Citibank Indonesia

Citibank’s budgeting process is based on a bottom-up method. It is not compromised of specific goals to be attained by individual operating units, but is composed for the corporation as a whole. Citibank was aiming for long-term goals, which call for profit growth of 12-15% per year, 1.25% return on assets, and 20% return on equity. These standards are set for the entire company, and individual sectors, such as international branches, usually set their own higher goals because they expect to exceed the norms. Headquarters send out budget instructions mid-year with all the financial information from January through June. It is the operating manager’s job to prepare a forecast for the remaining period of the year, and also construct a budget for the following year. In order to compose the budget, managers begin by examining the projections from each major account relationships, and hold discussions about those accounts until the account relationship projections add up to coincide with the desired profit bottom line. Every level of management is involved with the budgeting process. Subsequent, the cost projections are also considered. Formal reviews of the annual budgets are held at different times of the year depending on the division, group, and institutional bank levels. Budgets are submitted with the assumption that sovereign risk will be approved; however, if the sovereign risk is erroneously incorporated, then the budget has to be re-evaluated. Each quarter a new estimation for the remainder of the year’s budget is made. Management oversees performance by comparing it against the budget each month throughout the year. Budgets are important to the functionality of the company. The budget is significant because it evaluates success, and because it is directly linked as a major incentive for managers’ bonuses.