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.

Who Will Benefit: Budget manager/director/officer, finance director, CFO, department executives

• 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