The chief financial officer (CFO) discussed your analysis and strategy with the executive team and feels that you are the perfect person to work on the corporate budget. Based on the current external environment, the organization has limited resources, and each department has been asked to reduce costs. Based on your experience, answer the following questions:

• What type of costs should the departments reduce first and why?
• How can the organization prevent budgetary slack in the budgeting process since the bonuses of managers are tied to the budget?