The Beyond Budgeting principles
Change in leadership Change in processes
1. Values - Govern through a few clear values, goals and
boundaries, not detailed rules and budgets
2. Performance - Create a high performance climate
based on relative success, not on meeting fixed targets
3. Transparency - Promote open information for self
management, don’t restrict it hierarchically
4. Organization - Organize as a network of lean,
accountable teams, not around centralized functions
5. Autonomy - Give teams the freedom and capability to
act; don’t micro-manage them
6. Customers - Focus everyone on improving customer
outcomes, not on hierarchical relationships
7. Goals - Set relative goals for continuous improvement,
don’t negotiate fixed performance contracts
8. Rewards - Reward shared success based on relative
performance, not on meeting fixed targets
9. Planning - Make planning a continuous and inclusive
process, not a top-down annual event
10. Coordination - Coordinate interactions dynamically, not
through annual planning cycles
11. Resources - Make resources available as needed, not
through annual budget allocations
12. Controls - Base controls on relative indicators and
trends, not on variances against plan
