A budget is a road map that shows where an organization wants to go financially and how it plans to get there. Budgets are used for board oversight, goal focus, and financial control. The major advantages of budget planning are planning, communication, motivation, control, and evaluation. The master budget comprises the sales budget, production budget, direct materials budget, direct labor budget, manufacturing overhead budget, selling and administrative expense budget, and budgeted income statement. It also includes the budgeted balance sheet and cash budget. Effective budgeting requires determining the length of the budget period and involving participation from different levels of management.