Preparing a budget allows you to establish short or long term goals. Most often, the duration of a budget is one year, but budgets can be established over a long period of time. A long-term budget should at least cover a period of five years (Kimmel, 2009). Determining whether to budget for the short or long term depends on a business's needs. Since a long-term budget is typically used to measure progress, it would be more likely to be implemented in a construction project such as a bridge or highway. Additionally, a long-term budget contains far less detail than a short-term budget. In my opinion, a long term budget would be more difficult to establish due to inflation and economic factors. This is why research is a key step in the planning process. A budget is only part of a master budget. A master budget integrates numerous budgets constituting a plan of action for a specified period of time (Kimmel, 2009). The budgeting process, depending on the size of the business, may be carried out by one or more individuals working together to achieve one or more goals. In function ...