PAF 9140 Budgeting and Financial Analysis 1

Course Description

This course focuses on the budget cycle and budget decision-making. Emphasis is placed on preparing a budget proposal for an initiative, such as a proposal to add a policy objective to a government agency. Basic finance and budget accounting concepts are studied. In the nonprofit sector a budget initiative might be thought of as the core of a grant proposal.

A budget is not just the tables and math that demonstrate the cost of a program, but, more importantly, it is the communication with the decision maker. This skill is a scaled down version of preparing a typical budget. Students will learn to communicate the importance of the initiative, the expected outcomes of the initiative, the reasons why the initiative should produce those outcomes, and the rudiments of checking to see whether the outcomes obtain. A departmental budget should communicate the same information about a broader set of decision maker objectives.

Public budgeting involves the allocation of resources to meet those objectives the public most values. This goal involves balancing costs and goals. From the view of the prospective public servant, it is important to get enough resources to perform the assigned duty. From the view of the decision maker, it is important to conserve resources, allocating no more than are minimally necessary to any one objective, as there is a seemingly unlimited number of objectives demanded by various constituencies. These conflicting goals create the tension that is observed in all forms of budget decision-making, both in the initial resource allocation and the continuing review of usage.

We also discuss the established means of cutting budgets in hard times.

In this course, you learn:
• How to make a request that will either produce adequate funding to perform the duties implied in an initiative or a decision not to pursue the initiative. While you may prefer to obtain the funds, a secondary goal is to avoid being assigned a duty without enough resources to succeed.
• Why budgeting is central to public decision-making and how to participate within this setting.

Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:
• Use a variety of budget and accounting terms,
• Read a budget document,
• Use the variety of documents sometimes called a “budget,”
• Apply specific analysis skills to budgetary problems including:
• Converting nominal dollars to real dollars.
• Make a cost estimate using work breakdown concepts.
• Establish an operating plan.
• Conduct a variance analysis.
• Prepare a budget proposal for an individual initiative within a policy environment,
• Understand and explain the role of budgeting in managing public organizations,
• Understand and explain the political nature of budgetary decisions,
• Prepare legislative testimony and make an oral presentation,
• Follow through with budget implementation, and
• Use some elements of the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR)
• Evaluate alternatives to address cutbacks.