Page 140 - Budgeting for Managers

8

Budgetary

Spending

What you want and what you get aren’t always the
same.
—Anonymous
he budget you create is more than an estimate of what you
Twill spend; it is a request for permission to spend it. In this
chapter, we’ll look at how to get authorization for your budget
and how to set up a spending plan for the year.

Getting the Budget Authorized
Sometimes, your budget is pre-authorized. The first time I had
to make a budget, I was told that I had $50,000 to spend and it
was my job to decide how to spend it to meet the goal of build-
ing a new computer network and running all the computers for
a graduate school. There was no negotiation involved.
On the other hand, we often have to negotiate to get the
money we need to do the work of our department. Many people
think that negotiation implies big issues and major disagree-
ments, such as unions fighting management and striking or

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