Imagine you are kicking off a participative budgeting process in your current organization. Wite an email that describes participative budgeting and its benefits and also outlines what will happen in your first meeting. Remember you have to be persuasive if you want to get the people to attend and participate, so consider your language carefully.

Here are some examples. Please do not re-write this as it is just an example:

Example A.

Good Morning,

The organization is going to be implementing a new participative budgeting process for this fiscal year and your participation and coordination with each other is required to make it a success. This new process is a budgeting approach in which managers at all levels prepare their own budget estimates that will be used in the final budget for the organization. Once the budget estimates have been created they will be subject to review by upper management so that any items in question may be discussed and modified as necessary before the final budget is set. It is imperative to understand that this budget requires all levels of the organization to work together. Top management is unfamiliar with the intricate details of the day to day operations, therefore, it will rely on the information provided by their subordinates. However, top management has a clearer overall strategic perspective that would also be essential in order to develop a fully encompassing integrated budget. There are several benefits that can be reaped from utilizing this process in the organization, some of these maybe self-evident from reading this email however they have also been listed below for clarity:

Individuals at all levels of the organization are members of the team whose review and judgment is valuable to senior management

Estimates that will be created by front line managers are presumed to be more accurate and reliable

The process will result in higher motivation and sense of ownership

The process will increase accountability of individuals at all levels

Calendar invites for our first kick off meeting for this new and exciting process will be sent out to each of you by the end of the day today including a preliminary agenda. Some critical items on the agenda that will be discussed include introductions, communications plan, deadlines, and sharing ideas that will enhance the success of the process. As noted the agenda is preliminary, leading up to the meeting, it is encouraged that all members compile questions, suggestions or concerns they may have so they call be discussed by the team.

Looking forward to working with you all!

Regards, Senior Management.

References

Ali, R. (2016) Participative budgeting or self imposed budgeting. Retrieved from http://www.accountingdetails.com/participative_or_self_imposed_budget.htm

Example B

Good morning,

I am writing this email with important information.

We will be holding a meeting on 11/11/2016 at Wabasha Meeting room. This will be a mandatory meeting: you must show up so we can kick off the participative budgeting process in our company.

To help make this participative budgets effective, in this meeting we will provide each department with guidelines regarding the overall direction of the company, and how each department fit into that direction.

We also will be:

Brainstorming spending ideas.

Budget committee will develop proposals based on these ideas.

Members will vote on proposals.

We will be also discussing budgets and make adjustments where they are needed to ensure the budgets accurately reflect expenses.

Just to remind you, participative budgeting meetings are settings in which budgets are designed and set after input from subordinate managers, instead of only being imposed. The information and the knowledge that we are expecting from you are very reliable and accurate, and that makes your active participation extremely important. Also, you will be given opportunity to discuss organizational issues with supervisors and members of other departments, and after exchange of information and ideas, problems will be solved and agreements for future actions will be made.

Thank you for your patience and cooperation. If you have any questions or concerns, do not hesitate to let me know.

I look forward to seeing you.

Best regards,

Tzenka Martchev