One example of a department that may like the monthly budgetary control report process is the Parks and Recreation department. This department may have a consistent level of expenses each month, such as staffing costs for maintaining parks and running programs, and may find it helpful to have a budget that is broken down into smaller, more manageable chunks.
On the other hand, an example of a department that may not like the monthly budgetary control report process is the Fire department. This department may have expenses that are more difficult to predict, such as emergency medical services and responding to fires, and may find it difficult to budget for these unpredictable expenses within a monthly framework.
The budgeting process can be made more reflective of the work actually being completed by using a more flexible budgeting approach, such as zero-based budgeting or performance-based budgeting. In zero-based budgeting, the department starts with a “blank slate” and must justify all expenses for the upcoming period, rather than simply adjusting expenses from the previous period. Performance-based budgeting, on the other hand, links departmental budgets to specific performance goals and measures. This type of budgeting can help to ensure that resources are being allocated to activities that are most critical to achieving the department’s mission.
Another alternative, could be to use rolling forecast, where budgets are reviewed frequently, also, involving more stakeholders in the process and gathering feedback from them on the budgeting process can help to make it more reflective of the work actually being completed, it can provide more insight and increase ownership and accountability of the budget.