On 20 March, we had an interesting Beyond Budgeting debate at the fifth FP&A Board in Amsterdam. 32 senior finance members estimated their average budget pain rate at 6.7 level (where 0- Not painful; 10- Extremely painful). They represented leading companies in different industries, namely:

• Adidas
• Danone
• Mastercard
• PepsiCo
• Philips
• and many others.

Agenda

• What is Beyond Budgeting (BB)?
• Why does it work and what are the key benefits of this management system? 
• Some examples and case studies
• Small groups discussion on Beyond Budgeting Philosophy. "Are we ready to abandon the budget and what does it require?"
• Conclusions and recommendations.

During the meeting, the Board members identified some of the key problems of the traditional budget:

• While Forecasts and Targets are the same, compensation targets are fixed. 
• The budget for the year is also fixed. This is the finance department’s annual allowance.
• The capital budget is set during the budgeting process.

Figure 1: Amsterdam FP&A Board Member Presents the Results of Group Work

Marcin Miskiewicz, Finance director at Danone, who shared his Beyond Budgeting experience and insights with the Board.

We are also very grateful to our sponsors and partners Michael Page, Solmate Group and Association for Financial Professionals for their great support.