DUE 4/18
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ResearchPaperAppropriationsandExpensesTrendAnalysisTemplate.docxTrend Analysis Report, 2023 - 2025
INTRODUCTION
Financial management is one of the most challenging responsibilities facing governments, aware that they must achieve a level of fiscal health to be sustainable over the long term. Governments can utilize analytical skills and financial indicators to perform assessments of the organization’s fiscal health. With the information gained from this kind of assessment, the organization can determine what symptoms might be contributing to its fiscal distress and what additional testing and analysis needs to be done to get a more accurate picture of the organization’s fiscal problems. Problems can then be treated in the most effective way to achieve the level of fiscal health that needed to serve its citizens. There are several advantages to providing a long-range assessment of financial condition including:
· Improving the quality of information for making policy and budgetary decisions
· Identifying emerging trends to take corrective or proactive action
· Providing a graphical analysis for review and tracking of trends
· Utilizing the trends of specific financial indicators to guide budget decisions and priorities
Financial Condition
Financial condition is defined as the ability of a government to balance recurring appropriations with recurring expenses, allowing them to provide necessary services on a continuing basis. A government in good financial condition can maintain adequate service levels during economic downturns and is able to develop resources to meet future needs. In contrast, a government in fiscal stress struggles to balance the budget, experiences service disruptions and has limited resources to finance future needs. Maintaining a sound financial condition requires governments to adjust to long-term changes in community needs and develop the ability to plan.
There is no single measure that fully captures the financial condition of a governmental entity therefore it is necessary to take a comprehensive approach that focuses on both external and internal fiscal factors.
GENERAL BUDGET INDICATORS
Public Safety
Warning Trend: Decrease as a Percent of Revenues allocated to
Public Safety
BAR CHART HERE
Parks and Recreation
Description: If the percent of Revenues allocated to Parks and Recreation decreases or become lower, it may hamper the agency’s ability to maintain the existing level of services unless new sources of revenues or ways of trimming expenses can be found.
Warning Trend: Decrease as a percent of Revenues allocated to Parks and
Recreation
BAR CHART HERE
Senior Services
Description: If the percent of Revenues allocated to Senior Services decreases or become lower, it may hamper the agency’s ability to maintain the existing level of services unless new sources of revenues or ways of trimming expenses can be found.
Warning Trend: Decrease as Revenues allocated to Senior Services
BAR CHART HERE
Planning and Permits
Description: If the percent of Revenues allocated to Planning and Permits decreases or become lower, it may hamper the agency’s ability to maintain the existing level of services unless new sources of revenues or ways of trimming expenses can be found.
Warning Trend: Decrease as a percent Revenues allocated to Planning and
Permits
BAR CHART HERE
MAYOR'S PERSONNEL INDICATORS
Four Major Departmental Expenses for Mayor’s Office
Description: If the percent of the mayor's personnel indicators decreases or become lower, it may hamper the agency’s ability to maintain the existing level of services unless new sources of revenues or ways of trimming expenses can be found.
Warning Trend: Decrease as Comparison of mayor's four major personnel
indicators
PIE CHART(S) HERE
Concluding Analysis
Hint:
In the Concluding Analysis section, for each chart, the analysis should focus on the patterns as they are linked to the warning trends of each indicator. That is, the Concluding Analysis should analyze each of the charts in the following manner:
Compare the data to the benchmarks (warning trends) and then address the following research questions:
1. Research Question: How do the data trends for each indicator compare to the warning trends and what does that mean?
2. Research Question: How do the data trends for each indicator compare to the other warning trends and what does that mean?
3. Research Question: Why did the trends occur? Should the organization be concerned? You need to explore the internet for information.
To do that you needed to survey the internet for information about Maumelle Arkansas in 2023, 2024, and 2025 so that you can address this question. You MUST use appropriate citations pertaining to Maumelle, Arkansas.
When discussing why the trends, make sure that your analysis is substantiated by a sufficient number of appropriate citations referring to Maumelle and other appropriate sources; otherwise, they are unsubstantiated opinions, not analysis. (Textbooks probably will not help you here.)
