Dilemmas of the budgeting process

Abstract

There is a common belief that planning is a key element of effective and efficient management of an enterprise. The budgeting process is a complex task, requiring making many decisions in various areas and taking into account variables dependent also on the specificity of the enterprise. Present- ing both the expected benefits and the disadvantages and costs of a traditional budgeting process provides the basis for further considerations aimed at finding solutions that bring the expected benefits, while minimizing the disadvantages of the solution and adapting them to current expec- tations. There are voices that the traditional budgeting process should be completely abandoned. A postulate appears that budgeting in the form it is currently in use should be abolished. This may sound like a radical proposal, but it would only be the culmination of long-term efforts to trans- form organizations from centralized hierarchies into decentralized networks that allow for flexible adaptation to market conditions.