Breaking the Law of Triviality in the Budget Process

Many budget officers have had an experience like the following during budget deliberations with the governing board: The governing board spends what seems like (or may be) hours discussing the line item for office supplies ("Can we reduce it by sending more emails and using printers less?") and then afterward passes a multimillion-dollar capital project budget with little discussion.

This phenomenon is not limited to local government budgets. It is so common across time and disciplines that it has a name: Parkinson’s Law of Triviality. The first step is to understand why the phenomenon of bike-shedding occurs. Solutions can then be designed accordingly. In this webinar we’ll hear from finance directors and leadership experts about how to work with staff and other stakeholders to make well-informed decisions during the budget process.

Who Will Benefit: Budget Manager, CFO/Finance Director, Controller

• Understand how the finance officer can act as a decision architect during the budget process
• Learn the importance of effectively setting the agenda during the budget process
• Explore how finance officers can better communicate financial information to non-finance staff and stakeholders