Advanced Budget Academy

Budgeting is not just an exercise in balancing revenues and expenses. Rather, it requires local government leaders to make a series of decisions about topics such as: 

• What are the most pressing problems facing the community and what services and programs can we offer to address these problems?
• What is the best way to raise revenue to fund services and programs?
• Which programs should receive increased funding, and which should not?  

This kind of decision-making is messy. It’s often done by groups, there are often conflicting points of view. It’s usually time-constrained, so there isn’t time to consider everything. There is always uncertainty and risk--usually more than we realize. And it’s done by humans, so it’s fraught with bias and inconsistency.  

Through a mix of lecture, group discussion, and group exercises, this course will provide you with the tools you need to manage budget decision-making processes, with a focus on how to build trust, collaborate, and communicate with both internal and external stakeholders.  

Those who successfully complete this seminar should be able to:

• Understand how clear communication can encourage greater collaboration and build trust within your organization
• Understand why it is important to nurture stakeholders’ trust in decision-making processes
• Understand the different purposes for communicating, including educating, informing, receiving feedback, decision-making, and consensus-building
• Learn tips for communicating complex information and financial data
• Understand the role of the budget manager as a “decision architect” and how behavioral science can help you design a better decision-making environment
• Identify cognitive biases that can negatively impact budget decisions
• Understand the benefits of public engagement and identify the key components of effective public engagement

This course is taught by experienced budgeting practitioners and GFOA staff. Instructors will be familiar with GFOA best practices and have experience as finance director, budget director, or CEO of various size local governments.