The Budget and Financial Control

Abstract

While a lot of time and effort goes into the development and monitoring of budgets, it is important to realise that a budget is no more than a plan or guide of what is expected to happen in the hospital or department over the next 12 months. From a health services perspective, a budget provides an agreed target of both inputs and outputs. Budgets can be viewed in terms of clinical outputs such as operations, babies delivered or discharges, or from the financial perspective of expenses or costs. This chapter will explore and discuss the budgeting process in terms of its application to health services management as well as the budgetary components.