CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
Budgeting in the Global Internet Communication Technology Industry
OVERVIEW
The Internet communication technology sector is a natural extension of an industry that has flourished for 160 years. Western Union, for example, traces its roots back to the 1851 birth of its ancestor firm, Ntew York & Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company. Nevertheless, the Internet itself has only existed for a single generation: Google, for instance, was created as recently as 1996 and Facebook in 2004.
This marriage of a relatively ancient industry service with a fledgling electronic delivery platform presents numerous challenges to accountants in the field of budgeting. Although many of the terms and techniques of budget planning in this sector are consistent with those utilized since the 1800s, the characteristics and complications of Internet connectivity have produced a number of unique considerations.
The purpose of this chapter is to extend selected material from the first four parts of this book by elaborating on how the content should be applied to the global Internet communication technology industry. It introduces new concepts that address a number of emerging trends in the accounting profession, involving issues that extend beyond Internet communications, and that are relevant to many different entrepreneurial sectors.
For instance, in the “Essentials from Earlier Chapters” section of this chapter, we revisit the planning ...
