Budgeting & Forecasting › Zero-Based Budgeting

How does ZBB relate to activity-based budgeting?

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Answer

Both focus on activities and challenge historical spending. ABB budgets resources based on the cost of activities needed to meet demand (driver-based), while ZBB justifies and ranks activities from zero by value. They're complementary: ABB gives the activity-cost logic and ZBB the prioritization/justification discipline; used together they link spending to both demand and value.
Real-world example Combining ABB's driver-based costing with ZBB's justification produces budgets tied to both activity levels and value.

Common follow-ups: How do ABB and ZBB complement each other? | What does each contribute?