Budgets & budgetary control is important aspect of business management, planning, business control

Assignment Task: Budgets and budgetary control is an important aspect of business management, for proper planning, control of business activities and the achievement of stated organisational goals, management must be able to prepare a budget which can be considered as adequate for the organisation in question. In the light of the above statement you are required to: a) Define and discuss budgets and budgetary control highlighting the key features of budget and budgetary factors Marks: 20 b) Discuss in detail how the budgets can be used as a decision making too in an organisation. Marks: 20 c) Discuss the following types of budgets, Standard budgets, Flexible budgets and zero based budgeting, discuss the circumstances under which each of them will be more appropriate Marks: 20 d) Discuss four key functional budgets, and steps involved in budget preparation Marks: 30 e) Presentation and style (Report format Marks:5 f) Referencing & bibliography using Harvard referencing system Marks: 5 Learning outcomes to be examined in this assessment • Prepare budgets for planning and control. • Analysis actual costs with standard costs and report on any variances. • Apply performance measurements and monitor business performance. Assessment criteria; Explanatory comments on the assessment criteria Constructive critical analysis of financial and Management accounting and their usefulness to a business organisation • Relevant, accurate content, demonstrating research, as required by the assessment task. • Coherent and clear discussion of management accounting as a decision making tool to help management • Clear differentiation between Management accounting and Financial accounting • Clear understanding of the nature and purpose of budgets in business organisation 80% Referencing Style • Full in-text referencing using the Harvard citation style. • Structured reference list or bibliography using the Harvard referencing method 10% Content, style, relevance, originality Clear demonstration of rigorous research from recognised authoritative sources. Audience focus; report format. 10% Very high standard of critical analysis using appropriate conceptual frameworks. Excellent understanding and exposition of relevant issues. Clearly structured and logically developed arguments. Good awareness of nuances and complexities. Substantial evidence of well-executed independent research. Excellent evaluation and synthesis of source material. Relevant data and examples, all properly referenced.