selling price), ie
his mark-up is 50%.

• To encourage sales, he will allow two months’ credit to customers; however, only one month’s
credit will be received from suppliers of stock (but the initial stock will be paid for immediately).

• Operating expenses of the business, including rent of premises, but excluding depreciation of fixed
assets, are estimated at £1,600 per month and are paid for in the month in which they are incurred.

• Mike intends to draw £1,000 each month in cash from the business.

You are asked to prepare a cash budget for the first six months of the business.
 budgeting and budgetary control 369

solution

Mike Anderson, trading as ‘Art Supplies’

Cash budget for the six months ending 30 June 20-8

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun

£ £ £ £ £ £
Receipts
Capital introduced 20,000
Debtors – – 3,000 6,000 6,000 10,500
Total receipts for month 20,000 – 3,000 6,000 6,000 10,500
Payments
Fixed assets 8,000
Stock 5,000
Creditors – 2,000 4,000 4,000 7,000 7,000
Operating expenses 1,600 1,600 1,600 1,600 1,600 1,600
Drawings 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000 1,000
Total payments for month 15,600 4,600 6,600 6,600 9,600 9,600
Net cash flow 4,400 (4,600) (3,600) (600) (3,600) 900
Add bank balance (overdraft)
at beginning of month – 4,400 (200) (3,800) (4,400) (8,000)
Bank balance (overdraft) at end
of month 4,400 (200) (3,800) (4,400) (8,000) (7,100)

Reminder: No depreciation – a non-cash expense – is shown in the cash budget.

Notes:
• purchases are two-thirds of the sales values (because selling price is cost price plus 50 per cent)
• customers pay two months after sale, ie debtors from January settle in March
• suppliers are paid one month after purchase, ie creditors from January are paid in February

The cash budget shows that there is a need, in the first six months at least, for a bank overdraft. An
early approach to the bank needs to be made.
The total net cash outflow for the six month period is £7,100 (ie from a nil opening balance to £7,100
overdraft at 30 June).
370 AS Accounting for AQA

advantages of a cash budget

The use of a cash budget enables a business to:
• identify any possible bank overdraft in advance and take steps to minimise the borrowing (so
saving interest payable)
• consider rescheduling payments to avoid bank borrowing, eg delay purchase of fixed assets,
agreement to pay rises, payment of drawings/dividends
• arrange any possible bank finance well in advance
• identify any possible cash surpluses in advance and take steps to invest the surplus on a short-
term basis (so earning interest)

CHAPTER SUMMARY

● A budget is a financial plan for a business, prepared in advance.

● Budgets are used to plan and control the business.

● Budgets – for income or expenditure – are prepared for each section of the business – purchases,
sales, production, labour, debtors, creditors, cash

● Budgetary planning is the process of setting the budget for the next period.

● Budgetary control uses the budgets to monitor actual results with budgeted figures.

● Responsibility for budgets is given to managers and supervisors – the budget holders.

● A cash budget sets out the expected cash/bank receipts and payments expected to pass through the
bank account, usually on a month-by-month basis.

● A cash budget enables the managers of a business to take action when a surplus of money is shown
to be available or when a bank overdraft needs to be arranged.

The next chapter looks at the way in which computers are used to handle accounting transactions and
the benefits they bring.
 budgeting and budgetary control 371

visit
QUESTIONS www.osbornebooks.co.uk
to take an online test
An asterisk (*) after the question number means that the answer is given at the end of this book.

19.1 Classic Furniture is a manufacturer of reproduction antique furniture. It is owned by Helen

Sutton as a sole trader business. There are four employees and annual sales turnover is
approximately £200,000 per year.
REQUIRED

(a) Explain two benefits of budgetary control to Helen Sutton.

(b) Suggest three budgets which Helen could use in the business to provide an
adequate system of budgetary control.

(c) Advise Helen of the relevant factors to consider when implementing budgetary
control.

19.2* N Kayali, the assistant accountant at Strudwick Stationers Ltd, has obtained the following
information for the seven months ending 30 September 2002. This information is to be used
to prepare a cash budget for the four months ending 31 August 2002.

1. Actual sales were £44,000 and £46,000 for March and April 2002 respectively.
2. Total forecast sales at the end of each of the next five months are expected to be:
2002
May June July Aug Sep
£ £ £ £ £
44,000 46,000 42,000 44,000 48,000

80% of each month’s total forecast sales are expected to be for cash. The debtors are
expected to pay one month in arrears.

3. Purchases are expected to be 70% of the following month’s total forecast sales value
and are paid for two months in arrears.
4. The following costs are expected to be paid for in the month in which they occur:
Wages £9,000 per month to 31 July 2002 and £9,500 per month thereafter
Fixed Costs £3,000 per month
Variable costs being 10% of each month’s total forecast sales
5. The bank balance as at 1 May 2002 was £12,100.
372 AS Accounting for AQA

REQUIRED
(a) Prepare a cash budget for each of the four months ending 31 August 2002.

Strudwick Stationers Ltd

Cash Budget for four months ending 31 August 2002

Details May June July Aug

£000 £000 £000 £000

.........................................................................................................................................

.........................................................................................................................................

.........................................................................................................................................

.........................................................................................................................................

.........................................................................................................................................

.........................................................................................................................................

.........................................................................................................................................

.........................................................................................................................................

.........................................................................................................................................

.........................................................................................................................................

.........................................................................................................................................

.........................................................................................................................................

.........................................................................................................................................

Tutorial note: In the layout provided by this question you need to fill in the details of receipts and
payments – use the guidance of the sample layout shown on page 367 to assist you.

(b) N Kayali is unsure of the benefits of producing a cash budget for a four month period.
Explain one benefit to Strudwick Stationers Ltd of completing a four month cash
budget.
.........................................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................................
.........................................................................................................................................

Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA), 2002

 budgeting and budgetary control 373

19.3 Sunshine Ltd sells beach buckets and spades.

The forecast information for the six months ending 31 October 2002 is:

May June July August September October

£000 £000 £000 £000 £000 £000
Sales 16 20 26 28 24 20
Purchases 12 16 18 14 12 10
Overheads 4 8 8 8 8 4

Additional information
1. On average 20% of each month’s sales is expected to be for cash. A further 60% will
be given one month’s credit. The rest will be given two months’ credit. All monies
should be received when due.
2. The increase in overheads arises from the employment of casual staff. The
overheads are paid in the month in which they occur.
3. Suppliers are expected to allow one month’s credit.
4. The cash at bank balance as at 1 July 2002 is £7,200 overdrawn.

REQUIRED
(a) Prepare a detailed forecast month by month cash budget for the four months ending
31 October 2002.

Sunshine Ltd
Cash budget for four months ending 31 October 2002

July Aug Sept Oct

£000 £000 £000 £000
Sales – cash
– 1 month
– 2 months

Purchases
Overheads

Net inflow/outflow
Opening balance
Closing balance
374 AS Accounting for AQA

(b) (i) Assess the cash position of Sunshine Ltd as at 31 October 2002.
(ii) Recommend one way the company could improve its cash position.

Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA), 2001

Carolanne wishes to open up a launderette. She is applying for an overdraft facility and the
19.4*
bank requires a cash budget for the first four months of business.

The following additional information is available:

1. She intends to start her business with £2,000 in the business bank account.

2. The launderette will open 24 days a month.

3. Sales will be:

Month 1 200 washes
Months 2 and 3 400 washes per month
Month 4 700 washes

Carolanne charges £2 per wash and £1 for drying. 80% of washes will be dried on
the premises.

4. In months 1, 2 and 3, advertising costs will be £30 per month.

5. In month 4, she will employ a part-time assistant at an expected cost of £20 per
morning.

6. Washing powder and other washing materials will cost £15 per day.

7. The launderette’s fixed costs will be £300 per month.

8. The total cost of the washing machines and dryers will be £18,000. These costs will
be paid for in equal monthly instalments over two years.

9. Each month, Carolanne will withdraw for personal use £150 or 10% of the gross
monthly revenue, whichever is the greater amount.

REQUIRED
(a) Prepare a cash budget for Carolanne for each of the first four months.
 budgeting and budgetary control 375

Cash budget for Carolanne for four months

Month 1 Month 2 Month 3 Month 4

£ £ £ £

(b) Explain two benefits to Carolanne of drawing up this cash budget.

Benefit 1 ........................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................
Benefit 2 ........................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................

.......................................................................................................................................

Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA), 2005

19.5 The accountant of Hawk Ltd is preparing information for the next Directors’ meeting. She
has calculated that the net profit for the next six months will be: £36,000.

She has also prepared the cash budget for the five months July to November and provided
the following information relating to December.

The cash from debtors figure is calculated on the following basis:

20% of cash from sales is received in the current month, with customers
taking 2% cash discount;
376 AS Accounting for AQA

60% is received in the month following the sale;

20% is received two months after the sale is made.

The forecast sales are:

October November December
£ £ £
30,000 50,000 60,000

The following payments are forecast for December:

payments to creditors £12,500
operating expenses £12,000
purchase of fixed assets £19,510
repayment of loan £20,000

REQUIRED

(a) Make the entry for December in the cash budget below.

Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

£ £ £ £ £ £

Income

Cash from debtors 20,000 24,000 28,500 32,500 38,500

Expenditure

Payments to creditors 10,000 11,000 14,000 18,000 24,500

Operating expenses 12,000 12,000 12,000 12,000 12,000

Purchase of fixed assets 8,500

Repayment of loan

22,000 31,500 26,000 30,000 36,500

Net cash flow (2,000) (7,500) 2,500 2,500 2,000

Opening balance 980 (1,020) (8,520) (6,020) (3,520) (1,520)

Closing balance (1,020) (8,520) (6,020) (3,520) (1,520)

 budgeting and budgetary control 377

(b) Calculate the total net cash outflow for the six months.
(c) Write a memorandum to the Directors explaining three reasons why Hawk Ltd could
make a profit but have a bank overdraft.
(d) Explain two benefits of using a spreadsheet* to prepare a cash budget.
* see Chapter 20.

Assessment and Qualifications Alliance (AQA), Specimen Paper for 2009

You are preparing the cash budget of Wilkinson Limited for the first six months of 20-8. The
19.6*
following budgeted figures are available:

Sales Purchases Wages and Other

salaries expenses
£ £ £ £
January 65,000 26,500 17,500 15,500
February 70,000 45,000 18,000 20,500
March 72,500 50,000 18,250 19,000
April 85,000 34,500 18,500 18,500
May 65,000 35,500 16,500 20,500
June 107,500 40,500 20,000 22,000

The following additional information is available:

• Sales income is received in the month after sale, and sales for December 20-7
amounted to £57,500

• ‘Other expenses’ each month includes an allocation of £1,000 for depreciation; all
other expenses are paid for in the month in which they are incurred

• Purchases, and wages and salaries are paid for in the month in which they are
incurred

• The bank balance at 1 January 20-8 is £2,250

REQUIRED

(a) Prepare a month-by-month cash budget for the first six months of 20-8, using the
layout on the next page.

(b) Calculate the total net cash outflow for the six months.
378 AS Accounting for AQA

Wilkinson Limited
Cash budget for the six months ending 30 June 20-8

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun

£ £ £ £ £ £
Receipts
........................................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................................
Total receipts for month ......................................................................................
Payments
........................................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................................
Total payments for month ......................................................................................
Net cash flow ......................................................................................
Add bank balance (overdraft)
at beginning of month ......................................................................................
Bank balance (overdraft) at end
of month ......................................................................................

19.7 Jim Smith has recently been made redundant; he has received a redundancy
payment and this, together with his accumulated savings, amounts to £10,000. He
has decided to set up his own business selling computer stationery and this will
commence trading with an initial capital of £10,000 on 1 January. On this date he will
buy a van for business use at a cost of £6,000. He has estimated his purchases,
sales, and expenses for the next six months as follows:

Purchases Sales Expenses

£ £ £
January 4,500 1,250 750
February 4,500 3,000 600
March 3,500 4,000 600
April 3,500 4,000 650
May 3,500 4,500 650
June 4,000 6,000 700
 budgeting and budgetary control 379

He will pay for purchases in the month after purchase; likewise, he expects his customers to
pay for sales in the month after sale. All expenses will be paid for in the month they are
incurred.

REQUIRED

(a) Jim realises that he may need a bank overdraft before his business becomes
established. Prepare a month-by-month cash budget for the first six months of Jim
Smith’s business, using the layout below.

(b) What is the maximum bank overdraft shown by the cash budget? Suggest two ways
in which Jim Smith could amend his business plans in order to avoid the need for a
bank overdraft.

Jim Smith
Cash budget for the six months ending 30 June 20--

Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun

£ £ £ £ £ £
Receipts
........................................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................................
Total receipts for month ......................................................................................
Payments
........................................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................................
........................................................................................................................................
Total payments for month ......................................................................................
Net cash flow ......................................................................................
Add bank balance (overdraft)
at beginning of month ......................................................................................
Bank balance (overdraft) at end
of month ......................................................................................