FINANCIAL PLANNING AND CONTROL A KEY TO MANAGEMENT EFFICIENCY
(A CASE STUDY OF NIGERIAN BREWERIES PLC)]
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1       BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
It is obvious that we are living in an era of planning and control. Whether it be a student with his or her daily upkeep or the industrialist with his responsibilities to shareholders, planning and control are daily lives activities and it is an essential factor in national business and private life.
In a competitive world where the key factors are costs, price turnover and profit, planning and control enable every individual to have a sound appreciation of the financial implication of his plane and actions, and this financial plan and control can be used by any type and size of organization. As a tool of management, it can increase the efficiency of the organization as a whole since all the departments are involved. The efficiency and effectiveness of any organization depend on a number of factors which may be categorized as clarify of purpose, managements planning, control and communication. There is need to have a knowledge of the objectives of the organization otherwise it will not be possible to identify goals and set target for their achievement.
According to Ekweueme P. “Finance is the art and science of managing money, it is concerned with the process, institutions, markets and instrument involved in transfer of money among and between individuals business and government.
According to Orji J. “finance function deals with raising of fund and investing them in assets. He went further to say that financial management is the management activity that is concerned with the planning and controlling of the firms financial resource. The duty of the financial manager is to implement the acquisition, allocation and management of the resources. Finance therefore spreads into all segments of the firm’s activities thus its function must be understood by all segments of a firms activities and the function must be understood by all the managers in the firm.
Having known the future financial needs of a firm and its financial policies, the question then is how are these finance or fund raised? In taking this decision, it required the knowledge of the financial markets and how to make sound investment decision and to stimulate efficient operations in the organization.
This needed fund are sourced through internal and external source but before looking outside a firm for fund, the possibility of providing such funds internally should be examined. This source is mostly used for the firms expansion and should not be overlooked when planning finance. They are generated from the operations of the firm and is mostly made up of undistributed profits, depreciation provision tax provision and reduction in current assets. The external sources on the other hand are made up of two main types namely short-term funds and long-term funds.
The short-term fund consist of trade credit, bank overdraft, bank loans, promissory notes etc. the long-term, refer to funds obtained either from loans with maturity dated several years in the future or from the owners of the business. This long-term fund is made up of equity fund and debt.
Equity fund represent the total interest of the owners of the business in the form of original share contribution plus subsequent addition either by way of additional investment or by ploughing back profit or reserves into the business. Debts are the long-term debt obligations of the business and it is usually made up of secured and unsecured debentures and bonds. The main sources of these long-term funds are the banks and the capital markets.
Financial planning and control therefore is said to be the name given to a system which is being used to increase overall management efficiency. It is concerned with planning for allocation of resources, monitoring the usage of these resources to assist in achieving the objectives of effectiveness and efficiency in both large and small scale organization.
The need for financial planning therefore arises because financial resources are limited and costly and even where the resources are available, the areas into which they could be applied profitable are diverse. Planning and control act as a device that enables management to anticipate change and adapt to it. No business exists without this two concept and success in business is proportionate to its planning and the skill with which it is controlled.
 1.2       STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
In spite of all the write up concerning the raising of fund and their utilization, most  organization however take the sledge hammer to crack nuts while trying to achieve their goals. This study will therefore try to answer  such question like:
-      What problems affect the implementation of financial planning and control system in a company?
-      Do you think the fund manager of Nigeria Breweries exercise prudence in their work? If not does it affect planning and control in the company.
-      What kind of control should be applied and how effective is this control?
 1.3       OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The major objective of this project is to develop a realistic picture of how financial planning and control can help make an organization more efficient, effective and successful since it helps managers to know the financial implications of their plans and actions.
 1.4       RESEARCH QUESTIONS
-           What do you think is the major problem that affects the implementation of financial planning and control; system in the company.
-           Do you think the fund manager of Nigerian Breweries exercises prudence in their work? If not does it affect planning and control in the company.
-           What is the implication of poor financial planning and control.
 1.5       STATEMENT OF HYPOTHESIS
HO:     The present economic situation is not the major problems that affects the implication of financial planning and control system in the company.
HI:       The present economic situation is the major problems that affects the implementation of financial planning and control system in the company.
HO:     The attitude of fund managers of Nigeria Breweries as regards to exercising of prudence in their work does not affects planning and control in the company.
HI:       The attitudes of fund managers in Nigerian Breweries as regards to exercising of prudence in their work affect planning and control in the company.
HO:     Poor planning and control does not affect the maximization of profit in the company.
HI:       Poor planning and control affect the maximization of profit in the company.  
 1.6       SCOPE OF THE STUDY
This project write up intends to explain how the financial function can assist in the planning and control of large scale organization in Nigeria.
However, the study will cover only one organization “Nigeria Breweries Plc.
 1.7       SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
In a competitive world, the key factor are costs, price, turnover and profit and these re factors which no manager can ignore. No business can survive for long time unless it makes an adequate profit, otherwise the investors who supply the capital will take steps to wind it up and the overall measure of efficiency and the sign of success.
The importance of this study will lie in the development of methods of using financial planning and control to help management in making relevant policy decision which if well applied will increase their efficiency and effectiveness. This will in turn help create an opportunity for the firm to achieve their maximum profit which will be beneficial to the share holders employee future project writers and the community at large.
 1.9       DEFINITION OF TERMS
CONTROL:               Is the measurement of accomplishment of event against standard of plans and the correction of deviations to assure attainment of objectives according to plan.
EFFICIENCY:           Is concerned with the quality of people and the resources required to achieve an organisation’s goal.
EQUITY FUNDS: Funds made available to a firm by the investing public in exchange for part ownership, of the firm.
FINANCE:                 Act of sourcing, allocating and investing of funds with a view of achieving the corporate objectives of the owners of the business.
INDUSTRIALIST: A person who owns or runs a large factory or industrial company.
MANAGEMENT: The process by which a co-operative groups directs actions towards common goal.
OBJECTIVE:             The goal organization or individual sets out to achieve.
ORGANIZATION:    A complex social system which brings together a number of individuals proper.
PLANNING:              It involves selection from alternatives. It is deciding in advance what to do, how to do it, when to do it and who is to do it.
POLICIES:                 Plans of action, principles on which an organization is being run.
TURNOVER:            The rate at which goods or services of an organization are sold and replaced by others.
VARIANCE:              Is the difference between the standard or budgeted cost and the comparable actual cost for a particular period.