One of management's functions is to control company operations. Control consists of the steps taken by management to see that planned objectives are met. We now ask: How do budgets contribute to control of operations? The use of budgets in controlling operations is known as budgetary control. Such control takes place by means of budget reports that compare actual results with planned objectives. The use of budget reports is based on the belief that planned objectives lose much of their potential value without some monitoring of progress along the way. Just as I and your other professors give exams to evaluate your progress, top management requires periodic reports on the progress of department managers toward their planned objectives.

These budget reports provide management with feedback on operations. Budget reports are prepared as frequently as needed. From these reports, management analyzes any differences between actual and planned results and determines their causes. Management then takes corrective action, or it decides to modify future plans.

Pick any company of your choice and discuss in >150 words, which variance(s) you believe (is) are the most important one(s). You may focus on the cost variances that we discussed in chapters 9 and 10 or look at some that we did not get to look at or at least not in great detail, e.g. variances between budgeted and actual sales revenue or budgeted and actual cash in/outflows. Please share why you feel this variances is of crucial importance and how often you believe a manager should look at the reports (e.g. daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly).