Public Administration and Finance

One of the important components towards the successful delivery of services to the public is management of financial resources. Financial management in public administration basically entails budgeting as well as budget execution, monitoring, and accounting with respect to planning and programming of public administration. In essence, public finance administration basically entails raising revenue from the public, allocation of public funds and other financial resources, and managing public assets. These processes are usually carried out to help ensure that the government has adequate money to finance all its activities. In this regard, proper financial management in public administration is crucial towards preventing misuse of public money or resources as well as ensuring compliance with the relevant financial regulations. This paper examines finance in public administration in relation to the budgeting process and budget decision-making based on the fundamental principles of public finance.

The management of finance and other financial resources in public administration is governed by some fundamental principles of public finance. According to Mikesell (2011), there are several fundamental principles of finance management in public administration including operating under public trust and controlling the proper use of public resources. Secondly, management of public finance should be guided by sound budget decisions on the use of public funds and resources, which provide a good starting point in organizing options. Third, managers of public finance should ensure that money does not run out before the delivery of necessary services to the public. The other principles include understanding the case being made by other managers, provide suitable cases to legislative and executive bodies for resource allocation to provide essential public services, and prevent/avoid misuse of public resources. Additionally, non-profit organizations often have abysmal financial management practices and government crises usually have underpinnings that have been avoided with better budget systems and finance mechanisms. The management of public finance is also governed by the principle that those who work in an organization have better understanding of the financial aspects of the organization and understanding that budget planning and execution is key towards funding and understanding what is happening in public organizations.

The other important aspects of public finance administration include the equimarginal principle, pareto criterion, and government action. Equimarginal principle suggests that people will choose a mixture of goods to maximize their overall utility. In public finance, public officials utilize this principle to evaluate the various alternatives and courses of action, and in turn identify the most suitable measure for resource allocation that will have lasting impacts on the public. These officials utilize pareto criterion to examine the needs of the public in terms issues they consider important. They utilize such information to determine areas that require huge amounts of attention and financial resources. Justification for government action is when elected and/or appointed public officials demonstrate how their policies will impact communities. These policies in turn become the basis for allocation of public funds and resources to meet the needs of the community.