Which is not a step in the budget process?

In the context of the budget process, the steps typically include preparation, monitoring, and evaluation. Preparing the budget involves gathering data, forecasting revenues and expenses, and creating a draft for approval. Monitoring is an ongoing process that occurs throughout the budget period, ensuring that actual expenditures and revenues align with the budget, allowing for necessary adjustments. Evaluation involves reviewing the budget at its conclusion to assess its effectiveness and learning from any discrepancies or successes.

Advocacy, while important in many aspects of organizational operations—such as gaining support for proposals or funding—does not constitute a formal step within the budget process itself. It is more about promoting the budget or seeking approval from stakeholders rather than directly managing or tracking the budget's execution. Hence, advocacy is not a recognized step in the structured budget process.