Financial Management in the Public Sector

The study of public financial management is essential to improving the practice of public management and to our understanding of the politics and organization of public institutions. As a study of the practice of public management, the literature of public financial management closely scrutinizes developing trends and standards in various areas of expertise, such as budgeting, accounting, and taxation. As a study of politics and organization of public institutions, the literature of public financial management examines the salience of financial resources and their management in the allocation and use of political authority.

This four-volume set aims to address the sophistication and breadth of issues in this fast-developing area of study, bringing together seminal works on both practice-centric research and research that speaks to broader public management ...

Editors' Introduction: Financial Management in the Public Sector

Justin Marlowe and David S.T. Matkin

Much like living organisms require calories to survive from one day to the next and the pursuit, consumption, and regulation of those calories is a primary task for all living creatures, the collection, allocation, and use of financial resources is critical to the health, energy, and survival of public organizations. Despite this importance, taxpayers and service recipients are rarely aware of the many actors (e.g., forecasters, budgeters, analysts, elected and appointed officials, managers, tax collectors, procurement officers, treasurers, lawyers, bankers, accountants, and auditors) and activities (e.g., planning/budgeting, cost analysis, revenue collection, spending authorization, purchasing, monitoring and oversight, and ...

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