Chapter 12 Key terms Flashcards
audit:
an independent verification by someone who has no stake in the outcome; audits can be financial or programmatic.
benchmarking:
the practice of comparing one’s organizational performance to those that are recognized leaders in the field or otherwise relevant competitors.
biennial budget:
2-year police budget.
budget:
government’s priorities expressed in financial terms, a plan stated in financial terms, the use of resources to meet human needs, a contract between the appropriators and those who execute the budget.
budget calendar:
schedule of events for the preparation and approval of a budget.
budget cycle:
four-step, sequential process repeated annually in government.
budget execution:
the action phase of budgeting, budget implementation.
capital budget:
groups together multiple large-scale, nonrecurring projects such as the construction of a new police station and has a multi-year time horizon, often 5 years.
capital improvement project (CIP):
single capital improvement project, a component of a capital budget.
fiscal year (FY):
the 12-month period usually covered by a budget; also see biennial and capital budgets as exceptions.
hybrid budget:
budget formats that incorporate features from one or more other budget formats versus being purely one type of format.
letter of exception:
letter written by a chief of police to whatever office authorized the audit contesting one or more findings by the auditor.
line item budget:
budget whose focus is on controlling expenditures; each object of expenditure has a separate line in the budget.
operating budget:
recurrent budget for salaries, fringe benefits, uniforms, training, telephone service and kindred expenses.
performance audit (PA):
study to see how well an organization is achieving its objectives.
performance budget
budget whose focus is on achieving goals; is organized around programs/ activities, has line item budget for control.
Planning, Programming Budget System (PPBS):
a budgeting innovation used in the federal government from the mid-1960s to the early 1970s; little use of it in state and local government.
program budget:
budget whose focus is on achieving goals; is organized around programs/ activities, has line item budget for control.
results-based budget (RBB):
see performance budget.
Zero-Based Budget (ZBB):
in pure form, every program in a budget starts from “zero” and must be justified each year. Three alternative service levels are prepared for each program. As currently practiced, departments “have” 75 or 80 percent of their prior year’s budget and use ZBB from there.
allotments:
small amounts into which a budget is broken and given to the police department monthly or quarterly, instead of giving all of it at once to the police department.
