ABSTRACT
The budget is a formal quantification of management's short-term plans. It forces managers to think ahead, and to anticipate and prepare for changing conditions. It is generally prepared for the financial year ahead, by month and often also by quarter. The greater the likely problems of control, the shorter the reporting period should be. More frequent reporting and analysis takes time and resources. For airlines, costs are reported on a monthly basis, while the less controllable traffic and revenue side is examined on a daily basis (passenger and cargo reservations, and traffic levels), and as frequently as accounting systems allow for yields.
