As an accountant, What is budgeting?

Budgets

A budget is a quantified, planned course of financial action over a defined time period. A budget attempts to estimate inputs and the costs of inputs, along with associated outputs and revenues from the output period.

Creating a budget:

• Helps a company to carefully consider the expected demand for its products and services and the resources required to meet that demand
• Translates the company's higher priorities into the appropriate resources required to achieve those priorities
• Highlights potential problems in sufficient time to take corrective actions
• Creates a baseline against which actual results can be compared

Forecasts

A forecast allows you to make predictions about future revenue and cash flow, as well as assess "what if" scenarios to help you make better decisions for your business.

A forecast can be created from scratch or from actual data from the previous fiscal year. In QuickBooks, a forecast is uniquely identified by its fiscal year and can be further identified by Customer:Job or Class.

Budgeting is the process of setting financial goals, forecasting future financial 

resources and needs, monitoring and controlling income and expenditures, and 

evaluating progress toward achieving the financial goal.

Budget is one of the tools to controll the business

Budget is a quantitative expression of a plan for a defined period of time.

Cash Budget, Expenditure Budget, Provisions...