Title: Explaining the functional orientation of the budget: a survey of Swedish organisations

Authors: Sven-Olof Yrjö Collin; Timurs Umans; Kristian Lindqvist; Kristian Tjörnebrant

Addresses: Free University of Scania, Kristianstad, Sweden ' Faculty of Business, Kristianstad University, 291 88 Kristianstad, Sweden; School of Business and Economics, Linnaeus University, 351 95 Kristianstad, Sweden ' School of Business and Engineering, Halmstad University, 301 18 Halmstad, Sweden ' School of Business and Engineering, Halmstad University, 301 18 Halmstad, Sweden

Abstract: 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.

Keywords: budget; Sweden; functional emphasis; congruence model.

DOI: 10.1504/IJAF.2019.101321

International Journal of Accounting and Finance, 2019 Vol.9 No.1, pp.28 - 46

Accepted: 26 Nov 2018
Published online: 31 Jul 2019 *

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