Budgeting is an important internal activity. Preparing budgets involve forecasting sales and estimating costs. Prepare a flexible budget for next year for the company of your choice. The budget needs to be realistic and based on corporate and economic trends.
Set up the flexible budget at three levels for the income statement. Companies prepare budgets based on absorption and/or variable costing. Due to lack of information, we're limiting our budgeting to the absorption approach. You still need to estimate cost behavior based on trends.
DO APPLE FOR THE COMPANY.
Information to consider in determining the three levels.
- What is the growth rate in sales for the past three years?
- What is the current growth rate in the economy?
- How are the competitiors doing?
- Current interest rates and tax burdens.
Discuss the implications of the information after you have completed the flexible budget.
- How can you use this information as a manger?