Sales Forecasting and Budget DevelopmentIntroductionThis paper will summarize the findings of the Cassar and Gibson (2008) study. Analogies and experiences will also be used to discuss and analyze the results of the study. The relevance of these findings to the relationship between forecasting methods and budget development will also be discussed. Finally, this paper will also provide recommendations on how organizations can address the strategic relationship between planning and performance. A summary of the results of the Cassar and Gibson (2008) study. There are many variables used to make forecasts and these variables include patterns of past sales, sales in the current period, the economic environment, changes in the firm's activities and prices, and the product mix (Cassar & Gibson, 2008). Cassar and Gibson (2008) attempted to determine the role budget preparation and internal accounting reporting play in determining forecast accuracy. According to Cassar and Gibson (2008), 3,618 Australian companies with fewer than 200 employees participated in this study. The study determined that there was a 1.84% improvement in forecast accuracy due to budgeting and an 8.56% improvement due to the preparation of internal accounting reports (Cassar & Gibson, 2008). According to this same source, an 11.8% more accurate forecast was obtained when both budget and internal accounting reports were used as part of the forecast (Cassar & Gibson, 2008). What these findings mean is that while the budget tells where the organization is going in the future, the internal accounting reports will tell where the organization has been. It seems that since the forecast uses historical data to predict future finance, has an action plan defined by the current situation and what lies ahead in the competitive environment, it will automatically know what to do to create a sustainable competitive advantage. The organization will also be able to outperform companies that do not plan ahead. Conclusion As can be seen, this article summarizes the results of Cassar and Gibson's (2008) study on the effects of budget and internal accounting ratios on forecasts. A similar situation regarding forecasts involving the pharmaceutical industry was also discussed. Additionally, another source with a different perspective was also analyzed that specifically focused on how budgets impact forecasts. Finally, this paper also discussed the relationship between planning and performance, as well as which sectors benefited the most from planning.