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Local budgeting serves important functions that include setting priorities, planning, financial control over inputs, management of operations and accountability to citizens. These objectives give rise to technical and policy issues that require open discussion and debate. The format of the budget document can facilitate this debate. This book provides a comprehensive treatment of all aspects of local budgeting needed to develop sound fiscal administration at the local level. Topics covered include fiscal administration, forecasting, fiscal discipline, fiscal transparency, integrity of revenue administration, budget formats, and processes including performance budgeting, and capital budgeting.

In A Good Tax, tax expert Joan Youngman skillfully considers how to improve the operation of the property tax and supply the information that is often missing in public debate. She analyzes the legal, administrative, and political challenges to the property tax in the United States and offers recommendations for its improvement. The book is accessibly written for policy analysts and public officials who are dealing with specific property tax issues and for those concerned with property tax issues in general.

FISCAM presents a methodology for performing info. system (IS) control audits of governmental entities in accordance with professional standards. FISCAM is designed to be used on financial and performance audits and attestation engagements. The methodology in the FISCAM incorp. the following: (1) A top-down, risk-based approach that considers materiality and significance in determining audit procedures; (2) Evaluation of entitywide controls and their effect on audit risk; (3) Evaluation of general controls and their pervasive impact on bus. process controls; (4) Evaluation of security mgmt. at all levels; (5) Control hierarchy to evaluate IS control weaknesses; (6) Groupings of control categories consistent with the nature of the risk. Illus.

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