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Zero-Based Budgeting Is Not a Wonder Diet for Companies

Harvard Business Review

Zero-based budgeting (ZBB) is elegantly logical: Expenses must be justified for each new budget period based on demonstrable needs and costs, as opposed to the more common method of using last year’s budget as your starting point, then adjusting up or down. We believe the exact opposite to be true.

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Can You "Re-Anchor" Your Next Budget Meeting?

Harvard Business Review

Zero-based budgeting is one such technique, but it is a time-consuming approach that cannot be used systematically. For simplicity's sake, we illustrate this approach using a budget discussion that focuses on setting sales targets for a number of different regions. Define fact-based, non-historical criteria.

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Your Organization Wastes Time. Here’s How to Fix It.

Harvard Business Review

Look closely, and you’ll find that most companies have stretched their brands and product portfolios to customers and markets in which they are undifferentiated and profits are weak. We recommend zero-based budgeting and planning to make the choices clearer. This is why we find a zero-based approach preferable.