When the Exotic Newcastle Disease (an infectious bird disease) broke out in Southern California in 2003, it could have spelled disaster for the San Diego Zoo. The zoo spent almost half a million dollars on quarantine measures in 2003. It worked: no birds got sick and the damage to the zoo's budget was minimized by a monthly budget reforecast.

The new planning process introduced a year earlier, allowed the zoo to redirect resources to ward off the disease.

The San Diego Zoo's annual static budget was behind the times before Paula Brock took over as CFO in 2001. Brock's first efforts were to link strategy to the process. Consultants believe it's a key way to improve people's involvement in budgeting.

What is the major benefit of tying a budget to the overall goals of the company?