ticularly in advanced classes, to enhance the educational experience. Michael John Dougherty. Extension Specialist and. Associate Professor. West Virginia ...
Book Review Financial Planning and Management in Public Organizations. By Alan Walter Steiss and ‘Emeka O. Cyprian Nwagwu, New York: Marcel Dekker, 2001.
Alan Walter Steiss and ‘Emeka O. Cyprian Nwagwu have revived and expanded upon what many consider a classic in the field. While it is never formally stated, this book is the much-anticipated update of Steiss’ 1989 work, Financial Management in Public Organizations. The book is the 95th volume in the on-going Public Administration and Public Policy series published by Marcel Dekker. The book makes some changes in the ordering and examples found in the original text. After the introduction, a new chapter on revenues and expenditures has been inserted. The next topics covered are cash management, investment strategies, and analytical techniques. Then come two chapters on budgeting—first examining principles and practices, then as a mechanism for financial planning and management. It expands on information contained in a single chapter on budgeting in the original text. Next are chapters on capital facilities and debt administration. Sections follow these on accounting systems and managerial accounting that had been found toward the beginning of the 1989 work. Finally, the book closes with a discussion of management information systems and evaluation processes. As part of these final sections, there is a good discussion of management control concepts. Interestingly, absent from the final chapters is a detailed analysis as to how financial planning
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and management relate to strategic planning and management. New additions to the book include cash management, budgeting processes, and a new chapter on revenues and expenditures. A prime example of this is that the book includes a discussion of GASB 34, which is a fundamental change in public sector financial reporting. The book also adds a multitude of charts and a great number of tables and examples to illustrate the points made in the discussion. The result is a more complete work and one that is somewhat larger than the 1989 work. (The page count increased by roughly two-thirds but the pages in the new book are slightly smaller in size). With the integration of the new and the old material, Financial Planning and Management is among the most complete and current books on the subject. The topics covered are appropriate. It logically divides the subject into meaningful units. It provides examples to illustrate points, and does so in a way that is easily grasped by someone new to the subject matter without sacrificing the usefulness of the text to the individual who has worked in the field for some time. Of course, as is the case with any update, sometimes things that have changed in the intervening years do not get changed. For example, there are references to the Municipal Finance Officers Association and the National Council on Governmental Accounting,
Public Budgeting & Finance / Winter 2002
without noting that these organizations have become the GFOA and the GASB, respectively. This can be quite disconcerting or even confusing to readers without a background in the subject. Similarly, some points raised seem outdated. Examples include a statement about localities being prohibited from using electronic transactions for investment transactions and a quotation indicating the United States federal government having persistent deficits. Also somewhat confusing was the section numbering system employed in the book. Main headers at the beginning of each chapter are numbered beginning with “1,” with subordinate headers taking on decimal values for each main header (i.e., 1, 1.1, 1.2, etc.). The repetition of the same numbers in each chapter makes it difficult to differentiate one section from another when using the text for reference. A system similar to what was used for tabular information where the first number was the chapter number, followed by the primary header number, then followed by the secondary header number where appropriate (i.e., 1.1, 1.1.1, 1.2, 1.2.1, etc.) would have increased utility in that area. Or more simply, since this numbering system is never referenced, omitting it would have avoided the problem entirely. Additionally, while the book includes several tables, sometimes the information in them and the text do not seem to correspond. For example, it is difficult to determine how some of the figures cited in the discussion of the line-item/object-of-expenditure budget for the “Rurbana” Police Department in Ta-
Book Reviews
bles 7.1 and 7.2 were calculated. Similarly, sometimes information that is implied in the table and discussed in the text could have been included in the table for increased clarity. For example, Tables 11.7 and 11.8 show the amount of expenditures through nine months of the fiscal year in “Rurbana”; they could have included a line showing the percent of budget allocation expended instead of just relying on a text reference to make the point. Finally, one problem experienced with the book was something that the authors would have no control over. During the review, pages separated from the binding on several occasions. And the book would undoubtedly receive rougher treatment from a student using it as a course text than it did during the review period. Of course, these are basically nothing more than minor triflings. Overall, this book is highly recommended as a reference for the government professional or as a course text for the public administration professor. It provides a plethora of useful information in a concise package that is easy to understand and absorb. It should be noted that when the book is used in courses, instructors might want to incorporate additional casework, particularly in advanced classes, to enhance the educational experience.
Michael John Dougherty Extension Specialist and Associate Professor West Virginia University
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