The adopted budget is one of the most important policy documents that a government has. It communicates a governing board’s initiatives and priorities to employees and the public, while holding officials accountable for smart, efficient decisions. A good budget begins with thoughtful planning. This course provides the tools needed to effectively plan and develop this policy document through the collection and incorporation of strategic plans and priorities.
Learning objectives:
- Understand the various budget types (including performance, program and zero-based) and current reforms
- Evaluate comparative revenue sources
- Develop and integrate a capital improvement plan into the budget
- Understand how to use cost analysis to evaluate projects
Past Course Faculty
Bart Hildreth
Professor, Department of Public Management and Policy
• Serves as the editor-in-chief for the Municipal Finance Journal
• Former member of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board
Past Guest Speakers
Ken Heaghney
Economist, State of Georgia; Research Professor, Andrew Young School
Keith Lee
Director of Financial Services, City of Lawrenceville
This course covers key content tested by GFOA’s Operating and Capital Budgeting exam, one of the five exams required for the CPFO certification. Additionally, participants can earn up to 24 CPE credits in finance for this course through the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA). For NASBA purposes, it is categorized as an intermediate-level, “group-live” course. At the end of this course, students will receive a certificate of completion for the Operating and Capital Budgeting course. All six courses are required to receive the Center for State and Local Finance’s Certificate in Public Financial Management.