Walden Canton GA Budget Management Functions Financial Evaluation Paper

User Generated

zrtnayrr303

Economics

Walden University

Description

Financial planning and budgeting are claimed to be vital in public organizations, but how can you tell if all that planning actually is paying off? The answer is simple: by conducting financial evaluations. Evaluating financial activities primarily consists of performing independent audits and reviews, which look for errors or abuses in financial reports and compliance with laws and regulations. Auditing is, in fact, a requirement in most government organizations for a variety of reasons that you will consider this week.

This week, you focus on auditing practices and processes. You also explore how audits can help ascertain the financial condition, efficiency, and effectiveness of a program or organization.


Required Readings

Agrawal D.; Fox W.; Slemrod J. (2015). Competition and Subnational Governments: Tax Competition, Competition in Urban Areas, and Education Competition. National Tax Journal, 68 (35), 701-734. doi: 10.17310/ntj.2015.3S.01. Retrieved from http://www.ntanet.org/NTJ/68/3S/ntj-v68n03Sp701-73...
Aikins, S. K. (2011). An examination of government internal audits' role in improving financial performance. Public Finance & Management, 11(4), 306–337.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.
Cromwell E.; Ihlanfeldt K. (2015). Local Government Responsibility to Exogenous Shocks in Revenue Sources: Evidence from Florida 68 (2), 339.376. Retrieved from http://coss.fsu.edu/keith-ihlanfeldt/wp-content/up...
Linnas, R. (2011). An integrated model for the audit, control and supervision of local government. Local Government Studies, 37(4), 407–428.
Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

Mikesell, J. L. (2018). Fiscal administration: Analysis and applications for the public sector (10th ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth.
  • Chapter 3, "Budget Methods and Practices" (pp. 106-142)
  • Chapter 8, "Taxation: Criteria for Evaluating Revenue Options" (pp. 354-400)

Assignment: Application: Assessing Financial Condition

The regular evaluation of an organization's finances goes a long way toward establishing trust with stakeholders, such as tax payers, board members, clients, patrons, and funding agencies. Just as financial planning and budgeting are integral parts of an organization’s success, financial audits and evaluations are vital parts of the functioning of an organization. Evaluating the financial condition of an organization involves determining whether it has the revenue from taxes, fees, and other sources to meet its needs as well as if its assets exceed its liabilities. Assessing the financial condition is really just an analysis of the city's financial health.

In this Assignment, discuss the city in which you live and then evaluate its financial condition and opportunities for growth by addressing the bulleted statements below. Be sure to first review your readings and then research additional resources to assist in your evaluation. For example, it is helpful to examine available data and other public documents for that city. These resources are useful and should be incorporated into your paper, but remember that those resources do not count as scholarly (peer-reviewed, academic articles and texts).

To complete:

Write a 6- to 8-page paper (not including title page and reference page) that addresses the following:

  • Describe your local city or county entity. Include descriptive information as population, trends, and other important demographical information. (1 page)
  • Look at the largest source of taxes in the city, which could include sales tax, property tax or income tax. Is your entity’s revenue and expenditures balanced? Why or why not? In your assessment, consider the following three factors: amount of revenue that the entity is collecting, the percentage of total revenue contributed by sales tax, how much the city is spending. (2 pages)
  • Consider these six important factors that impact city revenue: Deterioration of revenue base, internal procedures or policies that may adversely affect revenue yields, over-dependence on obsolete or external revenue sources, changes in tax burden, poor revenue estimating practices, and inefficiency in the collection and administration of revenues. Select two that apply to your city, and then evaluate how these impact your city. (1- 2 pages)
  • You propose to increase city tax revenue, and you know from your course readings that price elasticity and demand are important considerations. Understanding the characteristics of your city, evaluate whether the following three tax increase options would be effective assuming all would be legally possible: 1) a .5% increase in sales tax, 2) a 3% increase in restaurant tax, and 3) a 5% increase in tourism tax. In your evaluation, consider price elasticity and positive and negative externalities for each type of tax.This is where knowing your city and its major sources of revenue are especially important. (1 – 1 1/2 pages)
  • As part of your conclusion, provide one recommendation to improve the city’s financial health. Examples may include (but are not limited to) the need to shift public or customer service priorities or a need to shift policies because of a loss of competitive position. Be creative – one suggestion may be to research examples of other similar cities and determined what changes have worked for them. (1/2 - 1 page)

Use proper APA formatting and include the following:

  • A title page and running head
  • An introduction that states the purpose of the paper
  • Level 1 headings to define each part (bullet) of the paper
  • A conclusion to synthesize the entire paper
  • A minimum of three additional scholarly sources to support your paper
  • In-text citations as appropriate
  • A reference list



CITY IS CANTON, GEORGIA

User generated content is uploaded by users for the purposes of learning and should be used following Studypool's honor code & terms of service.

Explanation & Answer

Attached.

Running head: BUDGET MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS FINANCIAL EVALUATION

Budget Management Functions Financial Evaluation
Name:
Institutional affiliation

1

BUDGET MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS FINANCIAL EVALUATION

2

Budget Management Functions Financial Evaluation
Introduction
Budgeting is a critical process that allows government institutions and businesses to
attain their financial goal. Some of these objectives include communication, planning,
evaluating, and control, among others. It helps in the organization and formalization of planning
activities of the management. The current budgeting can help in supporting performance
management through the integration of identified financial results with continuous budget reforecasting. Therefore, the focus of this study will be on budget management functions and
financial evaluation of Canton, GA city. The study will provide background information about
the town; discuss its significant sources of income, factors that impact on the revenue of the city,
and the most appropriate way to increase its revenues. The study will conclude by providing
necessary recommendations to the city’s management on how to improve their revenue
collection and administration.
Background Information
The population of Canton, GA is approximately 27,936 as per the 2017 census making it
1730th largest city in the USA with a population density of 1,380 per square meter. The median
age of the population in the town is 32years, which is lower by 11% than Georgia’s average of
36years. The whites comprise the majority of the residents in Canton City, followed by blacks,
and Asians being the minority group. Canton’s cost of living index is 100, which is more than
the average in Georgia by 7% and equal to the national average. A person searching for a job
opportunity can use the employment data as a critical indicator. Some of the factors to consider
when identifying the strength of the job market include the median household income and

BUDGET MANAGEMENT FUNCTIONS FINANCIAL EVALUATION

3

income per capita. Canton city has an income per capita of $23,797, which is lower than the
federal government’s average by 20% and 11% lower than that of Georgia. The median income
of a household is $55,195; it is similar to that of the national average but 8% higher to that of
Georgia.
Currently, the rate of unemployment in the city is 5% while the poverty rate is at 19%.
The average cost of the majority of the properties in Canton is $174,500. The implication is that
this region is expensive to own property than the other areas in Georgia. The average cost
incurred by tenants is approximately $880, making the median rental price less than other parts
in GA. Also, more than half of the population in the city owns their homes, and the average
occupancy rate on each property is 2.8. Therefore, when searching for real estate in the city, one
of the critical factors to consider is affordability.
Largest Source of Taxes in the City
Majority of the households in the city distributes between property tax buckets series than
the federal averages for each bucket. Therefore, property taxes are the largest source o...


Anonymous
Excellent! Definitely coming back for more study materials.

Studypool
4.7
Trustpilot
4.5
Sitejabber
4.4

Related Tags