Forecasts and Budgets 197general statements about the desirability of the budget proposal. Budget sales-
manship should be approached with the same ingenuity that is found in the ex-
ternal marketing effort. If certain budget proposals have benefits that are
difficult to quantify directly, various types of statistics might support the proj-
ects in an indirect way. For example, if a police department wants to justify 10
new police officers, it might offer supporting statistics on rising population
in the community, rising crime rates, or relatively low per-capita police cost
ratios. Although none of the suggested statistics measures direct benefits, they
may be more useful in swaying a budget review committee than some vague
statement about the value of more officers. Statistics that are not direct mea-
sures of benefits are used widely in both the public and private sectors when
supporting budget proposals.
Avoid Surprises
Avoid surprising either review committee or those who present the budget.
New proposals and information are hard to sell to a budget review committee
and should be introduced and developed long before the final review process.
Surprises to managers presenting the budgets most often occur during
the questioning process or when a budget proposal is more detailed than prior
budgets. To minimize this problem, budget presentations should be carefully
rehearsed. The rehearsal might include a realistic or even pessimistic mock re-
view committee. The mock review should ask pointed and difficult questions.
Sometimes knowing the answer to a relatively immaterial question is enough
to secure a favorable opinion.
Set Priorities
Few managers receive a totally favorable response to all budget requests. In a
world of limited resources, wants exceed available resources, and managers
should be prepared for a budget allocation that is somewhat different from the
initial request. Typically, all proposed budget items are not equally desirable.
Some projects and activities are essential; others are highly desirable. Some
would be nice but are really not essential.
Priority systems established by the managers of each budgeting entity
before the review process starts aid in structuring the budget proposal so that
important items are funded first. Setting priorities avoids embarrassing ques-
tions and last-minute decision crises that affect the quality of a professional
presentation.
FOR FURTHER READING
Brownell, P., “Participation in Budgeting, Locus of Control, and Organizational Ef-
fectiveness,”The Accounting Review,56, no. 4 (Oct. 1981): 844–861.