Question of the Week
Promoting transparency in the school budget system
Increasing Transparency in the budget process is fundamental in getting financial aid. According to Caamaño-Alegre et al., (2013) when the stakeholders can verify how the school district spends its resources, the following two things are likely to follow suit. First, the school district is likely to be more accountable for the school’s expenditures. Second, the community will be ready to support the district by channeling more resources towards running the affairs of the school. Indeed, it requires a strong leader to maintain transparency in the school’s financial matters. Therefore, some of the ways that I may deploy to increase transparency in the school’s budget include the following:
First, Caamaño-Alegre et al., (2013) underscore the significance of establishing a strong budget information system with clear transparency clauses and conditions can guarantee effective use of resources. This may prevent persons with ill motives to steal or even misuse school funds. Second, the creation of official and nonofficial oversight agencies, for instance, legislators and Civil society agencies can assist in ensuring that the funds set aside for certain agendas are actually put into proper usage. The legislators can assist in implementing policies that hold people accountable for any funds submitted to them for usage in promoting the welfare of the school. The third and probably the most applicable approach in a school setting is changing and enhancing the practices used in preventing fraudulent activities in the school. This is achieved by ensuring that the quality of information submitted by the financial sponsors uses modalities that attuned with the budget systems and processes of the country. Some of the modalities include the control systems such as the balanced scorecard among others. A balanced scorecard serves as a strategic and management system that ensures that a company accomplishes all the activities required in achieving the intended purpose of the company.
Reference
Caamaño-Alegre, J., Lago-Peñas, S., Reyes-Santias, F., & Santiago-Boubeta, A. (2013). Budget transparency in local governments: an empirical analysis. Local Government Studies, 39(2), 182-207