Explain the concept of "drag" in budgeting and how to mitigate it.

• A. A fixed cost that does not vary with volume.
• B. A budget line that decreases automatically with time.
• C. A strategy to increase costs intentionally.
• D. External or internal factors that slow growth or inflate costs; mitigate by process simplification, renegotiation, or removing inefficiencies.

Answer: (D)