Product Description
"The budget and financial reporting processes are well known sources of frustration for most CFOs. Seeking a quick fix to the problem, the common solution is to pour more money into new and better software. This leaves the root cause, the inefficient and dysfunctional underlying processes and routines, unaddressed. As this book shows, substantial and sustainable improvements are only achieved through an holistic approach to process improvement, technology, strategy, and people."
–Tom Henry Knudsen
Executive Vice President, Telenor Eiendom Fornebu AS

Proven methods for improving efficiency

Corporations face a high turnover among financial managers, rapid changes in technology, lack of time and process redesign skills, and ongoing ambiguity about primary objectives behind the budgeting and financial reporting processes.Amid this frenzy, it is the fundamental efficiency of these processes that dramatically impact overall business performance. Process Improvement for Effective Budgeting and Financial Reporting provides financial managers with a compelling blueprint for increasing efficiency and eliminating waste of time and energy.Four operational experts lay out an 80/20 plan–improving 800f processes in 200f the time it would take to improve 100%–and explain a Business Process Improvement (BPI) plan that incorporates:

• The emerging trends affecting financial managers today
• Step-by-step process implementation
• Interviews with industry leaders, consultants, and managers who have successfully instituted BPI plans
• Appraisals of the available software that can help or hinder the process

There is no substitute for improved efficiency.CFOs, controllers, budget managers, and financial analysts will significantly benefit from adding this authoritative guide to their professional libraries. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

good
I actually have decided to drop the class that I needed this book for, so am not sure of the content just yet.The book was in good shape though. ... Read more

Product Description
Leaky faucets and cracked pavement aren't the only demands on a facility manager's time and energy. These days, they also need top-notch financial skills--to sell their department to senior management, to win funds for crucial projects, to become fully integrated into the organization. Sadly, most facility managers lack even fundamental financial skills. The Facility Manager's Guide to Finance and Budgeting is the first primer designed to teach them the ropes quickly, concisely, and with minimum pain. The book explains how to: * Understand the essential concepts of facility work programs and programmatic planning and budgeting* Develop and manage an annual expense budget, then evaluate the results* Make financially sound ""go/no go"" decisions on projects requiring capital funding* Pinpoint significant cost-savings and cost-containment areas* Use unit-cost indicators to benchmark facility management initiatives* Create an information system and database that ties directly into the budget. ... Read more

Product Description
When you work, take care of a family, and maintain a home, you need practical ways to make every dollar count. The Everything Budgeting Book, 2nd Edition can help you use your money wisely today and prepare for the future at the same time!

This step-by-step guide will help you to:

• Assess and improve your spending patterns
• Find ways to save on everyday expenses
• Use worksheets to keep your finances in order
• Prepare for unexpected events and plan for the future

Customer Reviews (1)

Budgeting
We just started looking at this book and gaining ideas. The more we read through it the more we hope to gain. ... Read more

Product Description
Have you just been asked to create your first budget? Have you learned from experience that there are skills you need help with? You can gain practical tips and techniques quickly to help you participate in the budgeting process with confidence. Learn skills proven in the real world that you can apply on the job right away. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Simple and Effective
This book is simple and effective.If you want a book that gives you precise information that you can refer to again and again in short time, this book will be a great selection for you collection. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

The Art and Realism of State Budget-Making
No political figure of his time was more eloquent than the author's boss, Mario Cuomo.When asked to explain his failure to run for President, Cuomo once replied "I speak in poetry, but I govern in prose."The author of this book was one of the key figures composing the prose during his years as Cuomo's budget director.

The author has written a manual targeted for graduate students seeking to get a handle on the art and science of state budgeting.It is good enough, however, for governors, gubernatorial candidates and their staff, budget directors, and key legislative leaders and legislative staff to gain some worthwhile insights from.

This is not the book to learn the ins and outs of the step by step negotiations in New York or any other state.The author is sparing in his use of anecdotes.What he does, and does well, is to take the reader through the long and tortuous process of compiling a budget from the governor's point of view, and allowing the reader to see the obstacles any governor must face in achieving his vision under the American system of checks and balances.

"(B)udget success is the key to re-orienting government," the author writes."New programs, changed priorities, tax cuts or shifts in tax burdens, a larger or smaller role for government in the state's economy--all these objectives must be won in the budget arena....In these memos, a successful budget is one that delivers on a governor's programmatic objectives, and does so within financial constraints that help achieve or maintain structural budget balance....Budget success also requires careful consideration of long-term strategic goals, a clear understanding of the impact of the business cycle on state budgets, and effective negotiating tactics to get executive recommendations adopted...."

The author, a rather straightforward modern Machiavelli, prepares 8 memos for his protypical governor.He closes with a stern warning."If you cannot use the budget to state your goals and move state government in the direction you advocate, you are not likely to make much progress towards these goals. As your term ends, voters and the press will find it difficult to say what you have accomplished.If you have mastered the budget and adoption process, you will have a solid list of tangible achievements.Effective use of the budget as a policy and political tool is a necessary, if not quite sufficient, condition of successful leadership in the statehouse.Do everything you can as soon as you can to grab hold of the budget process and make it work for you."

The author's memos are entitled "You and Your Budget Officer," "Budget Strategy," "Preparing the Executive Budget--the Technical Underpinnings," "Choices in the Final Phase of Budget Preparation," "Budget Tactics:Laying the Groundwork for Adoption," "Going Public With the Budget," "The Legislative Phase of the Budget Process," and "Budget Execution."

Anyone holding the office of governor would likely ensure at least moderate success by intensely studying the author's book.A cautionary note is that the author does not spend much time inquiring into, or advising on, the motives of non-gubernatorial actors in the budgetary drama.A governor who really understood the positions of the advocates, the legislators, and the media--and who was able to use that understanding to lead others to achieve common ends--would do even better than one merely following this book.

The author does understand that legislators have district needs, and that legislative leaders are responsive to individual legislators, especially those in swing districts. But the interplay of localized electoral needs with statewide public policy is minimized in the author's accounts.More detailed subsequent writings may correct this.

The author's writing style is dry but decisive, like that of many other budget makers this customer reviewer has known. Every memo is full of good advice, and subtle warnings of the dangers of uncontrolled idealistic fervor to make great changes. "Publication of agency performance measures," the author warns, "may lead to an improvement in service delivery, but public performance measures can also provide quantitative evidence of government's inevitable failures and mistakes."

The author is no Don Quixote.He is a grizzled veteran of budgetary wars.
He identifies with governors and wants them to succeed.He does not identify with legislators, interest groups, and the media.He does not want them individually or collectively defeating a governor's choice of priorities, or, even worse, causing a governor to be defeated.That makes this an excellent book for understanding the gubernatorial mindset as well as the budgeting process.

A great book!
Dall Forsythe, former budget director to Gov. Mario Cuomo, has written an excellent book on how big policy decisions are made.It is written in an easy to read style in memo format for the new Governor. ... Read more

Product Description
This step-by-step guide to healthy habits of church finances will help church leaders focus their best creativity, leadership, and energy on advancing their mission.Written for committee members, key leaders, pastors, and staffs, this is a detailed account of budgeting and fund-raising, complete with charts and questionnaires.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A missional approach to giving/stewardship/INVESTMENT
Callahan takes a great view of finances in the Church. He doesn't balk at the idea that ministry takes money. But, He always presents the case in terms of people instead of paper, mission instead of mortar, and investment instead of costs...

This book promotes the idea of seeing "giving" as investement in God's mission, which is for the sake of reaching people. And, Callahan suggests that there is a greater "cost" than giving-- that is the "cost" of what we lose when we don't invest in the kingdom-- the cost of rebellious children who are not taught, the cost of marriages that are not healed, the cost of not a community not knowing God. Incredible-- it always goes back to the mission and people-- and how we can invest in the Kingdom.

Chapter 1 is among the best in this book, and details how "mission" actually builds the finances of the church (not that a church does the mission for the finances, but finances to come as a result). More finances provide for a greater investment in mission, which results in more finances, which results in an even greater investment... it's cyclical. And, often, our financial problems in the church MAY result from our missional perspective. That's what I've gathered from the book, and I'm starting to agree with it.

The middle of this book bogs a little, although it does have some practical helpson stewardship campaigns, etc. If you're a church administrator, or the treasurer, chairman of a finance committee, ministry team, etc... you might want to read this one. If you do not directly over see the finances (the nuts and bolts) try reading Callahan's other book on church finances, "Giving and Stewardship in an Effective Church," for it will appeal more to your missional theology (and much of what you find in "Effective Church Finances" is simply a rehash of the other book, some chapters even being copied verbatim).

Especially helpful book for leaders of giving campaigns.
This insightful guide explores developing the church budget, fund-raising for the budget, setting goals for the congregation, and "growing in giving" from year to year. Callahan's pithy style and original blending of practical and philosophical makes him especially helpful to leaders of giving campaigns. There is not a wasted word in any of Callahan's books, and this is no exception.

Dan Hotchkiss, senior consultant for the Alban Institute ... Read more

Product Description
Since publication of the last edition of this primer, budgeting has assumed a new importance as many colleges and universities are facing the sobering question of whether existing services and staffing levels can be sustained. This third edition is an invaluable tool in helping new academic administrators and faculty members understand how an institution s budget goes beyond mere numbers to define what an institution is all about and the significance of the budgeting process especially when there are fewer resources to allocate.

Readers will learn the basics of budgeting from allocating resources to understanding the broader implications of the current economic and political environment. They will learn the importance of linking budgeting to planning and measurement, and strategies for achieving budgetary objectives.

Just some of the topics covered include critical accounting and financial reporting issues; the importance of enrollments in determining resources, expenses, and investments; how institutional resources are expended and the problems that arise when traditional inflationary measures are applied to higher education; critical policy issues such as access, research priorities, and other demands on limited public resources; planning and budgeting cycles utilized by different types of campuses; and budgeting in times of financial crisis.

An appendix introduces readers to the various budgetary approaches that an institution might apply, and a glossary of common budgeting terms rounds out this useful text. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Budgeting in Higher Education 101
Decent book for the price. I am no fan of budgeting but it is well laid out and worth the investment if you need to beef up on the application of budgeting in Higher Education. ... Read more

Product Description
In this comprehensive reference, Roy T. Meyers provides an invaluable tool for anyone who wants to learn how the government budgeting process works, where it doesn't work, and how it can be improved. Filled with insights and wisdom from thirty-six contributors, this book presents an encyclopedic account of budgeting innovations today. Seven sections and twenty-nine chapters cover everything from current basic processes to the uncertain future of budgeting. Handbook of Government Budgeting is the definitive resource for anyone interested in the ways governments acquire and spAnd money.

Nationally and internationally respected experts such as Bob Bland, Naomi Caiden, James Chan, Philip Cooper, Larry Jones, A. Premchand, Irene Rubin, and Barry White offer the reader a full spectrum of information and ideas gleaned from a broad base of practice and research. The contributors are authorities in the fields of political science, economics, accounting, and management. They include executives, managers, analysts, consultants, and academics who have studied or worked with governments. The combined wisdom of these experts ensures the most concise, complete, and thought-provoking compilation concerning government budgeting today.

Each section of the Handbook of Government Budgeting presents multiple chapters offering different perspectives on budgetary subjects. Topics include: an overview of government budgeting; credit markets, the economy, and budget balancing; taxation in budgeting; the informational foundations of budgeting; budgeting by institutions; politics, management, and analysis in budgeting; and budgeting over time for large amounts. This comprehensive volume will prove a priceless tool to government professionals as well as professors of budgeting courses. Budgeting students and practitioners will find up-to-date information on the latest budget issues and politics in governments across federal, state, and local levels.

The teaching supplement is available directly from the author.

Interested parties should e-mail him at meyers@umbc.edu. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

On schedule
The book came as promised and is in great shape just like the discription stated.I will buy from the buyer again.Thank you. ... Read more

Product Description
Take control of your organization's short- and long-term financial plan

Now fully revised, Not-for-Profit Budgeting and Financial Management, Second Edition, offers a financial planning system that is not only easy to use and monitor, but also ensures true fiscal accountability in the complex not-for-profit arena.

• Adds three entirely new chapters on Footnoting the Statement of Activity, Presenting Cash Prepared and Accrual Statements on the same page, and The Importance of the Executive Summary
• Fully updated with the latest financial advice to benefit your nonprofit
• Explains how to separate controllable, semi-controllable, and fixed expenses
• Reveals how you can prepare and present such top-notch budget documents that budgets will be approved the first time

Written in a nontechnical, understandable format, incorporating dozens of relevant forms and documents, this completely revised and expanded edition will enable your nonprofit organization to create and manage reasonable financial plans that fit their organization's needs. ... Read more

Product Description
As Brazil and other countries in Latin America turned away from their authoritarian past and began the transition to democracy in the 1980s and 1990s, interest in developing new institutions to bring the benefits of democracy to the citizens in the lower socioeconomic strata intensified, and a number of experiments were undertaken. Perhaps the one receiving the most attention has been Participatory Budgeting (PB), first launched in the southern Brazilian city of Porto Alegre in 1989 by a coalition of civil society activists and Workers Party officials. PB quickly spread to more than 250 other municipalities in the country, and it has since been adopted in more than twenty countries worldwide. Most of the scholarly literature has focused on the successful case of Porto Alegre and has neglected to analyze how it fared elsewhere. In this first rigorous comparative study of the phenomenon, Brian Wampler draws evidence from eight municipalities in Brazil to show the varying degrees of success and failure PB has experienced. He identifies why some PB programs have done better than others in achieving the twin goals of ensuring governmental accountability and empowering citizenship rights for the poor residents of these cities in the quest for greater social justice and a well-functioning democracy. Conducting extensive interviews, applying a survey to 650 PB delegates, doing detailed analysis of budgets, and engaging in participant observation, Wampler finds that the three most important factors explaining the variation are the incentives for mayoral administrations to delegate authority, the way civil society organizations and citizens respond to the new institutions, and the particular rule structure that is used to delegate authority to citizens. ... Read more

Product Description
GOVERNMENT BUDGETEING: THEORY, PROCESS, AND POLITICS is a blend of classic and current readings that introduces students to both the historical and contemporary theoretical foundations of public budgeting. Fourteen of the forty-three readings included in this edition are new, representing recent trends in budget reform, new public management developments, and recent fiscal assessments of the states and federal government. Each major section of the book begins with an introduction that provides historical context and background for the readings that follow. ... Read more

Product Description
Rave Reviews for the First Edition...
"Total Business Budgeting is aptly titled. Everyone concerned about budgeting and how to implement or improve the process should have this volume on hand. Rachlins liberal use of helpful forms is particularly clever." —Michael W. Curran President and CEO Decision Sciences Corporation, St. Louis, Missouri

"Total Business Budgeting is well thought out and comprehensive. It simplifies the budgeting process by providing the content in an easy-to-read format. This is the only budgeting book I will ever need." —Thomas Farrell Director of Business Development, Ernst & Young LLP

"Total Business Budgeting goes beyond presenting a set of basic budgeting guidelines and applications—along with helpful exhibits and forms—for all segments of business operations. A valuable compendium of underlying techniques associated with each business segment is also included in brief, easy-to-read format. Rachlins book provides a guide for budgeting and a take-off point for more specialization and more complex situations." —Serge L. Wind Portfolio Analysis and Special Projects Finance Director Lucent Technologies, Inc. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

budgets for beginers
this book provides a thinking basis and initial insight into the budget process.
It will take people on a beginers level and upgrade their thinking to a medium level.

The book does not provide advanced techniques and methods and does not take into account the advances of new technology.

Overall I do not recommend this book - their are better ones out their.

Small book, high price, manufacturing focus, no CD
This book is good but for the price I expected more. Most issues are only given a couple of paragraphs, examples and topics are geared towards manufacturing and there is no CD with the forms in excel - you have to recreate them yourself. I wouldn't call this "total" business budgeting. If I saw this in a bookstore I probably wouldn't buy it unless the price was more like $40. ... Read more

Product Description
Improve your school’s productivity with existing resources by implementing performance-based budgeting. Included are step-by-step instructions for how to do more with less. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Walker in Public Finance, Samuelson in Economics
What more can I say? This is the best book in the field. It was the first book in the field, and it is still the best in the field. If you are a teacher of public finance and budgeting, or a student, this is the book foryou! And you will be STUNNED at the now famous names of some of thecontributors!

Still a classic in its field after fifteen years
The first of its kind in this field ... Read more

Product Description

"This book is refreshing in many ways.... it calls attention to a most important and timely topic... in a conversational and witty manner... Considering the subject, this is a most pleasant read." -- Journal of Higher Education

Notoriously unbusinesslike in their budgeting and management techniques, colleges and universities need a rational tool for sound fiscal management. This book, based on Indiana University's shift to responsibility center budgeting in 1987, treats both the conceptual and the philosophical bases for the system together with ground-level experience. The bottom line: a decentralized, incentive-based approach to budgeting empowers deans and other center managers to accomplish their missions in a more efficient manner.