At their worst, budgets can turn into a cantankerous form of office warfare. But in an ideal world, they should clarify objectives, earmark resources and ensure that worthy intentions are put into practice. David Chater reports.
Budgets have a pristine transparency.
Nowhere is there a more practical demonstration of a firm's commitment to achieving a set of goals. And budgets cause less contention among professional firms than elsewhere. Marketing departments have a far easier time getting them approved than government departments, not least because partner time is more valuable than cash and budgets are rarely used by professional firms as means of exercising control. Besides, the days are long gone when marketers were considered luxuries. The notion that marketing budgets get ruthlessly slashed every time there is a downturn in business is an urban myth.