The master budget is a document used in the company for budget planning. It includes all other lower-level estimates made by the various functional areas of the company. It is consistent with the fiscal period of the company and can be broken down into quarters or months.
It is a business strategy that documents expected future sales, production levels, purchases, future expenses incurred, capital investments, and even loans that will be acquired and repaid.
The master budget also includes budgeted financial statements, a cash flow forecast, and a financing plan. In other words, the master budget includes all other financial budgets.
If the company's plans for the master budget are to be a continuous document, to be updated each year, a month is commonly added to the end of the budget to facilitate planning. This is called a rolling budget.
Budget development
The budget committee generally develops the master budget for each year, governed by a budget director, who is generally the controller of the company.
Before beginning the master budget planning process, the company must develop a strategic plan and a series of objectives based on that strategic plan, spanning the next five years. The strategic plan will be the basis for the various budgets that the company will prepare.
Once the master budget has been finalized, the accounting staff can enter it into the company's accounting software, so that the software can issue financial reports that compare budgeted results with actual results.
Smaller organizations commonly build their master budgets using electronic spreadsheets. However, spreadsheets can contain formula errors, and they also have a hard time building a budgeted balance.
Larger organizations use budget specific software, which does not have any of these problems.
Characteristics
A budget is a plan for future financial transactions. The master budget is a set of interconnected budgets, sales, production costs, purchases, income, etc.
An explanatory text can be included with the master budget that outlines the strategic direction of the company, how the master budget will help meet specific objectives, and the management actions necessary to achieve the budget.
There may also be a discussion about the personnel changes necessary to achieve the budget.
All functional divisions of the organization prepare the budget for their particular division. The master budget is the sum total of all divisional budgets that are prepared by all divisions.
In addition, it also includes financial planning, cash flow forecasting, and the organization's budgeted profit and loss accounts and balance sheet.
Top budget issues
When a company implements a master budget there is a strong tendency for top management to force the organization to adhere to it by including budget targets in employee compensation plans. Doing this produces the following effects:
- When compiling the budget, employees tend to estimate low income and high expenses, so that the budget can be easily met and thus achieve their compensation plans.
- If the organization is required to meet the budget, it will require a group of financial analysts to track and report on budget variances. This generates unnecessary expenses for the company.
- Managers tend to ignore new business opportunities, because all resources are already allocated to reach the budget, and their personal incentives are tied to the budget.
- The master budget is not easy to modify. Small changes require many steps across the budget. A master budget cannot be easily understood by anyone.
- Enforcing a master budget can skew a company's operational performance. It may be best to use the master budget only as a guide to short-term business managerial expectations.
What is it for?
The master budget is basically the managerial strategic plan for the future of the company. All aspects of the company's operations are charted and documented to make future predictions.
The master budget is used by company management to make “large-scale” strategic decisions based on the long-term strategy and forecast for the current year.
The master budget also allows the evaluation of the performance of the companies during the planning period.
Planning and control tool
A master budget is the central planning tool that a management team uses to direct the activities of a company, as well as to evaluate the performance of its various centers of responsibility.
It serves as a planning and control tool for management, since business activities can be planned during the period, based on the master budget.
At the end of each period, the actual results can be compared with the master budget, thus taking the necessary control measures.
It is common for the management team to review the master budget and incorporate modifications until it reaches a budget that allocates the funds to achieve the desired results.
Master budget indicators
A set of KPIs, calculated based on budget information, can be included in the master budget.
For example, it can show accounts receivable turnover, inventory turnover, or earnings per share. These indicators are useful for checking the validity of the master budget against actual results in the past.
For example, if the accounts receivable turnover indicator is much lower than historical results, it could mean that the company is overestimating its ability to quickly collect accounts receivable.
Types
The master budget is a comprehensive tool for budget planning. It is generally made up of two parts: the operating budget and the financial budget.
The operating budget is prepared first, since the information in this budget is necessary to make the financial budget.
Operating budget
It shows the profit-making activities of the company, including income and expenses.
The operating budget is actually made up of eight support budgets. These are interrelated and come together to make a budgeted profit and loss statement.
Sales budget
The first plan to develop is the sales budget, which is based on the sales forecast. The sales budget is the base of the master budget.
All purchases, personnel requirements and administrative expenses are based on sales.
First, the number of units to be sold and their unit price are determined. On that basis, the value of sales is calculated. The sales budget is prepared taking into account the following factors:
- Estimation of market demand.
- Production capacity.
- Current supply service.
- Industry analysis.
Production budget
The second plan is the production budget. After determining the number of sales the company expects to make in the next year, the company calculates how much it must produce in units to meet the sales budget and to meet ending inventory requirements.
Although the production budget is primarily based on the sales budget, the following factors should be considered:
- Inventory at the beginning of the year.
- Inventory to keep at the end of the year.
- Number of units manufactured.
- Reserve inventory throughout the year.
Budget for purchases of materials and direct labor
The following plans are the materials purchase budget, which refers to the raw materials used by the company in its production process, and the direct labor budget.
Manufacturing overhead budget
The manufacturing overhead budget includes fixed and variable overhead costs.
Finished product inventory budget
It is necessary to complete the cost of the budget of merchandise sold and the balance sheet. This budget assigns a value to each unit of product manufactured based on raw materials, direct labor, and production overhead.
Selling and administrative expenses budget
It takes care of non-manufacturing related expenses such as freight or various supplies. It can be further divided into budgets for individual departments, such as accounting, engineering, maintenance, and marketing departments.
Budgeted profit and loss statement
It is the result obtained from the previous estimates. It must be taken into account that operating profit is not the same as net profit. To obtain the net profit, the financial budget must be subtracted.
Financial budget
There are three budgets in the financial budget portion of the master budget. These are the cash budget, the capital budget, and the financial budget result, which is the budgeted balance sheet.
Cash budget
For all divisional budgets, the organization requires cash. You must ensure that you do not run out of money during the year due to poor planning in budget preparation.
The cash budget indicates cash inflows and outflows, indebtedness and expected investment on a monthly basis.
Based on the sales and production budget, the expected income and payments are determined. At this stage, the organization will decide whether or not external borrowing is required.
Budget for capital asset expenditures
It contains the budget figures for the acquisition of expensive fixed assets for the company.
The plant, machinery and equipment require periodic maintenance and replacements. If the sales target is higher than in the previous period, new machinery should be purchased. Therefore, careful planning of the capital asset must be done.
Budgeted financial statements
The budgeted financial statements combine the financial statements of the previous period with the results of the budget process, thus completing the financial statements projected at the end of the year.
This process is important for companies that have loan agreements or are required to maintain certain financial ratios as part of their obligations.
By completing the budgeted financial statements, the company can anticipate noncompliance with these requirements and renegotiate the terms of the agreement, or take other steps to stay in compliance.
Importance
Businesses use the master budget to facilitate planning and control within a commercial enterprise so that they can manage the financial aspects of the business and plan for future expansion of new products.
Managerial planning
The master budget is considered one of the most important planning tools for an organization. When planning, senior management analyzes the overall profitability and position of the company's assets and liabilities.
Performance measurement
The master budget measures the performance of the organization as a whole. Helps in the control and establishment of departmental responsibility, improving efficiency.
Interdivisional coordination
The master budget is used for interdivisional coordination between the divisions of the organization. Help and ensure that the coordination with the other divisions is well done.
Staff motivation
The master budget serves as a motivational tool on the basis of which employees can compare actual performance with the budgeted one. Helps staff obtain job satisfaction, contributing to business growth.
Divisional Budget Summary
The master budget functions as a summary budget for the general view of business owners and management. It indicates as a whole how much the organization is earning and what expenses are being incurred.
Planning ahead
The master budget identifies unusual problems in advance and corrects them. For example, if one of the company's divisions is not performing well and the expenses incurred are exceeding the established budget limit.
Help in achieving the objectives
A master budget helps achieve the long-term goals of the organization. All the organization's resources are channeled and controlled to optimize profits.
Continuous improvement
The master budget is an ongoing process. Every year the organization prepares the master budget and functions as an analysis tool. Variations are identified and continuous work is done to obtain better results.
Examples
A good example of long-term planning is a merger or acquisition of another company. Management must see what the company can gain from buying another entity and what resources would be redundant.
For example, each company has a group of employees in charge of administrative tasks within the company. If a company were bought, there would be no need to maintain two sets of administrative staff. The management of the acquiring company should make a decision about who should leave.
Management can also use the master budget for planning an expansion.
For example, a machine shop should consider current cash flows, current loan rates, current debt limits, and future expected sales before management plans a major expansion. The master budget includes detailed budgets with all this information.
