Monitoring and Reporting
Monitoring and Reporting
This refers to making sure that the commitments made during planning and budgeting are lived up to and maintaining an understanding of the environment. The Rethinking Budgeting Initiative is not finished, so this section will evolve and grow as the initiative moves forward.
Transparency: A Means to Improving Citizen Trust in Government
Transparency is one way in which governments can build trust with the public. However, “transparency” does not mean just making financial data available to those who have an interest in it. This paper shows that the future of government may not necessarily lie in more transparency, but rather in smarter transparency that gives citizens the knowledge they need to form accurate judgments of their government.
Stress Tests: Building Budgeting Resilience in an Ever-Changing World
Local government professionals have long known that they operate in an increasingly volatile, unpredictable, complex, and ambiguous world. This is not a new concept, but the health and economic crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic has been an important reminder. Local governments need to respond by making sure they’re accounting for this reality in their budgeting process and long-term financial plans.
Paving the Way: Aligning the Budget with Your Mission and Values
A good budget tells a story about an organization that is not captured by the financial statements. It describes what is important to the organization, how it funds its mission and vision, and how it provides value to the community. Laying this out in writing is important to all stakeholders, including employees. Governments need to provide the transparency that citizens expect, especially in times of financial uncertainty.