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Public Stewardship in Budgeting
Public stewardship is an extremely essential concept; before embarking on the task of
detailing its importance to budgeting, it is absolutely critical the concept is defined. Stewardship
is a practice that was made famous in Europe; in 15th century, English leaders embraced it as it
helped in the management of public funds. They defined stewardship as the responsible
management of something that belonged to someone else. This therefore means that Public
stewardship is a practice where the federal system is tasked with the role of being the manager
and sole protectors of state resources (Kelly, 2001). The concept is mandatory in budgeting as it
encourages accountability and proper utilization of available resources.
Public stewardship operates on four key components; responsibility, reporting,
reciprocity and relationship nurturing (Kelly, 2001). The analysis of the components above will
bring to the forefront the need for public stewardship in budgeting. Responsibility is when those
involved in budgeting ensure funds at their disposal are well taken care of and that none is
misappropriated. Responsibility can be attained by structuring the budget to reflect a deeper
understanding of all stakeholders. If properly implemented, this concept can reduce incidents of
leaders earning extra money by cutting corners.
Reporting is a process where public stewards communicate their plan on how they intend
to utilize funds at their disposal. It is a continuous process meaning that any new developments
that arise must also be relayed to the public. The importance of this process is that it gives
confidence that public resources are being used well. Reciprocity develops when trust is
established among stakeholders; tax payers become willing participants as they realize their
contribution is managed by a responsible party (Lewis & Hildreth, 2011). Relationship nurturing
Public Stewardship in Budgeting
Public stewardship is an extremely essential concept; before embarking on the task of
detailing its importance to budgeting, it is absolutely critical the concept is defined. Stewardship
is a practice that was made famous in Europe; in 15th century, English leaders embraced it as it
helped in the management of public funds. They defined stewardship as the responsible
management of something that belonged to someone else. This therefore means that Public
stewardship is a practice where the federal system is tasked with the role of being the manager
and sole protectors of state resources (Kelly, 2001). The concept is mandatory in budgeting as it
encourages accountability and proper utilization of available resources.
Public stewardship operates on four key components; responsibility, reporting,
reciprocity and relationship nurturing (Kelly, 2001). The analysis of the components above will
bring to the forefront the need for public stewardship in budgeting. Responsibility is when those
involved in budgeting ensure funds at their disposal are well taken care of and that none is
misappropriated. Responsibility can be attained by structuring the budget to reflect a deeper
understanding of all stakeholders. If properly implemented, this concept can reduce incidents of
leaders earning extra money by cutting corners.
Reporting is a process where public stewards communicate their plan on how they intend
to utilize funds at their disposal. It is a continuous process meaning that any new developments
that arise must also be relayed to the public. The importance of this process is that it gives
confidence that public resources are being used well. Reciprocity develops when trust is
established among stakeholders; tax payers become willing participants as they realize their
contribution is managed by a responsible party (Lewis & Hildreth, 2011). Relationship nurturing
