On 24 March 2004, ICAEW and CIMA held a joint round table event at Chartered Accountants Hall. The intention of the gathering was for senior members of both institutes to discuss some of the practical issues and challenges they face in planning and budgeting. The event was introduced by Paul Druckman, deputy president of ICAEW and chaired by Charles Tilley, the chief executive of CIMA.

The evening started with presentations from Dr Mike Bourne of Cranfield School of Management, Dr Peter Bunce of the Beyond Budgeting Round table and Dr Stephen Lyne and Professor David Dugdale from the University of Bristol. They set the scene for the day by presenting the results of their research and highlighting the latest thinking on the subject.

In the ensuing round table discussions, participants highlighted examples of best practice in their own organisations, as well as suggesting areas deserving of further research or improvement. The debate was lively, and, if there was one overall conclusion of this session, it was that budgeting is alive and well, though practice is evolving with new tools and techniques.

The event was held under ‘Chatham House’rules, i.e. participants could be open in the knowledge that their comments would not be attributed to their companies, many of whom were large and well-known. (PDF 479KB)