The purpose of this research was to investigate the relationship between budget processes and levels of organizational trust in universities. A series of semi-structured interviews were conducted with senior administrative personnel in universities across Canada. A relationship was found to exist between university administrators' level of organizational trust and their views regarding the approach and value of the budgeting process at their institution. The trust levels are influenced by the correspondence between the stated goals and directions of the university with actual resource allocations, the level of influence the individual felt they had on the budget process, and the degree that the budget could be used to predict financial impacts under various scenarios. This study provides new information on the way budgets can affect the workings and organizational culture of the university. It shows that there is a relationship between budgets and organizational trust and presents evidence that individuals' attitudes toward cost information differ from that of the budget itself. It shows that the usefulness of budgets as a management tool is increased when users recognize that it functions as a broad communications medium--both the manner in which it is developed and the financial information it presents can affect organizational trust.