Explaining functional orientation of the budget: a survey of Swedish organizations

The paper presents a congruence model where factors belonging to the environment, to the corporation, and to the management control system of the corporation are expected to influence the functional emphasis put on the budget, i.e., the function of coordination, responsibility and evaluation. Through a test performed on 111 Swedish corporations, we find indications that the budget is very much alive; it appears to focus more on dealing with external situations than with internal characteristics; and it appears to be part of the formalisation of the organisation. We draw these conclusions based on our findings that suggest that the budget is being used mainly as a coordinative device, and less as an instrument for evaluating actions.