Your annual voted amount is your A-base. Every year you re-challenge it. It's kind of like going to zero budget. Normally, going forward, you should be able to defend A-base. Anything above that has to be justified. We had not gone through one in the OIC for several years, but cyclically organizations will go right back to zero. In this case, we just wanted to implement a new business model to reach efficiency and justify not just the existing resources but the increased resources against that model. The A-base is something you do with an outside third-party consultant who specializes in that. They have a challenge function. It's not just a question of selling you a product. They have to live by and behind their recommendations as well.
On June 3rd, 2009. See this statement in context.