Budgets are useful tools to help manage a businesses' performance and can be used to guide important operating decisions, but are their risks to being too focused on the meeting financial budgets? Are their other performance measurements that a manager should consider in the decision making process?

Answer the following questions:

In your opinion, what do you consider the most important reason for a business to use a budget? Why?

Are their any risks to using only a budget to measure performance? If yes, describe at least one risk. If no, explain why not? How does the Balanced Scorecard concept expand beyond traditional financial measurements?

What other measure, besides financial, would you consider to be the most important for your business? Why?