
Define a budget as a forecast of revenue and expenses over a defined period, and explore the budget process—from assumptions and sales budgets to the master budget and participative budgeting.
Explore how budgeting functions as a planning and control tool, tying sales forecasts to a master budget and cash budget to guide operations and evaluate performance.
Develop a connected budgeting sequence for Tool Time Corporation, building the sales, production, purchasing, and cash budgets from the data sheet using linked cell references, then verify against solutions.
Explore how a cash budget forecasts cash receipts and disbursements, tracks beginning and ending balances, signals borrowing when cash falls below a minimum threshold, and is prepared sequentially by quarter.
What is a Master Budget?
The master budget is the aggregation of all lower-level budgets produced by a company's various functional areas, and also includes budgeted financial statements, a cash forecast, and a financing plan. The master budget is typically presented in either a monthly or quarterly format, and usually covers a company's entire fiscal year. An explanatory text may be included with the master budget, which explains the company's strategic direction, how the master budget will assist in accomplishing specific goals, and the management actions needed to achieve the budget. There may also be a discussion of the headcount changes that are required to achieve the budget.
A master budget is the central planning tool that a management team uses to direct the activities of a corporation, as well as to judge the performance of its various responsibility centers. It is customary for the senior management team to review a number of iterations of the master budget and incorporate modifications until it arrives at a budget that allocates funds to achieve the desired results. Hopefully, a company uses participative budgeting to arrive at this final budget, but it may also be imposed on the organization by senior management, with little input from other employees.
Some past student comments:
"Great Class, systematic, and very organized Thanks , it's a great reviewing for my managerial accounting 15 years ago." Tung KU
"Awesome :) n very beneficial Thank u Dr :)"Rabia Taher
"Very Good course with the explanations, Illustrations and quizzes. It makes you well prepared to actually give the exam for a good grade" Muhammed Hassen
"Great course, I'm learning a lot about managerial accounting!" Mark Furman
This course covers all the major managerial accounting concepts that are a part of every Managerial ( Management) Accounting course in every Master of Business Administration university program.