Federal Budget and Financial Management Reform

(Hardback)

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A collection of original essays by specialists in the field, this book examines the crucial budgetary and financial management problems that face the United States government and makes concrete recommendations on how current processes can be improved. The authors make it clear that although the present federal budgetary and financial management systems are not working, the case is far from hopeless. Several chapters analyze the flaws in the federal budget-making process that lead to deadlock between the president and Congress and ultimately to higher deficits. To remove the checks and balances system from its present political stalemate, a workable two-stage budgetary process is suggested and bipartisan action at the highest level is strongly urged. Another chapter explains the context in which forecasting is used in federal government budget making and addresses the problem of the failure to predict the yearly budget deficit with reasonable accuracy. Proposals for improving public financial management include centralizing financial management functions, improving debt collection practices, eliminating deficiencies in the application of information technology, and privatizing entities such as the postal service, AMTRAK, and Social Security. Providing clarification of complex issues together with constructive approaches to reform, this book will be of interest to both general readers and scholars, students, and professionals concerned with government, public policy, and financial management.

Reviews

These nine original essays plus introduction and conclusion by noted public financial management scholar Lynch survey recent federal financial management developments. The first group, written by J. Shite, R. Bledsoe, J. Thuber and S. Durst, Lynch, and J. Forrester, work through generally familiar ground, particularly in regard to the apparently intractable federal deficit; all are capably done. The remainder, authored by R. Points, B. Hildreth, S. Botner, and L. Martin, more broadly consider topics of financial management, notably questions of monitoring, internal controls, reporting, data processing, privatization, etc. Some greater attention to the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990 and its implications would have been desirable, as would have been greater consideration of revenue inflows and their management, but those omissions should not be taken as criticisms of what is in the book. These are excellent essays that both introduce the neophyte to and enlighten the scholar about the critical practices and issues of federal financial management. Those studying public policy and administration, as well as managers in the federal establishment would do themselves a service by attention to these essays. University collections.-Choice
"These nine original essays plus introduction and conclusion by noted public financial management scholar Lynch survey recent federal financial management developments. The first group, written by J. Shite, R. Bledsoe, J. Thuber and S. Durst, Lynch, and J. Forrester, work through generally familiar ground, particularly in regard to the apparently intractable federal deficit; all are capably done. The remainder, authored by R. Points, B. Hildreth, S. Botner, and L. Martin, more broadly consider topics of financial management, notably questions of monitoring, internal controls, reporting, data processing, privatization, etc. Some greater attention to the Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990 and its implications would have been desirable, as would have been greater consideration of revenue inflows and their management, but those omissions should not be taken as criticisms of what is in the book. These are excellent essays that both introduce the neophyte to and enlighten the scholar about the critical practices and issues of federal financial management. Those studying public policy and administration, as well as managers in the federal establishment would do themselves a service by attention to these essays. University collections."-Choice

Author Bio

THOMAS D. LYNCH is Professor of Public Administration at Florida Atlantic University. He is Vice President of the American Society for Public Administration and will be its President in 1992-93. He has written many books and articles, but he is primarily known for Public Budgeting in America which is in its third edition and co-editor of Handbook on Public Budgeting and Financial Management. He founded and edited for ten years The Bureaucrat.