Budgeting practice in Singapore - an exploratory study using a survey / Tan Boon Seng and Low Kin Yew

This study is conducted to better understand budgeting practice in Singapore which may be critical for increasing competitiveness and productivity for firms, and increasing value-add contribution for accountants. We obtained 356 valid responses from an online survey administered to members of a prof...

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Main Authors: Tan, Boon Seng, Low, Kin Yew
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Accounting Research Institute (ARI) and UiTM Press, Universiti Teknologi MARA 2017
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/29937/1/29937.pdf
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author Tan, Boon Seng
Low, Kin Yew
author_facet Tan, Boon Seng
Low, Kin Yew
author_sort Tan, Boon Seng
collection UITM
description This study is conducted to better understand budgeting practice in Singapore which may be critical for increasing competitiveness and productivity for firms, and increasing value-add contribution for accountants. We obtained 356 valid responses from an online survey administered to members of a professional accounting organization. We found that most firms prepare budget and many (about 30%) incorporate significant strategy assumptions in budgets. The time spend on budgeting (10%-20%) is lower than what was reported in US studies, and more time is spent in preparing than using the budget. Budgeting problems (e.g. ratcheting and sandbagging behaviour) are well recognized, but firms preparing budgets with business plans generally deem pros for budgeting exceeding cons. Firms with annual revenue below $1m prepare budget primarily for forecasting cash flows; larger firms focus more on guiding and coordinating business activities, with increasing importance on variance analysis as firm size increases. For firms that prepare budgets with business plans, employee compensation based on budget performance is not as prevalent as expected. About 70% of the firms set budget targets to monitor strategy execution, about 50% set budget target for employee performance evaluation, and about 43% compensate by budget performance. The implications of these findings are discussed.
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spelling uitm.eprints-99372020-04-18T13:36:32Z https://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/29937/ Budgeting practice in Singapore - an exploratory study using a survey / Tan Boon Seng and Low Kin Yew apmaj Tan, Boon Seng Low, Kin Yew Organizational change. Organizational development. Corporate turnarounds Success in business. Performance This study is conducted to better understand budgeting practice in Singapore which may be critical for increasing competitiveness and productivity for firms, and increasing value-add contribution for accountants. We obtained 356 valid responses from an online survey administered to members of a professional accounting organization. We found that most firms prepare budget and many (about 30%) incorporate significant strategy assumptions in budgets. The time spend on budgeting (10%-20%) is lower than what was reported in US studies, and more time is spent in preparing than using the budget. Budgeting problems (e.g. ratcheting and sandbagging behaviour) are well recognized, but firms preparing budgets with business plans generally deem pros for budgeting exceeding cons. Firms with annual revenue below $1m prepare budget primarily for forecasting cash flows; larger firms focus more on guiding and coordinating business activities, with increasing importance on variance analysis as firm size increases. For firms that prepare budgets with business plans, employee compensation based on budget performance is not as prevalent as expected. About 70% of the firms set budget targets to monitor strategy execution, about 50% set budget target for employee performance evaluation, and about 43% compensate by budget performance. The implications of these findings are discussed. Accounting Research Institute (ARI) and UiTM Press, Universiti Teknologi MARA 2017-06 Article PeerReviewed text en https://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/29937/1/29937.pdf Budgeting practice in Singapore - an exploratory study using a survey / Tan Boon Seng and Low Kin Yew. (2017) Asia-Pacific Management Accounting Journal (APMAJ) <https://ir.uitm.edu.my/view/publication/Asia-Pacific_Management_Accounting_Journal_=28APMAJ=29/>, 12 (1). pp. 77-103. ISSN 2550-1631
spellingShingle Organizational change. Organizational development. Corporate turnarounds
Success in business. Performance
Tan, Boon Seng
Low, Kin Yew
Budgeting practice in Singapore - an exploratory study using a survey / Tan Boon Seng and Low Kin Yew
title Budgeting practice in Singapore - an exploratory study using a survey / Tan Boon Seng and Low Kin Yew
title_full Budgeting practice in Singapore - an exploratory study using a survey / Tan Boon Seng and Low Kin Yew
title_fullStr Budgeting practice in Singapore - an exploratory study using a survey / Tan Boon Seng and Low Kin Yew
title_full_unstemmed Budgeting practice in Singapore - an exploratory study using a survey / Tan Boon Seng and Low Kin Yew
title_short Budgeting practice in Singapore - an exploratory study using a survey / Tan Boon Seng and Low Kin Yew
title_sort budgeting practice in singapore an exploratory study using a survey tan boon seng and low kin yew
topic Organizational change. Organizational development. Corporate turnarounds
Success in business. Performance
url https://ir.uitm.edu.my/id/eprint/29937/1/29937.pdf
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