FM Broadcast – Summer 2019

FM Broadcast – Summer 2019
Budgeting for 2020- CFOs Weigh In

As companies head into the formal “budget season” of the year, some of our discussions with clients have included concern about the uncertainty of the economy in 2020. So, we wanted to share some insights from CFOs in our network. We know – exciting stuff! As one CFO we interviewed sarcastically said, “This newsletter topic should have people on the edge of their seat.”

What does your company do well when it comes to the budgeting process?

• To keep our budgeting process organized, we collect and develop revenues and expectations by department. Because we’re smaller, it’s a lot easier to get people to go through the process. They have a harder time hiding from me!

 

• We spent a lot of time on budgeting and linking it with our strategic planning and pushing down to our performance goals. For us, planning & budgeting is continuous. Because we learn more about our business and the market at our quarterly reviews, when we get into the formal budgeting process, we’re really just confirming what we already know.

What are your biggest budgeting headaches?

• Getting forecasted revenue for the next year from sales. Because it’s often difficult to get information from customers, the sales team sometimes avoids going through the effort. They prefer to guess instead of really digging in and doing it the right way.

 

• The biggest headache is predicting revenues and the complexity of completing it by entities and rolling it up into a consolidated picture.

 

• Our biggest headache was transitioning budgeting from an accounting/control type of activity to one that puts the right plan (budget) in place for the next year in a way that gets people engaged and helps drive to success and accountability. We continue to emphasize our corporate goals for the next year and how each department helps to achieve the larger goals. This then drives individual efforts. If everyone focuses on the right job and activities, corporate goals should be achievable.

Which department/function(s) do you expect to receive the largest increase in resources at your company for 2020?

• Looking at some of the customers we’re going after, that will take a lot of back-office support (supply chain, logistics). Sales will also require more resources.

 

• Our resources are really focused on sales and marketing for 2020.

 

• Digital marketing, customer engagement, and brand building efforts.

On a scale of 1-10, 1 being “I’ve got a bad feeling about next year…” and 10 being “Everything is Awesome!”, how do you feel about 2020?

• Probably 5-7 range. Consumer spending and jobs are still strong, but the uncertainty around trade and the 2020 elections is too high.

 

• I’d give my rating a 5- It’s hard to say if the economy is going to be positive, as it’s much more volatile now for so many reasons.

 

• I would give it a 4. The tariffs are going to hurt us (a CPG business) starting 9/1/19 so there is significant unknown risk from that. If we weren’t expecting the tariffs, we would be planning for 10-12% growth in 2020.

What are some of your budgeting insights? Hit reply & share with us! – The FlemingMartin team

 

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