Certified Materials and Resource Professional Practice 2026 – All-in-One Guide to Exam Excellence!

The correct answer highlights a potential disadvantage of participatory budgeting—specifically, the tendency for a top-down approach in budget decisions. When participatory budgeting is not effectively implemented, there could be insufficient empowerment of lower-level employees and stakeholders, resulting in management maintaining control over final budgeting decisions. This can undermine the intention of participatory budgeting, which aims to engage a broader base of participants in the budgeting process and improve input from various levels within the organization.

In a truly participatory process, input from employees can foster greater involvement, enhance ownership of budgetary outcomes, and lead to more accurate and relevant budget planning. While these benefits are often discussed, the risk remains that without genuine commitment to collaborative decision-making, the final outcomes may still reflect a top-down dynamic, limiting the potential benefits of participatory budgeting. Thus, recognizing this disadvantage is crucial for organizations that seek to implement participatory budgeting effectively.