Dear All,
What are the input and output of the general budget process?
Many thanks in advance

We could speak in general terms, but why not sit down with your accounting dept., they should know the answer to this, and shouldn't they be defining thier own process? Output is simple, it is a budget sheet, right? inputs would be all the information from the other depts. with costs and estimates.

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Inputs (financial needs), Outputs (the budget itself)

Inputs are:

- activities needing to be carried out (both on-going and special projects)
- resources required to carry them out
- estimated costs for the resources
- specified time period for which budget is to be developed
- last year's budget results (used to ID areas where budget wasn't accurate so one can improve budgeting process this year)

Inputs are:

- activities needing to be carried out (both on-going and special projects)
- resources required to carry them out
- estimated costs for the resources
- specified time period for which budget is to be developed
- last year's budget results (used to ID areas where budget wasn't accurate so one can improve budgeting process this year)


No wanting to be argumentative, but according to who?

Do you have some reference to qualify this list or is it conjecture?

From my understanding, as weak as it is, the budget process is put most simply as "What you need and what you get".

Resource needs and resource distribution. The variables in inputs and possibly output are determined by the organization and could be limitless.

No wanting to be argumentative, but according to who? Do you have some reference to qualify this list or is it conjecture?
From my understanding, as weak as it is, the budget process is put most simply as "What you need and what you get". Resource needs and resource distribution. The variables in inputs and possibly output are determined by the organization and could be limitless.

Arguments are good ... differences of opinion are discussed and sometimes resolved, and hopefully some learning occurs.

I'm not saying that organizations do budgeting right. Often they are told how much they can spend and then have to allocate it.

For proper way, think about what you would do if you were developing a personal budget. You'd think about what you needed to do, what resources would be required, and what costs those resources/activities would entail. You would then look at what funds you thought would be available and allocate them, which might involve changing some of the planned activities and/or resources to be used.

The point is that proper budgeting is part of business planning ... not a separate activity.

Understood and accepted, but the statement was "Inputs are" not "Inputs could be"

As in many other things there are variables to the budgeting process and folks don't really understand that. Budgeting is kinda like Supply and Demand, but it's Demand and Supply

Demands (needs) can be extremely varied as could be the process of Supplying them. What our OP is probably wanting is Budgeting 101, but not the semester that it would take.

I've only had a couple of courses at the 5 level on this so my understanding of finance, and budgeting is limited. But the above is how I understand it in simple terms...........No intent of anything but background here

I just understand that there are few absolutes in business and that budgeting is one of those areas where there is a potential for variability.