Summary

In this article, Bjarte Bogsnes – member of the EPM Review Editorial Board and a leading practitioner-thinker of the Beyond Budgeting philosophy – first scrutinizes the five myths most commonly held about ‘Beyond Budgeting’ and then proceeds to throw light on what the approach actually means for enterprise performance management.

As a concept, Beyond Budgeting has its roots and origins well back in time. However, as a management model, it is just a decade old. Consequently, the concept has not reached a stage where clear and consistent understanding can be safely expected. In fact, a number of myths and misunderstandings have developed about Beyond Budgeting.

Summary

This interview is part of a series in which experts respond to questions about some of the persistent issues facing leaders, as they seek to create an adaptive enterprise and achieve new levels of performance.

This interview features Jonathan Chocqueel-Mangan, a UK-based Partner with Heidrick and Struggles, the world's premier provider of senior-level executive search and leadership consulting services. Jonathan was previously an Executive Vice President for the Balanced Scorecard Collaborative. Here, James Creelman, Jonathan’s co-author for the Business Intelligence, UK report ‘Reinventing Planning and Budgeting for the Adaptive Enterprise’, asks the questions.

Summary

This interview is part of a series in which experts respond to questions about some of the persistent issues facing leaders, as they seek to create an adaptive enterprise and achieve new levels of performance. This round features Dr. Fritz Roemer, Senior Business Advisor, The Hackett Group.

The interview focuses on budgeting. Issues covered include the definition of an adaptive organization; the strengths and weaknesses of the conventional budgeting process; an examination of the budgeting concept as an annual performance contract; the opinions of finance managers and line managers regarding the budgeting approach; and the effectiveness of budgeting in goal setting, performance evaluation and reward. The interview also seeks to discover why leaders are unable to move to new models, even though they appreciate the shortcomings of the traditional budget. It also identifies the major cultural barriers for transforming the conventional budgeting process.

Summary

This interview is part of a series in which experts respond to questions about some of the persistent issues facing leaders, as they seek to create an adaptive enterprise and achieve new levels of performance. This round features Jeremy Hope, Research Director, Beyond Budgeting Round Table.

The interview focuses on budgeting. Issues covered include the definition of an adaptive organization; strengths and weaknesses of the conventional budgeting process; an examination of budgeting as an annual performance contract; the opinions of finance managers and line managers regarding budgeting; effectiveness of budgeting in goal setting, performance evaluation and reward; and reasons why leaders don’t move to new models, even when aware of the shortcomings of the traditional budget. It also identifies major cultural barriers for transforming the conventional budgeting process and critically examines the relevance of annual targets for communicating financial projections and ongoing projections to the investment community. The interview concludes with Jeremy Hope’s take on the shape the adaptive organization will take in the next few years.

Summary

The interview focuses on budgeting. Issues covered include the definition of an adaptive organization; strengths and weaknesses of the conventional budgeting process; an examination of budgeting as an annual performance contract; the opinions of finance managers and line managers regarding budgeting; effectiveness of budgeting in goal setting, performance evaluation and reward; reasons why leaders don’t move to new models, even when aware of the shortcomings of the traditional budget; whether organizations are really changing their approach to budgeting; alternative frameworks. It also critically examines the relevance of annual targets for communicating financial projections and ongoing projections to the investment community.

Summary

This interview is part of a series in which experts respond to questions about some of the persistent issues facing leaders, as they seek to create an adaptive enterprise and achieve new levels of performance. This round features Peter Ryan, Corporate Performance Manager, Christchurch City Council, New Zealand.

The interview focuses on the connection between an adaptive organization and the conventional budgeting process which drives performance planning and performance management. Issues covered include the definition of an adaptive organization; strengths and weaknesses of conventional budgeting; budgeting concept as an annual performance contract; how managers view budgeting; and the effectiveness of budgeting in goal setting, performance evaluation and reward. The interview also seeks to discover what the favored alternative frameworks are, and why leaders are unable to move to new models. It also identifies cultural barriers in transforming the conventional budgeting process. Finally, it seeks a prediction on how adaptive organizations will evolve.