ABSTRACT
Budgets serve many purposes, all of which can promote productivity. The budget serves as a plan, a means of control, a motivation device, and a process for accountability. At its narrowest, a budget is a plan that estimates proposed expenditures for a given period, usually for a year or a "fiscal" year, and relates planned spending to an estimate of revenues needed to finance the plan. The budget also acts as a control device, directing that only the amount specified in the budget be spent in the way the budget dictates.
