Deck 11: Budgeting for Financial Control, Management, and Planning

Question 1

The principal purposes of budgeting are threefold. Which of the following is NOT one of those purposes?

A) Financial control
B) Management
C) Comparing the efficiency of two different program
D) Planning

Answer 1

C

Question 2

In an era of increased accountability in funding for human services, which of the following is NOT one of the components of accountability in human service agencies?

A) For use in advocacy for agency funding
B) Financial control over agency and program resources
C) Revenues committed when they conform to agency or program budget
D) Work toward the accomplishment of program plans, goals, and objectives

Answer 2

A

Question 3

One of the primary purposes of budgeting deals with the determination of how revenues will be allocated. Which of the following is NOT one of the planning purposes of budgeting?

A) Achieve agency or program results
B) Achieve program accomplishments
C) Achieve impacts (outcomes)
D) Planning for future years of budgeting

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Funding sources have begun to require that contractors and grantees incorporate diverse populations and cultural competence in their program planning. Which of the following organizations is NOT one of the funding sources below that have demanded inclusion of diverse populations and cultural competence?

A) Department of Labor
B) Administration on Aging
C) Homeland Security
D) National Institutes of Health

Question 5

The management purposes of budgeting deal with the relationship between all but EXCEPT which of the following:

A) program design.
B) revenues and outputs.
C) quality outputs.
D) service completions.

Question 6

The planning purposes of budgeting deal with the relationship between all EXCEPT which of the following:

A) revenues.
B) program results.
C) process measures.
D) impacts.

Question 7

The three principal purposes of budgeting combine to provide a comprehensive picture of the functioning of a human service agency and its programs that none is capable of providing separately. Which of the following is NOT one of the principal purposes of budgeting included in a comprehensive picture of a human service agency:

A) the financial control functions of budgeting deal with keeping agency and program revenues in balance with agency and program expenses.
B) the management purposes of budgeting deal with the utilization of agency and program revenues to maximize efficiency or productivity.
C) the planning purposes of budgeting deal with the utilization of revenues to accomplish agency and program goals and objectives.
D) the allocation of revenues that will lead to a budgeting system that hinders the achievement of agency and program goals and objectives.

Question 8

Several different models of the budgetary process are all EXCEPT which of the following answers:

A) the incremental model.
B) the management by objective model.
C) the political model.
D) the rational-planning model.

Question 9

The incremental model of the budgetary process can operate at all EXCEPT which of the following levels:

A) the agency level.
B) the community level.
C) the state level.
D) program level.

Question 10

In the political model of budgetary process, budgeting decisions are seen as end products of conflict and compromise between competing stakeholders. Which of the following is NOT one of the competing stakeholders listed in your text?

A) Human service agencies and programs
B) Funding sources
C) Community leaders
D) Current and potential clients

Question 11

The rational-planning model views the budgetary process as a set of logical steps tied to a community, agency, or program-planning process that results in budgetary decisions based on all EXCEPT which of the following?

A) Advocacy
B) Needs
C) Priorities
D) Goals and objectives

Question 12

There are three corresponding (to purposes of budgeting) major budgeting systems. Which one of the following is NOT one of those major budgeting systems?

A) Planning
B) Line-item.
C) Functional
D) Program

Question 13

Line-item budgeting systems deal with inputs (revenues) and activities (expenses). Which of the following statements does NOT describe line-item budgeting?

A) Represent a plan for where agency or program revenues will be secured and how agency or program funds will be spent
B) Are used to ensure the budget will balance (revenues equal expenses) at the end of the year
C) Deal only with monetary issues
D) Are not concerned with other issues such as amount of service or product to be produced or the accomplishments

Question 14

In a line-item budget expense category, which of the following would NOT be correct?

A) Salaries and wages
B) Rent
C) Government contracts and grants
D) Supplies

Question 15

Functional budgeting systems are plans for how much agency funding will be devoted to all of the following EXCEPT:

A) individual programs.
B) what amount of service or product the programs are expected to produce in return.
C) the estimated unit cost (cost per output).
D) a budgeting system which divides the agency budget into functions and estimates costs of each function.

Question 16

Program budgeting systems include all EXCEPT which of the following functions:

A) divide revenues into the need of each program of the agency.
B) have planning as their principal purpose.
C) deal with inputs (revenues).
D) can be thought of as "outcome budgeting."

Question 17

The three budgeting systems provide differing perspectives on the implication of all of the following EXCEPT:

A) revenue.
B) profits.
C) expenses.
D) shortfalls.

Question 18

From an effectiveness-based planning perspective, the type of information provided by functional and program budgeting system is needed to do all EXCEPT which of the following?

A) Assess the impact of revenue increases on the agency or program
B) Assess the impact of revenue decreases on the amount of service or product that can be achieved
C) Assess the impact of revenue increases or decreases on how the "carryover" money will be used in the next year
D) Assess the impact of revenue increases or decreases on the number of client outcomes that can be achieved

Question 19

Government, United Way, and private foundations increasingly require contract and grant applications to contain all EXCEPT which of the following:

A) output performance measures.
B) inclusion of unit cost data.
C) outcome performance measures.
D) required number of clients to be served by each agency.

Question 20

The rational-planning model of budgeting system is superior to the other two types for all of the following reasons EXCEPT:

A) it makes community and political leaders aware of the consequences of their choices.
B) it raises the level of the budgetary debate.
C) it focuses on client needs, agency goals and objectives.
D) it focuses on agency program and program outputs and outcomes.

Question 21

The terms accounting and budgeting can be used interchangeably.

Question 22

Seldom do the budgeting systems of most human service agencies fulfill all three principal purposes of budgeting.

Question 23

The financial control purposes of the three principal budgeting systems often overshadow the management and planning functions.

Question 24

For a human service agency to derive the maximum benefit from budgeting the financial control, management and planning purposes should all be addressed but the management function should receive the most importance because it includes the other two.

Question 25

Budgets are usually formally approved by governing boards in non-profits and the appropriate governing boards in government organizations.

Question 26

Budgets are self-regulating and self-monitoring.

Question 27

Through the planning function of budgeting, assurances can be given to funding sources that specified target populations will have resources allocated to addressing their needs.

Question 28

Collectively, the three principal purposes of budgeting combine to provide a comprehensive picture of the functioning of a human service agency and its programs that none is capable of providing separately.

Question 29

The management purpose of budgeting is to ensure that revenues are adequate to cover expenses.

Question 30

Because resources are scarce for funding a human service agency and its programs, there can be considerable competition between programs for a higher allocation of existing resources.

Question 31

The _____ model of budgeting can operate at the community, agency, and program levels.

Question 32

In the political model of budgeting, those agencies and programs that generate the least political and community support are more likely to experience resource ________.

Question 33

A community human service agency or program truly concerned about the needs of clients would probably not want to make budgeting decisions based primarily on incrementalism or politics, but would prefer to be guided by _________ _________.

Question 34

In a line-item budgeting process, a human service program manager would assign income from a gift shop to the _________ series of line items.

Question 35

The classical definition of efficiency or __________ is the ratio of outputs to inputs.

Question 36

You are the director of a human service agency that offers day care to Alzheimer's patients. The federal budget crisis has just announced a $750,000 reduction in funding to your organization. Discuss the implications of the cutback on your agency and its programs in a line-item budget system, a functional budget system and a program budgeting system. You present the information and implications to your program staff and divide them into small groups to propose at least one possible way to re-structure the agency and/or program to deal with the cutback-one group in a line-item budget process, one group in a functional budget process and one group in a program budget process. Below describe at least one of the implications of the $750,00 cutback in each of the three major budgeting systems and next to each budget system and its implication list the possible way to re-structure that your staff proposes.

Question 37

You are director of an agency that works to decrease the school dropout rate. Your agency receives funding from the federal government, United Way and private foundations. All three funding sources require grantees to include output and outcome measures and accomplishments in their annual program reports. First, describe why the funding sources would require output, outcome, accomplishments and cost data to be included in your reports. Secondly, list at least two examples of outputs, outcomes, accomplishments. and cost data you might list in your reports-including hypothetical numeric/qualitative measures.

Question 38

You are the program manager in a human service agency that has a number of different programs with
different goals and objectives-all centered around self-sufficiency. This year your director tells the whole staff that their funding sources-governmental, private foundations and your parent organization-have all required evidence of the agency's programs reaching diverse populations matched to the demographics of your community, show evidence that funds from your budget are allocated to address the specific needs of each population AND show evidence that every staff person has been trained in cultural competency. So, first you and your staff…
Create a scenario of the steps you would take to meet the funder's requirements for service to diverse populations, fund allocation, and the entire program staff has been trained in cultural competency.