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Business & Economics

ANALYSIS OF OPERATIONAL BUDGETING PRACTICES IN POLISH AND LITHUANIAN COMPANIES
Tomasz Wnuk-Pel, Ceslovas Christauskas

ABSTRACT. The research focuses on detailed examination of operational budgeting practices in Poland and Lithuania. The findings indicate that operational budgeting continue to be applied widely. What is more the research shows that budgeting largely supports strategy implementation, planning, communication, coordination, activities evaluation, managers motivation, evaluation and remuneration, resources allocation and expenditures authorization functions. The overall satisfaction from operational budgeting of top management, middle level of management and management accounting/controlling function is moderate. When comparing Polish and Lithuanian practices of operational budgeting, the authors were struck more by the degree of convergence rather than divergence. Notwithstanding this view, the study identified some cross-country differences, however, for example: in the frequency of separating controllable and uncontrollable costs, popularity of zero based budgeting, level of difficulty to achieve budgets, level of details of budgeting and control systems, use of flexible budgeting or the influence of specialists in management accounting/controlling on the final version of the budget .

KEYWORDS:  operational budgeting, survey, Poland, Lithuania.

JEL classification:  M41, M00.