Structurally Balanced Budget

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Identify and describe the different budget formats used in the public sector and explain the pros and cons of each format. Operations budgeting Line Item Budgets Line item budgeting was used as a response to political machines that controlled many state and local governments (Lee, 2010). The focus of this type of budget in on the objects of expenditures allowed for each department, and it lists goods and services to be purchased (Lee, 2010). The line items correspond to the accounts in the accounting system and make it easy for budget overseers to compare budget amounts with actual expenditures (Lee, 2010). The advantages of this approach are that it enhances organizational control and allows the accumulation of expenditure data at each functional level (Hogg, 2008). A disadvantage of this approach is that the…show more content…
GFOA recommends that governments adopt rigorous policies, for all operating funds, aimed at achieving and maintaining a structurally balanced budget. Government should identify key items related to structural balance (Achieving a Structurally Balanced Budget, 2012). These include recurring and non-recurring revenues, recurring and non-recurring expenditures, and reserves. Recurring revenues: government revenues that can reasonably be expected to continue year to year, with predictability (Achieving a Structurally Balanced Budget, 2012). Nonrecurring revenues: When revenue does not continue. It is important to identify these because you can no longer count that as a continual influx of revenue (Achieving a Structurally Balanced Budget, 2012). It is important to review these two types of revenue for your business portfolio so you can identify possible unstable components. Recurring expenditures: Salaries, benefits, materials and services, and assets maintenance costs (Achieving a Structurally Balanced Budget,

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