Unlike traditional budgets, zero-based budgeting requires justification of every single expense outlined in the budget. Zero-based budget planning starts from the zero baseline and every element of the budget is analyzed. Managers or department heads, if it is a government agency, will justify the reasoning behind their budget request. Most budgets are incremental and automatically increase the previous year's budget. Depending on the budget review, a department may or may not get a budget increase. This type of budget planning has both advantages and disadvantages, but in the long run, if planned and conducted correctly, it will prove to be a more viable way to prepare a budget. Companies that have adopted the zero-based budgeting approach have generally reported improvements and money savings, improved services, or both (LaFaive, 2003). Zero-based budgeting comes with many benefits. An important benefit of zero-based budgeting is that it will make a manager or department head more aware of their department's financial requirements. This will eliminate a...