Budgeting

Today’s corporations are more competitive, dynamic, and, consequently, more powerful and successful than ever before. As a result, the days when corporate budgeting was merely an obligatory, routine process of estimating the coming year’s revenues and expenses have long ended. Successful corporations are constantly improving their ability to predict their future operations and their related resource requirements, enabling them to adjust their plans as needed and stay ahead of the competition. Not only does this heighten the importance of the budgeting and planning process, but it also changes the traditional roles of spreadsheets, legacy budget systems, and software created in-house. Budgeting shows corporations how to achieve and maintain their edge through modern budgeting systems and the use of good budgeting software. This book provides comprehensive guidance through the range of considerations that are crucial to streamlining the budget planning process:

• What corporations should be looking for when buying or building a new budgeting solution
• How to select the right budgeting solution from the field of vendors
• How to successfully implement a new budgeting solution
• How to fully utilize the Web

. . . plus helpful lists and questionnaires, and interviews with managers from leading companies who have effectively created internal processes and implemented software solutions. Equip your corporation to excel in the twenty-first century with the tools and information offered in this invaluable resource.

Contents

BUDGETING AND FORECASTING OVERVIEW.

Budgeting Today: Overview and Trends.

Budgeting Processes and Approaches.

Budgeting Methods.

Popular Budgeting Reports and Ratios.

BUDGETING SOFTWARE: TECHNOLOGY TRENDS AND FUNCTIONALITY.

Technology Trends.

Functionality Offered by Modern Budgeting Software.

What Will Future Budgeting Software Offer?

Budgeting Software Buyer's Guide.

Using Excel as a Budgeting Tool.

SOFTWARE EVALUATION AND SELECTION.

Selecting a System.

Software Evaluation: Factors to Consider.

The New Alternative: Outsourcing.

SOFTWARE IMPLEMENTATION.

Systems Implementation: Project Planning.

Detailed Implementation.

INTERVIEWS.

Interviews.

Appendices.

Glossary.

Index.