Master the complex realities of public finance and budgeting 

Budgets play an integral role as a policy document, management tool, resource allocation plan, and financial plan. Understand the roles, responsibilities, and opportunities that administrators, elected officials, and the public face when developing, adopting, executing, and monitoring a public budget. 

• Explain the basic concepts and terminology of government budgeting and finance.

• Explain the purposes of a budget for a public agency, including its role as a policy document, management tool, resource allocation plan, and a financial plan.

• Describe the roles and responsibilities of managers, elected officials and the public in the development, adoption, implementation, and monitoring of a public budget.  

• Explain the basics of the governmental accounting and financial reporting systems.

• Identify the essential steps, documents, and critical decision points in the budget development process.

• Describe and analyze the strengths and weaknesses of different budget types and systems. 

Instructor: Bryan Gadow (MURP, Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs) serves as the City of Monona’s City Administrator and Economic Development Director. He previously served as the Village Administrator for the Village of New Glarus. Bryan is a 2019 graduate of the Wisconsin Certified Public Managers program.    

Testimonials: 

“I liked hearing about budgets from an administrators point of view. I do so much of the number crunching with our budget – it was good to hear about other aspects of budgeting.” 

“My background is not in finance, so this topic is completely new for me. I feel like I have a better understanding of the budgeting process and why it’s so important.” 

“I was able to relate to the real-world scenarios that Bryan introduced. I think this makes the material easier to understand and reflect on.”