Westport Electric Corporation

Westport Electric Corporation

Dana L. Clinton

Benedictine University

MBA603: Cost Analysis, Profit Planning and Control

November 2, 2014

As a member of the Westport executive team, there are a few concerns I would have along with James King regarding the budget approval process. The concerns may illicit lengthy discussions, require input from all division, may result in several internal changes in process and in mindset along with aligning goals amongst the divisions and the company as a whole. The budgeting staff is tasked with preparing documents for review without providing input on the efficiency or effectiveness of the changes recommended. It is important to identify justifications for budget increases or operational changes for each division, especially budgets that impact costs and profitability. In his shift from working as budgeting manager within a division, to becoming the budgeting supervisor in the corporate organization, Mr. King has dual knowledge of the process and can assist with aligning divisional objectives with corporate goals.

Mr. King’s major concern was based on the internal evaluation methods for approving the administrative staff budgets. The accounting figures were basically signed off by the vice president of the finance department once the divisional controller felt the budget presented was in line with divisional goals and operations. Mr. King determined that the process for evaluating budget proposals were not effective for the company. In the example of the Industrial Relations department, the benefits for taking the management training may outweigh the cost to the customers. These are the type of effectiveness decisions that the executive team should be able to look to the vice president in charge of the division for a level of decision making. The finance vice president should be more involved in the approval process with input from the each divisional controller and vice president. The fact that in almost every case the...