Strategic Budgeting Research Articles

Transnational urban policies: ‘relocating’ Spanish and Brazilian models of urban planning in Buenos Aires

This article examines the transnationalization of urban policies by analysing the adoption of two ‘foreign’ models of participatory urban planning in the city of Buenos Aires. Both schemes are modelled on internationally acclaimed experiments: Barcelona's Strategic Plan and Porto Alegre's Participatory Budget. In Buenos Aires, however, these policy transfers have failed to produce the remarkable results for which their Spanish and Brazilian exemplars have been internationally praised. Traditional accounts of policy transfers ponder on the institutional compatibility between imported schemes and host environments. The author argues that these works tend to overlook the significance of the stochastic conditions presiding over the adoption of particular policy models in different cities. She proposes to deviate from traditional approaches by seeking an explanation for the poor results of the schemes in Buenos Aires in (a) the contextual conditions framing their adoption in the Argentine capital, and (b) the circumstances surrounding their emergence in Barcelona and Porto Alegre.

Does management accounting play role in planning process?

This study examines the relationship between management accounting and planning profiles in Brazilian companies. The main goal is to understand the consequences of not including a fully structured management accounting scheme in the planning process. The authors conducted a field research among medium and large-sized companies, using a probabilistic sample from a population of 2281 companies. Using analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and statistical cluster analysis, the authors grouped the entities' strategic budget planning processes into five profiles, after which the authors applied statistical tests to assess the five clusters. The study concludes that poor or fully implemented strategic and budget-planning processes relate to the management accounting profiles of the Brazilian organizations studied.

Customer acquisition costs: the costs of growing business in public libraries

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the associated customer acquisition costs of public libraries. The intention of the paper is to develop awareness of the hidden costs associated with customer acquisition, and develop assessment tools or models to effectively manage the resources associated with customer acquisition to aid library administrators in strategic budgeting and planning.Design/methodology/approachThe paper is prepared through review of the library and business literature associated with customer acquisitions. No definitive data on customer turnover rates or models of assessing customer acquisitions cost are identified in the review of the literature.FindingsWhile not identified or managed systematically, the calculation of customer acquisition costs, customer turnover rates, and the effective management of associated customer acquisition cost is strategically imperative for public libraries. Public libraries generally do not track customer turnover or the associated costs of acquiring new or replacement customers that come about due to this turnover. There is not a definitive estimate of customer turnover in public libraries, so exact costs determination will vary by public library system. Public libraries can reduce their customer acquisition costs through the retention of current customers with high quality service and in effectively managing the customer acquisition process in the strategic budgeting and planning processes of the library.Originality/valueLibraries that can effectively acquire new or replacement customers and manage the costs of this process will more effectively utilize resources and maximize customer value for the library. This paper proposes several cost assessment calculations to help guide library administrators in making strategic decisions.

How strategic budgeting can control cost while improving performance

AbstractWhen managers focus on overall goals in making resource choices, wiser choices are made, efficiencies encouraged, and collaboration fostered. It is simple, fast, and flexible. To that end, this article presents a format for budgeting called strategic budgeting. This new budgeting format addresses the frustrations of implementing—and being held accountable for—a budget. It uses the concepts of information symmetry, mutual monitoring, and a group budget buffer (a pool that supports the funding of nonbudgeted expenditures). Strategic budgeting thus ensures that funding follows strategic intent—in other words, what actually supports a company's goals. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Financial Consolidation Using Business Performance Management Instruments

BPM is a software category that offers information at a high level of synthesis so that management can take strategic decisions that draw tendencies and orientations for the enterprise. The goal of a BPM initiative is to steer the entire organization in the same direction, enabling the organization to translate strategies into plans, monitor execution, and provide insight to improve both financial and operational performance. The components of BPM solution typically are: Strategic planning, Budgeting, Forecasting, Financial and statutory consolidation, Reporting & analysis tools, Scorecarding, BI (Business Intelligence). The paper offers an introduction into the BPM world focusing on the Financial Management Consolidation applications.

No shared vision for achieving Education for All: Turkey at risk

Turkey is still far from realizing any of the six EFA goals. Since the Dakar Conference there have been many policy initiatives aiming at improving the quality of Turkish education. The impact and effectiveness of those policy initiatives are yet to be evaluated. The deficit of high quality analytical and empirical research constitutes a major weakness. So does the level of attention on monitoring and evaluation from policymakers. The recent introduction of strategic planning and performance-based budgeting could promote more emphasis on evaluation and monitoring in the coming years. In addition, a transparent, overarching education policy could foster policy dialogue among stakeholders. Overall, this article draws attention to the following critical factors for the EFA success in Turkey: political and economic support for education reform; the need to adopt strategy-oriented sector policies; increased capacity and emphasis on evaluation and accountability of educational policy-making; the need for a new national impetus to improve quality in education.

Cash Management and Revitalization of Public Medical Centres in Nigeria

In times like this, when Nigeria (like many other developing countries) is bracing up to the contemporary challenges posed by adoption and advancement of globally driven millennium development goals (MDGs), public medical centers (PMCs) cannot afford to be reckoned with financial epilepsy, bankruptcy, and degeneracy. This concern informed the thrust of the study. In the process, pertinent research questions were posed which elicited corresponding hypothetical propositions. With primary data volunteered by 150 administrative officials drawn from PMCs across the country, analytical proceedings were facilitated by the application of chi-square (x2) technique. The findings brought to the fore, the general bad shape of cash management in PMCs in the country. The recommendations for urgent attention underscored the constitution of strategic budget communities (SBCs), revitalization of internal audit committees (IACs), and attraction of goodwill private-sector endowments through convincing justification of the utilization and optimization of current government logistic subventions.

The Nurse Administrator as Caring Person: A Synoptic Analysis Applying Caring Philosophy, Ray’s Ethical Theory of Existential Authenticity, The Ethic of Justice, and The Ethic of Care

By virtue of their position, nurse administrators are responsible for patient outcomes, developing strategic plans and budget forecasts, and overall organizational viability. In addition to these activities, nurse administrators recognize that it is equally, if not more, important to care for individual staff members, to role model caring, and to facilitate an environment where caring is valued. This article presents a nurse administrator’s experience of living caring during and after two hurricanes that devastated the hospital and its staff members. Caring philosophy, the ethics of care, and the ethics of justice theories are used as frameworks through which to view how living caring within this situation provided for the needs of the individuals and for the organization

Judicial System Restructuring and Modernization in Abu Dhabi

The purpose of this article is to provide a practical overview of the recently initiated modernization of Abu Dhabi’s judicial system. Beginning in 2007, Abu Dhabi’s Government launched a comprehensive effort to transform the Emirate’s judicial system. While the implementation of these reforms is ongoing, with the adoption of the law in May 2007 establishing the new judicial architecture the initial phase of the modernization program is already complete. The restructuring process encompasses court management and administration reform, a new judicial training regime, a redesigned organizational structure for the Emirate’s Judicial Department and courts, and the establishment of a system-wide strategic planning and budgeting process. Many of these initiatives are supported by applying advanced IT-based applications. Given the early achievements and ambitious broader aims of the restructuring process, Abu Dhabi’s example is relevant not only to the other Emirates within the Federal UAE system, but also within the context of the wider Middle East region.

Strengthening Performance in Public Sector Management in Asia

In recent years many developing countries are choosing to follow patterns that have emerged in businesses and in some developed country governments over the last several decades of establishing results-oriented monitoring frameworks that report on progress against strategic plans, budgets and sector strategies. This paper addresses five key elements of this new orientation: (i) clarifying the language of performance, (ii) defining indicative performance indicators, (iii) exploring tools for performance measurement, (iv) making changes to improve performance, and (v) creating the performance and knowledge culture in organizations. It then gives examples of these elements from Asia.

APA Working Hard to Ensure Sound Fiscal Future

APA Working Hard to Ensure Sound Fiscal Future

ALLservice: os conflitos da discussão do orçamento anual

This Teaching Case focus on the discussion of an I.T. budget process, its development and approval. The case offers the opportunity of dealing with the main concepts related to strategic planning and annual budget. Told from the executive's point of view, it presents the ALLservice history, its growth and dilemmas to survive. It reflects a real situation, but all the data has been changed to avoid identifying the organization. This Teaching Case strategy helps the student to feel the conflicts provided by such events, by looking for conciliation between the theoretical aspects and the behavior variables. The story begins when the ALLservice senior executives had a meeting to analyze and to discuss the 2004 annual budget. As the story tells, some arguments about the scenery differences were shown by the characters to explain the extreme change that took place considering the previous planning; this lead to a non acceptance posture from the president, who demanded a revision and another budget version. The presented dilemma put students into President's place to argue why accept, or not, the budget proposal.

Managing new technologies in respiratory care.

Capital equipment and technology administration, as outlined in this article, is one of many responsibilities for managers of respiratory care. Planning for 1, 5, and 10 years, strategic budgeting, and systematic evaluation of existing and future devices will assist in creating a successful equipment and technology program. A successful capital equipment and technology program will enable respiratory care practitioners to treat patients effectively with the proper tools for success.

The challenge of public sector reform in EC accession countries: reflections from the Baltics, especially Latvia

AbstractThis article considers some of the key issues in reforming the public sector in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE). Drawing on the experience of donor funded projects, some conclusions are drawn about the process of public sector reform with particular reference to Latvia. In particular, it is argued that the process will take time but strategic choices need to be made in the absence of obvious demands from within the country. Several constraints are noted which together constitute formidable barriers to progress. However, the results of work to date provide some optimism for pilot approaches to strategic budgeting in reformist ministries. A simple checklist is used as a yardstick for progress in the main areas of public administration reform. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Methods of achieving integration in development planning: Early experiences from South African municipalities

The paper evaluates the effectiveness of five methods used by municipalities to enhance integration in the context of integrated development planning in South Africa: conceptualisation of the planning and development process within a Local Agenda 21 (LA 21) process; complex issue identification and causal analysis as a basis for formulating strategies and projects; spatial frameworks to guide investment and development; linking of planning to implementation through strategic budgeting and prioritisation; and coordination of the activities of service providers, who provide the main sources of funding and implementation. The paper argues that these approaches should be seen as mutually supporting, and highlights the importance of a strong strategic development framework in achieving integrated development. While several of these methods can be used to enhance integration within a municipality, vertical integration with national and provincial departments remains problematic. Although service provider forums represent a method to achieve better vertical integration, they require stronger support at provincial and national levels.

From Program to Performance Budgeting: The Challenge for Emerging Economies

Многие страны с переходной экономикой пытаются улучшить бюджетный процесс и перейти к бюджетированию, ориентированному на результат. В статье приводится обзор эволюции новой модели бюджетирования, ориентированного на результат, которая во все большей степени используется в развитых странах. На основе определения основных компонент этой модели, в работе указываются основные задачи, которые будут стоять перед странами с переходной экономикой при переходе от действующих бюджетных процедур к использованию указанной модели.

A Model For Best Financial And Cost Accounting Practices In SMEs: An Exploratory Study

In recent years many large corporations have reaped the benefits of following best practice in financial and management accounting to become more competitive. However, very few studies have been undertaken to determine whether such best practice can be used as a benchmark to improve performance in small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Accordingly, the main purpose of this study was to develop and test a conceptual model of ‘best financial and cost accounting practice’ (BFCAP) based on the practices of strategic planning, budgeting and budgetary control, and financial and cost accounting as related to financial effectiveness. To determine whether existing practices were consistent with a conceptual model of BFCAP that is linked to financial effectiveness, a survey was undertaken of some 200 SMEs in Queensland. The findings of the study indicated that the model does in fact explain relationships between strategic planning, best practice financial and cost accounting practices, and financial effectiveness.

Optimal Taxation and Strategic Budget Deficit Under Political Regime Switching

I develop a dynamic political economy theory of optimal taxation and budget distortions in a model with partisan politics. Under asymmetric information, politics affects the distribution of utilities in the economy. Political regime switching introduces fluctuations of this distribution. These fluctuations justify strategic budget distortions by governments currently holding office and willing to favour their redistributive concerns against future majority. Under quite general assumptions on preferences, these distortions take the form of budget deficits (resp. surpluses) with leftist (rightist) governments. Endogenizing the probabilities of getting elected may reverse this result. This paper presents a dynamic political economy theory of taxation policy showing how partisan governments create strategic budget distortions. Under quite general assumptions on preferences for redistribution, these distortions take the form of budget surpluses (resp. deficits) when rightist (resp. leftist) governments hold office. Being uncertain on whether it will remain in office in the future, the current government chooses a level of deficit which will favour its redistributive concerns against those of future majorities. It does so by constraining the redistributive policy of its successor through the budget constraint that the latter inherits. A leftist (resp. rightist) government is more (resp. less) enclined to redistribute income. By running some deficit today, the leftist government ensures that society gets poorer tomorrow. A future rightist government will redistribute more as society gets poorer. The implemented tax policy will thus be close to what a leftist government would have chosen itself. On the contrary, by running a surplus today, a rightest government relaxes the burden of taxation imposed by tomorrow's leftist government on high income agents. This leftist government will be less eager to redistribute and will adopt the rightist party's behaviour. Under political regime switching, strategic distortions of the State budget constraint become important tools for current governments willing to favour their own redistributive concerns against those of future majorities. As a result of this dynamic game between partisan governments playing at different points in time with the State budget constraint, future policies blend together the preferences for redistribution of current and past governments. The commitment value of budget deficits has already been stressed by Persson and

Special library financial management: the essentials of library budgeting

Librarians have always been faced with the need to demonstrate the value of the services and products for which they budget. The budget is a powerful management and public relations tool and essential for explaining goals and objectives. This article compares the features, advantages and disadvantages of two budget models, the line item budget and the program budget. Examined throughout are patrons’ needs. The article also provides a step‐by‐step guide to the budget process, including the need for timelines, definitions of common accounting terms, and specific suggestions for budget preparation and presentation. The need to formalize and strengthen the relationship between the library and the finance department is also addressed. Finally, an overview of strategic planning is provided, describing the relationship between strategic planning and budgeting.

Strategische Unternehmensführung bei der SAPAG — Erfahrungen und Lösungen eines Software-Unternehmens

As a major global player in the software business, SAP AG is currently having to manage a rapid diversification in its product range and significant increases in market share, together with the corresponding increases in employee numbers. In order to maintain control of these developments, the company requires a finely tuned management instrument. The fundamentals are Value-Based Management, employee participation and customer focus. The planning cycle consists of strategic planning, budgeting, group consolidation and performance monitoring. The implementation of SAP's Strategic Enterprise Management product (SAP SEM®) was made easier by the uniformity of the group's worldwide structure.