Open Access

Niklas Benzenhöfer, Patrick KrausORCiD, Markus Buchner, Dennis SchlegelORCiD

• This paper analyses the evolving landscape of budget planning in the context of recent global crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and the semiconductor crisis. These events have compelled organisations to reassess traditional budgeting methods, advocating for more flexible and resilient approaches. Traditional budgets have long been criticised for being time-consuming, costly, lacking a focus on long-term growth, and for their inflexibility, often leading to counterproductive budgeting practices. Through a qualitative, semi-structured interview approach, our study addresses a critical gap in the existing literature, which predominantly comprises quantitative analyses and case studies. It provides detailed insights into the benefits and challenges of budgeting from the perspective of practitioners. It contributes to the discourse by incorporating practices from German firms and updating practitioners’ views on budgeting in crisis-prone and uncertain environments.