Budgets and Financial Management in Higher Education, 3rd Edition

6Problems and Pitfalls in Budget Management

Although Chapter Four on the budget cycle(s) approaches the issue of budget management as a rational process with steps that everyone follows and guidelines to which everyone adheres, it is usually much more complex than that and can be much more confusing. Politics, people, publicity, and problem areas can all influence the development of an institutional budget. For example, if there has been a series of incidents on the campus regarding safety of students that has received a great deal of publicity, new support for campus safety may become part of the budget. Or if an elected representative (at either the state or federal level) has an interest in public transportation, then an appropriation ...