Budgets are only good when they reflect a strong understanding of the business and the business is managed proactively.

I am always interested in the process that was followed when a budget was developed - was it done by the accountant at nights to meet a bank requirement or with management and operations to plan the best result for the budget period?  Was there a lot of debate about why things are done the way they are? Does it reflect the business plan - in whatever form that is? Are the reasons for missing budget explained as "poor budgeting" or "timing"?

A poor budget is like a blunt knife - it looks the part but is not worth having and leads to the deepest cuts.