The Basics of Public Budgeting and Financial Management - 4th Edition by Charles E Menifield (Paperback)

About the Book

This book is an introductory level budgeting and financial management textbook for students who are interested in learning how budgeting occurs in public and nonprofit organizations. The author uses homework assignments and PowerPoint Slides that make course preparation and in...

Book Synopsis

In The Basics of Public Budgeting and Financial Management: A Handbook for Academics and Practitioners, 4th Edition, Charles E. Menifield carefully examines the key areas that every budgeting and financial management student needs to know in order to be a successful budgeteer in a local government, nonprofit, or state-level budget office. His analysis includes a discussion of: basic budgeting concepts; accounting techniques; a discussion of the budget process; budget techniques and analytical models; capital and personnel budgets; financial management; and budget presentations. Homework assignments reinforce the various subjects with practical applications that allow the students to reflect and engage the material in a realistic manner. This book blends budgetary theory and practice in a volume that is easy to understand by both undergraduate and graduate students alike.

Review Quotes

"This text is an excellent resource for graduate students in public budgeting and financial management courses. By combining public finance theory with practical applications and tools, this book allows students in my classes to prepare budget proposals, develop and defend capital budgets and capital improvement plans, and use a range of budgeting techniques and analytical models to prepare personnel services and operating budgets. Most importantly, the book's contents make it easy for students to apply what they have learned directly into their work as public servants. As one student proclaimed, "I continue to be very pleased with the Menifield book which has tended to overlap with my experiences. For example, my agency is struggling with a structural deficit and utilizing other funds to maintain service levels, much like he discussed in chapter 7'". The text also provides faculty with a plethora of resources (exercise solutions, power point presentations by chapter, instructors' manual, and excel spreadsheets)." --Lachezar Anguelov, Evergreen State College

"The Basics of Public Budgeting and Financial Management offers basic budgeting and financial management skills that can be easily grasped by undergraduates, graduates, and practitioners. It is a great tool for helping students understand budgeting from both a theoretical and practical perspective. Not only are students provided with a rich understanding of theory, they are given hands-on experience with developing, justifying, and defending budgets, all of which are integral to bridging theory and practice.
Each chapter contains questions that require application of the materials learned as well as exercises to help students improve their analytical, decision-making, and written communication skills. The book also provides partially filled Excel spreadsheets which are instrumental in providing students an opportunity to acquire experience in revenue estimation and budget preparation. Last, the book is accompanied with power point presentations and an instructor's manual which further makes the course easier to teach." --LaShonda M. Stewart, Southern Illinois University Carbondale

The Basics of Public Budgeting and Financial Management offers basic budgeting and financial management skills that can be easily grasped by undergraduates, graduates, and practitioners. It is a great tool for helping students understand budgeting from both a theoretical and practical perspective. Not only are students provided with a rich understanding of theory, they are given hands-on experience with developing, justifying, and defending budgets, all of which are integral to bridging theory and practice.

Each chapter contains questions that require application of the materials learned as well as exercises to help students improve their analytical, decision-making, and written communication skills. The book also provides partially filled Excel spreadsheets which are instrumental in providing students an opportunity to acquire experience in revenue estimation and budget preparation. Last, the book is accompanied with power point presentations and an instructor's manual which further makes the course easier to teach.

This text is an excellent resource for graduate students in public budgeting and financial management courses. By combining public finance theory with practical applications and tools, this book allows students in my classes to prepare budget proposals, develop and defend capital budgets and capital improvement plans, and use a range of budgeting techniques and analytical models to prepare personnel services and operating budgets. Most importantly, the book's contents make it easy for students to apply what they have learned directly into their work as public servants. As one student proclaimed, "I continue to be very pleased with the Menifield book which has tended to overlap with my experiences. For example, my agency is struggling with a structural deficit and utilizing other funds to maintain service levels, much like he discussed in chapter 7'". The text also provides faculty with a plethora of resources (exercise solutions, power point presentations by chapter, instructors' manual, and excel spreadsheets).

About the Author

Charles E. Menifield is dean of the School of Public Affairs and Administration (SPAA) at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey-Newark. His research interests lie primarily in the areas of budgeting and financial management, public health and welfare, and policing. Other areas include, health and education finance, and public administration education.