Good food for thought. It depends on the structure of the organization but, typically, these budgets are established among departments and communicated through each division’s key personnel once they’ve been established by directors. IMFC Meeting 2012 courtesy of www.flickr.com sharing The larger the company the more stress it is for the CFO. Smaller companies tend to rely on their CFO in that way. However, trust they are thankful when they have a peer of directors to assist in setting the budget. Distribution of management is key because employee capital and retention are important. The greater the company size the more you have to look at management’s threshold to maintain. That said, if you are the marketing manager much to your chagrin, the thought of having to do more with less can be stressful without a rapport. That’s the downside. The good side is that innovation can develop and thrive.