Whether you are creating a budget for your small business or a large corporation, there are two main approaches: the top-down approach and the bottom-up approach. Some companies and their employees swear by the top-down approach, but others believe the bottom-up approach provides the most advantageous view. Which one do…

Rolling forecasts have risen greatly in popularity, and for good reason. Today’s businesses are dealing with a different world — it is fast-paced, interconnected, and more competitive than ever. This can pose a challenge for any CFO. Finance teams must process huge amounts of data and forecast (or often reforecast)…

You already know that you need to sell your products or services to your customers, but did you also know that you need to sell your budget to your team? As we wrote about last week, budget accountability is everyone’s responsibility. Good corporate governance depends on getting your team on…

Microsoft Excel can be a great tool for business budgeting, there’s no doubt about it. But it does have its limitations. One of those limitations is the lack of workflow tools, which are crucial to your business budgeting process. A good corporate budget process needs controls: a workflow management system,…

Make Sure Your Strategic Planning and Budget are Aligned Every business needs a budget, right? But how do you know if your budget is right for your business? For most organizations, it is not enough to simply track all of its expenses and revenue. For your business budget (and your…

Including business cash flow in your budget forecast is a great idea no matter what stage your company is at. No matter how innovative your products, how great your marketing, or how useful your executive dashboard, if you don’t have enough cash in the bank to pay suppliers or make payroll,…

Your business’s IT infrastructure lays the foundation for innovation. Creating a strong IT strategy is even more important for growth, especially as we see new software and technology emerge on what seems like a daily basis. Part of building a solid IT strategy is, of course, budgeting. New technology can…

You may have heard this statistic before, but it bears repeating: in a survey of nearly 300 global executives by Bain & Co., only a third felt the strategy it produced met three vital criteria: bold ambition, adaptability in the face of changing market conditions, and concrete guidance for management…

Whether you are creating a budget for your home, small business, or large corporation, there are two major approaches: the top-down approach and the bottom-up approach. Some companies believe the top-down approach provides the most advantageous view, whereas others swear by the bottom-up approach. Which one is best? This week,…

When it comes time to build out the budget – be it for the month, the quarter, or the year – collaboration is critical. A few weeks ago, we spoke about the differences between top-down and bottom-up budgeting and the positives and negatives of each approach. One of the most…