Budget Development

Final project details: Budget Development (Power Point Presentation)

Contact an executive level health care administrator who has experience and responsibility for budget development and ascertain the process and procedures for developing its various budgets. The facility you select should be of sufficient size such that as many budget issues as possible can be ascertained. If you select a hospital or other large health care facility, be sure you contact someone high enough in the management structure, for example VP for Nursing or VP for Patient Services so as to have scope of awareness of Strategic Plan issues as well as departmental budgetary issues. Presentations are to be in Power Point format with a hard copy provided to the instructor.

To the extent possible, determine in your interview and present:
• What is the organization’s budget cycle and schedule for budgeting activities?
• In developing the budget, is there a budget package or other guidance material furnished by senior management? What is included?
• What Assumptions are used in the development of the Budget?
• What Priorities, Goals and Objectives are considered?
• Are Budget targets used?
• What is their Budget calendar? Show Timetable if available.
• Are budget priorities tied into institution’s Strategic Plan?
• What Approach is/are used – incremental, zero-based, retrospective, prospective, fixed, flexible, or other?
• What methods are used for projecting revenues, expenses, capital needs?
• To what extent are variances used?
• Are FTE formula’s as discussed in class utilized in developing the staffing budget?
• What negotiations take place? With who? Over what?
• How are downsizing issues handled from a budgetary perspective? How was it handled from a human relations perspective?
• Conclusion: Include a slide that includes comments, critiques, or observations.
Based on materials learned in class, how was their process the same or different.