Abstract Good accounting records which show exactly what has happened in a given business are of interest as historical documents, but for years it has been apparent that they alone are not sufficient for the management under the intensely competitive conditions which have to be faced. The situation in industry following the World War made it still more noticeable that well- prepared plans for the future, based on accounting records and all other pertinent material, were fully as necessary as a knowledge of what had passed. The budget, which had been used in public finance and by some few businesses, now attracted more attention from industry than ever before. Indeed it was even hailed as a thing entirely new which would prove to be a panacea for the ills of business. During the past decade its development has been fairly rapid and widespread. The industrial groups whose trade associations have been most active in promulgating the budget idea have made the most progress in budgetary control. Some concerns still have no formal budget, others attempt to budget only part of their activities, whereas still others endeavor to budget all operations in detail.
Arthur W. Hanson (Tue,) studied this question.