us & more serious attention. It can remind the department that should they take up the accountability of the cost & thus impose tighter measure to ensure their employees achieve the objectives of the training. BudgetingWhereas financial accounting looks backwards & inwards, management accounting reflects the direction of managers vision & the main tools to look forwards & outwards is budgetary control [13]. As mentioned in previous paragraph, a budget is the financial picture or a translation of business plan into "numbers." In its simplest form, a budget is a detailed plan of future receipts & expenditures - a projected profit and loss statement by estimating the cost of the activities & when will such cost incurred; so as to prevent unexpected surprises that may lead to financial problems.The budget is one of the most effective management tools for control but as Jones [14] stated that too often control has become constraint. During the budgeting process, too much attention has been focused on the numbers, instead of the direction or strategies of the company. The budgeting process per se is forecasting & estimating, i.e. if without accurate information, budgeting is not far away from wild guessing. As described by Newing [15], the traditional budgeting process is done on the basis of an extrapolation of last years costs & year to date actuals plus a bit; & then reduced by across-the-board management cuts. Instead of looking at the strategic direction of the company, budget allocation depends on the budget holders negotiating skills.The current budgeting process of my department falls into the above category. Inevitably last year's expense is a good reference point but it should not be the only reliable factor. Other areas like changes in labor markets, salary index & compensation benefits trends should also be under considered so as to make sure that all the planned goals & activities are addressed. Another useful informati...
