Book Description

In this practical tour through the full budget cycle, Robert D. Vinter and Rhea K. Kish come to the aid of beleaguered administrators who -- in this demanding decade of the 80s -- are seeking to make sense of "all those numbers" and rules and to become more knowledgeable, skillful fiscal and program managers. Budgeting for Not-for-Profit Organizations provides how-to-do-it explanations of the budgeting and fiscal processes common to small and midsize nonprofit organizations, from government agencies to local community programs. Administrators at all levels of responsibility will benefit from this task-oriented description of budgeting procedures, which includes a wealth of case illustrations and practical exercises not found in other texts.

Vinter and Kish are well acquainted with the problems administrators currently face. Demystifying budget development, fiscal management, and cost analysis, they help program managers think about the integral connection between these procedures and program goals, development, and execution -- and to use resource management techniques as tools for accomplishing the objectives of their organizations.

The text moves from simple procedures to the more complex and demanding. Chapter 2 provides an introduction to budgeting and how it is carried out in contemporary agencies and programs. Chapter 3 details the steps leading up to the submission of a fully documented budget proposal. At the end of this chapter, Vinter and Kish introduce an illustrative service program and the first set of orchestrated exercises. Throughout the remaining text, readers solve the budget and fiscal tasks/problems of this program. This "hands on" learning allows readers to perform calculations with actual fiscal data, make choices for budget and program activities, justify decisions, remedy problems, and make proposals for change. Exhibits of fiscal forms and regulations further expose the reader to real-life situations.

Subsequent chapters of Budgeting for Not-for-Profit Organizations cover the allocation of budget resources, expense/revenue management, end-of-year cost analysis procedures, and the distribution of support costs. The final chapter reviews the entire year's program and fiscal experiences and relates them to planning for continuation budgeting and performance contracting.

Administrators working to improve operations and to contain or cut costs will find Budgeting for Not-for-Profit Organizations an invaluable resource. While other guides outline the nitty-gritty details of budgeting and reporting, this is the only text that emphasizes the critical interdependence among resource planning, management, analysis, and program objectives and results and how this interdependence may be successfully exploited. ... Read more

Book Description

Featuring 48 of the most tried-and-true yet inventive games, simulations, role-playing exercises, and puzzles ever assembled in one volume, this book focuses on specific skill enhancement goals that help employees become more creative, innovative, cooperative, and able to deal with organizational changes. And, unlike other books of its kind, Imaginative Events for Training provides detailed instructions and materials that enable users to make the very most of these activities. It includes guidelines to assist trainers and facilitors in introducing events and understanding skill-sets, a section outlining the implications of each event, numerous handout "props" such as simulated memos and scenario descriptions, various methods by which to assess an event's effectiveness, and much more. ... Read more

Book Description

Fearful of finances? Baffled by budgets? Perplexed by purchasing? This interactive paperback/CD-ROM learning tool is the solution. Designed specifically to acquaint non-financial people with general budgeting principles, it helps users:

* understand the role financial statements play in an organization* create and manage simple budgets* make complex purchasing decisions (including how to choose the right vendor and decide whether to lease or buy).

Written in straightforward language, the concepts are clear and easy to understand--even for those suffering from "number-phobia." And, the wealth of case studies, worksheets, and on-line exercises give users immediate feedback on their progress.

The Basics of Budgeting, Purchasing, and Financial Statements is part of the Get-Ahead Toolkit Series, an innovative series that makes it easy (and fun) to acquire critical new skills quickly. And it's truly multi-media, featuring a colorful, interactive CD-ROM on each subject, accompanied by a concise, lively book. All you need is a multimedia-ready Windows or Macintosh computer and you're ready to go!

There are many reasons the Get-Ahead ToolKit Series is an outstanding way to learn impressive new skills: * It's completely interactive: you decide what you want to learn, when to learn it, and in whatever order suits you best. Switch between the book and the CD-ROM for a flexible way to get the information you need. * It's filled with fun-to-use tools: illustrations, expert advice, bulleted checklists, self-quizzes, and summaries. And there's valuable reference information you'll turn to again and again.* It's a highly effective way to learn: research on how people learn has shown over and over that self-paced instruction gives you a much higher retention rate than traditional approaches. In other words, you'll remember what you've learned! * It's well-designed: the CD-ROM interface is easy to use, so you can move smoothly through the computer program--and always know where you are.

Other titles in the Get-Ahead Toolkit Series: Get Organized (1-890003-01-8) Polish Your People Skills (1-890003-03-4) Write for Results (1-890003-00-X) ... Read more

Book Description

"If each individual in your organization became Shareholder Value-focused and made all of their decisions accordingly, you would have an almost incomprehensible competitive advantage." -Lawrence B. M. Serven.
For some time now, the conviction has been growing that traditional business planning methods are flawed and inefficient. At many companies, attempts have been made to address the problem with new budgeting systems, complete benchmarking studies, and reorganizations of finance functions. Unfortunately, while such initiatives may help reduce planning time, fundamentally they do little or nothing to make the planning process more effective. In this groundbreaking book, Lawrence Serven exposes the real reasons why planning so often fails to get results, and shows you how to transform the planning process from an "exercise in minimization" into a potent, results-driven management system that consistently creates shareholder value.
While most books on the subject discuss value creation in terms of grand strategic moves made by upper management, Value Planning takes a bottom-up approach. Lawrence Serven demonstrates how it is the cumulative effect of all of the little decisions made by individuals throughout an organization, every day, that makes or breaks shareholder value. More importantly, he shows you how to capitalize on that fact, and use business planning as a strategic management tool for aligning all levels of an organization-from the executive suite to the mail room-behind the common goal of increasing shareholder value.
Short on theory and long on step-by-step practical guidance, Value Planning gives you a complete blueprint for implementing a comprehensive value planning management system in your enterprise. Each chapter isolates a key aspect of value-driven business planning and contrasts it with traditional business planning models. Within each chapter you will also find valuable, easy-to-perform self-diagnostics that help you to assess your company's current status in the area under discussion, and a set of "Improve-ment Steps" that can easily be tailored to fit the realities of your organization.
Value Planning is an indispensable working resource for controllers, CFOs, finance directors, and budget directors, as well as for all upper-level managers involved in the planning process.
His work has been profiled in CFO magazine and Controller's Magazine, and he is the author of several articles that have appeared in Chief Information Officer and Technical Analysis of Stocks and Commodities. An award-winning public speaker, he has been the featured speaker at the AICPA and chaired a World Research Group international conference on reengineering the planning process.
Praise for Value Planning
"Serven demystifies shareholder value creation and provides a pragmatic, actionable guidebook for executives. Value Planning's step-by-step management system focuses business planning on delivering, not just predicting results. The book's self-diagnostic measures should prove especially useful in charting and assessing organizational progress." -Henry A. McKinnell President, Pfizer Inc.
"Value Planning addresses today's number one management issue - building a value management system-and provides a systematic approach with clear guidance that will be helpful to any company in creating shareholder value. I really enjoyed reading this book and highly recommend it."- John B. Menzer Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
"Mr. Serven's approach is insightful and uncomplicated. Rather than simply focusing on theory, he has offered compelling real-life examples of how well-known leaders and their companies have built value for their shareholders." -Keith Rauschenbach Second Vice President, TIAA-CREF. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Good step by step guidelines
I am in the process of implementing some of what this suggested, and the step by step approach makes it a lot easier.

Finally, something PRACTICAL on shareholder value
Every book I have read about shareholder value has been long on theory and short on application, but Value Planning is different. It provides a hands on blueprint for creating a value management system to grow shareholder value. It's about time!

A blueprint for creating a value management system!
A lot has been written about shareholder value, but there has been little written about how to put theory into practice, which is what this book does. I highly recommend it.

One of the best management books ever written
I am sure any number of businesses will benefit greatly from his book. Mr.Servens keen insight into the corporate world has proven invaluable. I especially recommend this book to budding entreprenuers, social climbers and misanthropes. ... Read more

Book Description

At a time when social protection systems around the world are under scrutiny, this timely and comprehensive book focuses on the improvement of these systems through effective financial planning, management and monitoring. While advocating the use of methodologically consistent statistical data, this guide offers a set of established and pragmatic modeling techniques and explains how they can be used at the national level to improve the governance of social protection systems. Series: Quantitative Methods in Social Protection, co- published by the International Labour Office (ILO) and the International Social Security Association (ISSA). ... Read more