Reframing Budgeting in Dynamic Environments: Unveiling the Invisible Behind the Visible
Several studies have investigated the role that the budget can play in contexts characterized by continuous changes, emphasizing the necessary incompleteness of accounting practices as a driver for addressing unforeseen or unknown phenomena. Embracing this perspective requires a shift in focus from the budget’s ability to make objectives visible to the process through which those objectives are defined. Any deviation from the initial goals is not as a drift, but it is rather the result of a never-ending process where the budget engages the actor and unveil the narrative hidden within its assumptions, provided that the actor engages in conscious questioning. This raises the question of whether and how the budget can support decision-making processes in highly dynamic environments, encouraging innovative and creative visions of future scenarios. To this end, a case study was conducted on a company operating in the Italian energy efficiency sector. The analysis revealed that the budgeting process stimulated critical thinking among the actors involved, who, by interrogating the figures, uncovered new growth trajectories. They revised the budgeting assumptions prompting a reconfiguration of the business portfolio and financing policies.
Keywords: Budgeting, Calculations, Uncertainty, Interrogating
