Opening Act: the theater
Every year, like clockwork, the curtain rises. Spreadsheets fly, PowerPoint decks multiply, and department heads rehearse their lines. The budgeting season has arrived. Everyone plays their part. Sales come in with cautious forecasts. Operations fights to protect headcount. Marketing defends campaign spend with passion and polish. Finance, meanwhile, facilitates the act, clipboard in hand, timing each scene. This well-rehearsed cycle is exactly why we need budgeting without the theater. Because while the words may sound sophisticated, zero-based budgeting, resource reallocation, strategic trade-offs, the truth is, much of it is performance. And everyone knows the script.
The Familiar Comfort of the Budgeting Script
Why does this keep happening? Because it’s safe. Familiar. Bounded. Budgeting gives teams something concrete to focus on — timelines, templates, tasks. In the chaos of daily operations, it offers a sense of structure. A season with a start, a finish, and predictable applause. But structure isn’t the same as substance.
What often gets lost in the act is the hard work of prioritization. Real prioritization. Not the kind where everyone asks for more, knowing they’ll be cut back. Not the kind where leaders quietly agree to padded targets in exchange for year-end wiggle room. But the kind where choices are exposed, trade-offs made visible, and alignment becomes the goal — not survival.
Because let’s be honest: many budgets are built to protect, not to grow.
And when the show ends, the irony begins. Those negotiated numbers — the ones massaged, padded, and compromised — become like a gospel. Performance reviews, bonuses, and even job security are all tied back to targets that nobody truly believed in. Beat them, and you’re punished with higher expectations next year. Miss them, and the blame game begins. It’s no wonder people disengage. Trust erodes, and Finance is left managing a process that everyone participates in, but few believe in. Thats why we need budgeting without the theater.
The Real Cost of Budget Theater
When budgeting becomes a performance, it loses its true purpose: to focus the organization. A good budget is not a prediction: it’s a commitment, a handshake. It should be a clear story about where the business is headed and what it’s willing to invest in. It should surface tensions, provoke decisions, and create a roadmap for resource allocation: budgeting without the theater
When that doesn’t happen, the damage is subtle but significant. Projects go ahead because money was earmarked six months ago, not because they still make sense. Teams work toward targets they don’t understand or agree with, and leaders fly blind, relying on numbers no one fully owns. What about Finance? Finance becomes a reactive force. Explaining variances, justifying changes, smoothing over gaps. All while wondering: did the plan ever reflect reality to begin with? The real danger isn’t the missed forecast. It’s the missed opportunity to think strategically.
Reimagining What Budgeting Can Be Without the Theater
Now imagine something different: budgeting without the theater. What if budgeting wasn’t about “defending your ask”, but about clarifying your purpose? What if leaders came to budget reviews ready to ask: What matters most? Can we delay something? Is there something in the budget no longer worth pursuing? That kind of budgeting feels different. It sharpens thinking. It aligns resources, and it surfaces what’s truly at stake.
That kind of approach changes the role of Finance completely. No longer the spreadsheet gatekeeper, Finance becomes the architect of intent. Especially Controllers, who should be the quiet force behind the scenes, asking the questions others won’t:
- If we commit to this, what’s our path to delivery?
- What are the signals if this goes off track?
- If we had to cut 10%, what would we drop first?
These aren’t accounting questions: they’re leadership questions. And when Finance is trusted enough to ask them, and the business is open enough to answer, something powerful happens: Budgeting becomes real
Rolling Budgets: Keeping Planning Alive
Another reason budgeting falls short? Timing. Most budgets are frozen in place based on assumptions made months before the year begins. But business doesn’t move that way anymore. Costs shift, demand changes, and new information arrives every week. That’s why static annual budgets are dangerous. They trap teams in yesterday’s logic.
More companies are shifting toward rolling planning: not because it’s trendy, but because it’s practical. Budgets aren’t scrapped, but kept alive. Reviewed quarterly and adjusted based on what’s real. It’s not chaos, but discipline in motion. In our own company, we’ve adopted a 3-6-9 cadence. After each quarter, we revisit the plan. Not to rebuild from scratch, but to realign. What changed? What surprised us? Where should we double down or pull back? Are there any new business opportunities we should invest in? This rhythm gives us the structure we need and the flexibility we lacked. It keeps the conversation open, and it keeps Finance close to the business. Because budgeting isn’t a Q4 activity, it’s a year-long act of focus.
Budgeting Ownership: It’s a Shared Responsibility
Over a decade ago, I made the mistake that many early-career Finance professionals make: I believed Finance created the budget. I spent weeks, sometimes months, locked in spreadsheets from September through October, drafting what I thought was a solid budget. The narrative was fully shaped by me, with me polishing the numbers, and eventually standing in front of the management team, presenting it like a well-rehearsed script. I even tried to defend it, as if it were a personal masterpiece.
What I didn’t realize back then, and what experience painfully taught me, is that I wasn’t speaking from knowledge. I was speaking for the business without actually being the business, while not having any real insight into operations: no grounding in procurement realities, no pulse on business opportunities or commercial risks. I had the form, not the substance. It wasn’t bad intent: it was naivety, and it got me into some tough spots because you can’t tell someone else’s story, no matter how polished your slides are.
And that brings us to a common misconception: Finance owns the budget. No! Finance owns the process. The business owns the numbers. And that distinction changes everything. When Finance tries to own both, it becomes overbearing — or worse, irrelevant. When it owns neither, it becomes a glorified spreadsheet vendor.
The magic is in the partnership
Business teams bring insight, ambition, and operational detail. Finance brings structure, challenge, and strategic discipline. And that challenge part is vital. It’s not about saying “no.” It’s about helping people think. Real ownership means leaders commit not just to numbers, but to what those numbers represent. It means they’re ready to defend them, adapt them, and execute against them. Not just once a year, but every day.
Budgeting as a Strategic Act
Let’s go back to first principles: budgeting without the theater. Budgeting is not about accuracy: it’s about alignment. It’s about saying: “Given what we know today, this is what we choose to do.” It’s about resourcing strategy: not just reporting it. And just like a good strategy, a good budget evolves. It holds its purpose but adjusts its path. It doesn’t trap teams, but guides them instead. Done right, the budget becomes a story: where we’re going, what we believe in, and what we’re willing to invest in. And Finance becomes the editor — sharpening that story, not scripting it alone.
Curtain Call
So here’s the invitation:
Take budgeting off the stage and start budgeting without the theater
Strip away the props, drop the scripts, replace theater with conversation, and replace comfort with clarity. And if you’re in Finance, lead from beside, not behind, and not from the front. Be the partner that challenges, supports, and elevates. When budgeting becomes real, it stops being a ritual and starts becoming a rhythm. As it becomes a rhythm, it becomes something even more powerful: a tool that actually drives the business forward.
Want more practical insight on how Finance can lead with clarity and confidence?
If you’ve ever wondered what Finance looks like when it becomes a force for alignment, change, and growth — you’ll find it there. Subscribe to never miss a post at https://www.technology-gate.com/.
