The Basics of Public Budgeting and Financial Management brings budgetary theory and practice together, filling the void between the two that has existed in the field of budgeting and public finance. This book bridges the gap by providing the reader with applications and exercises that reinforce budgetary theory. Students are given the opportunity to learn various concepts and skills necessary to succeed in the field and the exercises provided in each chapter require application of what is learned. Specifically, students will be exposed to basic budget and finance concepts, public revenue, financial management, risk assessment, cost benefit analysis, and so on. This handbook also provides great tools that allow the user to visually display budgets and other analysis. Students will gain the solid foundation needed to begin work in a budget office. Features of this second edition include enhanced data and optional in-class assignments. For ancillary materials, please contact the author at [email protected].

A resource for administrators seeking innovative ideas and supporting precedents in formulating policy, this book also provides a useful textbook for public administration and policy students. It employs a wealth of case studies in budgeting and financial management to demonstrate strategies in system implementation, policy formulation, government accounting, auditing, and financial reporting. With contributions from leading experts, it clarifies procedures to solve cutback and downsizing dilemmas using theoretical models, and provides pragmatic approaches to managing financial activities under budgetary strain. It also covers the evolution of a debt management policy.

Budgeting is probably the single most important function in government, considering the amount of money a government spends each year on various expenditure programs and activities, as well as the time it spends in preparing the budget, appropriating funds for these activities and, finally, executing them. This book integrates the complex theory and practice of public budgeting into a single text. Written in a simple, concise and easy to understand manner, The Fundamentals of Public Budgeting and Finance captures the multidimensional perspective of public budgeting that students, as well as practitioners will find useful.

The general analytical skills of public finance are presented in this comprehensive manual through a building block approach to principles, procedures, and methodologies to give a clear picture of how governments manage their finances. Knowledge of public finance, including current policy and legislation, is easy to grasp from the chapter design of the book which aims to establish a consistent pedagogy for the user. Each new subject is introduced with figures, illustrations (anecdotal cartoons), and tables.

Traditionally, economics training in public finances has focused more on tax than public expenditure issues, and within expenditure, more on policy considerations than the more mundane matters of public expenditure management. For many years, the IMF's Public Expenditure Management Division has answered specific questions raised by fiscal economists on such missions. Based on this experience, these guidelines arose from the need to provide a general overview of the principles and practices observed in three key aspects of public expenditure management: budget preparation, budget execution, and cash planning. For each aspect of public expenditure management, the guidelines identify separately the differing practices in four groups of countries - the francophone systems, the Commonwealth systems, Latin America, and those in the transition economies. Edited by Barry H. Potter and Jack Diamond, this publication is intended for a general fiscal, or a general budget, advisor interested in the macroeconomic dimension of public expenditure management.