Description
Book SynopsisThis book is an introductory level budgeting and financial management textbook for students who are interested in learning how budgeting occurs in public and nonprofit organizations. The author uses homework assignments and PowerPoint Slides that make course preparation and instruction easy for the student and instructor.
Trade ReviewThis text is an excellent resource for graduate students in public budgeting and financial management courses. By combining public finance theory with practical applications and tools, this book allows students in my classes to prepare budget proposals, develop and defend capital budgets and capital improvement plans, and use a range of budgeting techniques and analytical models to prepare personnel services and operating budgets. Most importantly, the book’s contents make it easy for students to apply what they have learned directly into their work as public servants. As one student proclaimed, “I continue to be very pleased with the Menifield book which has tended to overlap with my experiences. For example, my agency is struggling with a structural deficit and utilizing other funds to maintain service levels, much like he discussed in chapter 7’”. The text also provides faculty with a plethora of resources (exercise solutions, power point presentations by chapter, instructors’ manual, and excel spreadsheets).
-- Lachezar Anguelov, Evergreen State College
The Basics of Public Budgeting and Financial Management offers basic budgeting and financial management skills that can be easily grasped by undergraduates, graduates, and practitioners. It is a great tool for helping students understand budgeting from both a theoretical and practical perspective. Not only are students provided with a rich understanding of theory, they are given hands-on experience with developing, justifying, and defending budgets, all of which are integral to bridging theory and practice.
Each chapter contains questions that require application of the materials learned as well as exercises to help students improve their analytical, decision-making, and written communication skills. The book also provides partially filled Excel spreadsheets which are instrumental in providing students an opportunity to acquire experience in revenue estimation and budget preparation. Last, the book is accompanied with power point presentations and an instructor’s manual which further makes the course easier to teach.
-- LaShonda M. Stewart, Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations
List of Tables
List of Exhibits
Preface
Acknowledgments
General Book and Class Guidelines, Suggestions, and Pointers
1. The Context of Public Sector Budgets
Appendices 1A-1G
2. Preparing a Budget Proposal
Appendices 2A-2D
3. Personnel Services and Operating Budgets
Appendices 3A-3C
4. Preparing a Capital Budget and a Capital Improvement Plan
Appendices 4A-4E
5. Funding State and Local Budgets
Appendices 5A-5G
6. Budgeting Techniques and Analytical Models
Appendices 6A-6C
7. Financial Management
Appendices 7A-7E
8. Effectively Communicating Data
Appendix 8A-8B
References
About the Author
