Beyond Budgeting: Public-Service Financial Education in the 21st Century

Abstract

This paper addresses a growing mismatch between the business problems confronting public and nonprofit employees, and the financial analysis and management skills commonly taught in graduate programs in public administration and policy. Put simply, it argues that public-service financial education should move beyond its traditional focus on public-sector budgeting and provide a broader range of financial-market, analytic, and management tools that are appropriate to meet the demands of the current public and nonprofit workplace. To assist programs in making the transition, we offer a model for assessing stakeholder needs and designing a 21st-century finance curriculum.