ABSTRACT
Budgets are far more than just money. They are plans to match the resources required by a service to the objectives set for it. To have a successful budget it must be expressed in three very different way: money, staffing, and activity. Money is the measure of value used in buying and selling goods and services. Financial budgets are measures of the expected amounts of money, both income and expenditure, which form the financial plans for the year. Staffing levels are measured in Whole Time Equivalents (WTE). The WTE is the level of staffing expressed in terms of whole time working. Budgets are plans designed to balance the money, staffing, equipment and materials required for the year, with the quantity and quality of activity expected. Budget serves many different purposes. These include: planning, monitoring, controlling, and measuring ones performance as a manager.
