The general ledger is the “log book” for all financial transactions in a business. In Healthcare Technology Management (HTM), many of these transactions are a result of purchasing activities associate with the HTM supply chain. The basic financial statements, such as income and cashflow statements, can summarize and describe these transactions in a way that helps the business assess the effectiveness of their strategies and show the status of their accounts. However, the basic financial statements do not detail the business plans, projected performance, or validation of current performance against that plan. That is the purpose of the operational budget.