CHAPTER-3

What is budgetary control? Meaning:

An estimation of the revenue and expenses over a specified future period of time. A budget can be made for a person, family, group of people, business, government, country, multinational organization or just about anything else that makes and spends money. A budget is a microeconomic concept that shows the tradeoff made when one good is exchanged for another.

Definition:
A budget is a financial document used to project future income and expenses. The budgeting process may be carried out by individuals or by companies to estimate whether the person/company can continue to operate with its projected income and expenses

Objective of budgeting:
Budgets are able to direct capital expenditure in the most profitable direction; Budget provides the yardstick against which future results can be compared; It act as a guide for management decisions when unforeseeable conditions affect the budget; With the establishment of the budget, action(s) can be taken by management if there are any material variances against budget; Assist in decentralizing responsibility on to each manager involved. With the setting of budgets, the managers involved will better understand what the company expects from them. Therefore there is a congruence of goals between the company and the employees
Budgets enable management to plan and anticipate in areas of adequacy in working capital and scarce or type of availability of resources;

VIEWS OF DIFFERENT AUTHORS ON BUDGETARY CONTROL

The Budget: Myths, Illusions, and the Reality

1. INTRODUCTION
The budget is perhaps the most important instrument in any modern state apart from the constitution. The focus on budget has assumed greater prominence in recent years with increasing democratization, civil society participation and the desire to respond to the development challenge of poverty. In Nigeria , the return to civilian rule after many years of military rule has put issues of budget in the public domain. It is important to point out that even during military rule, budgets are prepared and read to the country every year. But there are a lot of misconceptions, misunderstandings, misgivings and even postulations about the budget, which are far from reality. In this paper, we examine the concept of budget and budgeting and the myths and illusions associated with it especially in underdeveloped and corrupt countries like Nigeria . We argue that the budgeting process in Nigeria is characterized by myths and illusions and posit that there is the need to transform the reality of the budgeting process in Nigeria through citizen participation and monitoring.

2. THE CONCEPT OF BUDGET AND BUDGETING

The word budget originated from a French word bougette which means little bag. In Britain , it was used to describe the leather bag in which the Chancellor of the Exchequer carried the statement of government needs and finances to parliament. Later on, the budget was used to describe the documents contained in the bag. Today, budget is ascribed a broader meaning and has been defined by various authors in different ways. A budget has been defined simply as a statement of governments estimated revenue and proposed expenditure for the year. Bedeian defined budget as plan that deals with the future allocation and utilization of various resources to different enterprise activities over a given time period. A budget has also been defined as a financial plan embodying an estimate of proposed expenditures for a given period and the proposed means of financing them. Another definition is one that defined budget as an action plan for a specific period of time covering all departments/functions/facets of an organization and containing targets to be achieved both in physical and financial terms, which serve as important criteria of performance. According to Balmori, the budget of any government is the technical

instrument by which commitments are translated into monetary terms.A comprehensive description was given by Kwanashie: The budget is a key instrument for macroeconomic management in most economies and its efficacy determines the success of governments in meeting societal goals. The budget is also a tool for the implementation of social, political and economic policies and priorities which impact on the lives of the populationA budget is a plan and we know that plans depend heavily on information, analysis and projections. A successful budget must be a product of a process that is based on sound and quality information, rigorous impact analysis and an effective feedback mechanism to internalize lessons of past budgets. The budget is an integrated output of a dynamic process in which the connections between the various sectors are critical for its ultimate impact and should be looked at in a holistic manner.

From the above definitions and description, it is clear that budgets serve some purposes. Six main purposes can be delineated for a budget. 1. 2. 3. 4. It is a short-term financial plan. It is a political document couched in figures. It is a management tool used for both planning and control. It is a device for ensuring a continuous monitoring procedure, and reviewing and evaluating performance with reference to previously established standards. It is an agent to enable management to anticipate change and adapt to it. It is an overall method for improving operations. It is important to note that as soon as a budget is approved by the appropriate authority (usually the legislature), it becomes a legal instrument through which government can incur expenditure and collect revenue.

5. 6.

Budgeting is simply the process of preparing a budget. It refers to the procedures and mechanisms by which the budget is prepared, implemented and monitored. Budgeting is very crucial for the economic development of any nation. Good budgeting can lead to economic growth and development. But to prepare a good budget requires a responsible leadership, special staff assistance, broad, accurate and reliable information, complete plan, a financial calendar and effective monitoring and control over the execution of the budget plan. The budgeting process traces the budget in one year from conception through to

preparation, approval, execution, control, monitoring and evaluation. Scholars have divided the budgeting process into four main stages viz: a. b. c. d. Budget Review Budget Formulation Budget Implementation Budget Monitoring and Control

3. MYTHS AND ILLUSIONS ABOUT BUDGET There are a lot of myth and illusions about the budget. In this paper, myth refers to something that many people believe but that does not exist or is false while illusion is a false idea or belief. According to Krafchik, in many developing countries, the range of inaccurate and misguided assumptions include: The perception that public budgeting is the exclusive preserve of the executive. Budgets must be formulated in secret or they may upset financial markets. Non-government intervention can destroy the integrity of the budget envelope; Legislators and civil society have a greater interest in advancing the interests of their constituents as opposed to the interests of the country as a whole; It is the governments mandate to produce the budget internally in a closed process; and the governments prerogative to have it rubber- stamped by the legislature. A critical analysis of the ideas above will reveal that they are mere myths and illusions that are not grounded on facts. While it is true that it is the responsibility of the executive to formally make proposals to the legislature, the process of formulation of budget ought to involve the participation of interest groups and citizens in general. In this way, the debate on the budget process is deepened and new information is brought into the process of making decision on the budget. The argument that openness of the budget making process will upset financial market is an illusion. In fact, budget secrecy will encourage speculation while transparency will make known the policy choices which will make it easier for investors and business people to make more informed decision. The assumption that non-government intervention can destroy the integrity of the budget envelope cannot be sustained because budget by definition is a plan based on certain assumptions whose integrity is not caste in stones. Non-government intervention brings in fresh perspectives that cannot be discountenanced. The view that legislators and civil society will pursue interests opposed to the common good challenges the whole concept of representative democracy and popular participation. The appropriate response cannot be exclusion from the process especially as there is no guarantee that the executive will not pursue a narrower interest.

4. THE REALITY OF BUDGET AND BUDGETING IN NIGERIA

The reality of budget and budgeting in Nigeria is that it is dominated by the myths and illusions discussed above. There is a strong perception in Nigeria that public budgeting is the exclusive preserve of the executive. According to the Special Assistant to the President on Budget matters, budget formulation is entirely the responsibility of the executive. In 2003, a widely read newspaper in Nigeria wrote an editorial arguing that budget making is a technical process and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) have no business being involved in the process. Similarly, there is little or no involvement of CSOs in the formulation stage of budgeting in Nigeria even though attempts are being made to intervene in the process after submission of the proposals by the executive to the legislature. Meanwhile, budget like other government business is still regarded as secret in Nigeri. Edetean Ojo aptly captured the situation when he pointed out that: The environment under which the budget process takes place in Nigeria is one in which legal and institutional frameworks impede public access to official records, documents and informationNigeria continues to retain numerous laws with secrecy clauses which prohibit the disclosure of information, usually under very broad public interest claims, even when no justification for such prohibition exists. Sometimes, even the courts of law are precluded from compelling the disclosure of such information. Besides, certain categories of government officials are obliged upon taking office to subscribe to an oath of secrecy under which they undertake not to disclose any information, which comes to their knowledge or custody in the course of their duties, unless specifically authorized to do so. The situation has engendered a culture of secrecy in government institutions, which insulates governments and their actions from public scrutiny. This has also resulted in a severe restriction on the ability of members of the public, including the media, to access information about governmental activities, programmers and policies.[ Another reality with the budgeting process in Nigeria is that despite the fact that budget in a democracy is supposed to be a law, an act of parliament that must be obeyed, there are a lot of extra-budgetary expenditure. This actually formed one of the grounds of the threat to impeach President Olusegun Obasanjo in 2002. One of the fallouts of this reality is that budget performance is very poor. Finally, the reality of the budgeting process is that the legislature is a mere rubber stamp especially at State legislatures. In Enugu State for instance, the 2003 budget was passed within three days of presentation to the State House of assembly by the Governor Dr. Chimaroke Nnamani. There is no way the house would have completed a thorough scrutiny of the budget in three days.

Some scholars have argued that the myth and illusions about budget is being challenged in several developing and transitional countries with CSOs and legislators playing more roles in the budgetary process. Examples of such countries include Indonesia, Russia, South Africa and Uganda . In addition, the increased emphasis on decentralization which is bringing budgeting closer to the people thereby fostering greater citizen participation; growth of independent budget institutions and the emerging consensus on the role of nongovernment actors in development especially in the face of growing poverty in the world underscore the necessity of CSO participation in the budgeting process.

In Nigeria , the myth and illusions about budget is also being challenged. During the military era, most CSOs in Nigeria are Human Rights Organisations (HROs) focused on fighting the military and entrenching democracy. With the return to civilian rule in 1999, many CSOs have sprung up to address wider development issues. In addition, many of the HROs are increasing repositioning to address economic, social and cultural rights in general and budgetary issues in particular. Some CSOs that are now working on Budget issues in Nigeria include Human Rights Law Service (HURILAWS), Women Advocate Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC), Women Environment Programme (WEP), Justice Development and Peace Commission (JDPC), Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD), Action Aid International Nigeria, Socio-Economic Rights Initiative (SERI), CBD NGO Forum, DEC, Gender and Development Action (GADA), Community Action for Popular Participation (CAPP), ANEEJ etc.

5. TRANSFORMING THE REALITY OF BUDGET AND BUDGETING IN NIGERIA

Karl Marx once said that Philosophers have interpreted the world in different ways, but the point is to change it. As noted above, the reality of the budgeting process in Nigeria will not lead to transparency, good governance and development. Therefore, just describing that reality is useless unless there are prescriptions to transform that reality. In order to transform the present reality, the following are necessary: Increasing participation in the budgetary process Promotion of transparency and accountability in the budgetary process Promoting basic rights through the instrumentality of the budget Building the capacity of CSOs and legislators to intervene in the budgetary process Conduct participatory researches with the involvement of citizens Promulgation of a budget law which will provide for participation of citizens

Advocacy for pro-poor redistributive budgets (in favour of the poor, marginalized, excluded and disabled) Advocacy for Gender Budget Initiatives Advocacy for children Budget Initiatives Enactment of the Freedom of Information Act (It was passed by the House of Representatives on August 5 and 25, 2004. We commend the House and call on the Senate to pass the bill and for the President to give assent). Production of alternative budgets

6. CONCLUSION
The budget is an important instrument of governance in any modern state. It has the potential of aiding planning and contributing to development. But it is shrouded in a lot of myths and illusions, which essentially excludes citizens from participation and promote secrecy, corruption and underdevelopment. There is there fore the need to interrogate the reality of budgeting in Nigeria with a view to transforming it in such a way that it will not only become participatory, transparent and accountable but will also lead to poverty eradication and sustainable development.

Author: ENDNOTES

Budgeting and Budgetary Control: Jan F. Jacobs

Operational management needs to know the causes of off-standard performance in order to improve operations. The knowledge of variances (real result versus budget) will aid control, at least if and when these variances are understood well enough. The only criterion for the calculation of a variance is its usefulness. Of course variances must be calculated immediately after the event and one should act upon them adequately. Budget processes in many cases actually exemplify what is harming companies instead of helping them. Jensen, 2001, describes what is happening in practice. Measuring performance, by whether or not achieving set targets for the period or missing them, is ridiculous. Budgets and targets mean nothing without thorough detailed budgetary control; how should it be conducted? Variance analysis, the way it is taught at many schools and universities, in accordance with a wide variety of textbooks, is put to the test. This paper presents a few examples, with quotes from various textbooks and examinations. Problem definitions are quoted literally. Working-outs as explained by famous writers/lecturers/consultants are given where necessary and otherwise they are available at the quoted places in literature. The author's opinion is that these working-outs cannot stand the test. Anyway my opinion is not important, the reader decides. I give my elaboration in full detail, in reaction to the corresponding working-out published in well-known textbooks/examination papers, and may the best one prevail. Of course the elaborations of others and myself have a lot in common, but the discrepancies are at stake. Wrong, incomplete, unclear analyses will lead to mismanagement. In literature a so-called Dutch method is advocated versus what is supposed to be the American way to handle variance analysis i.e. solving the problem of budgeting and budgetary control. The author's opinion is that only one calculating method can be the right one. Only the best integral working-out is the essential base to better (operational) management. Of course variance analysis is but a means to an end. A deeper understanding of the state of the company is the ultimate goal of all representations in budgeting and budgetary control. Management's task is to find the reasons for the variances and to take proper action to bring operations into line with the budget. Maybe the variances and trends indicate that the standards need amendment. A strategic investment proposal is also a budget. The realized results ex post (not just future cash flows resulting out of an investment today), should be analysed in full detail.

BUDGETARY CONTROL TECHNIQU:

A budget is defined as a formal statement of the financial resources set aside for a specific activity over a certain period. Budgets help coordinate activities of the organization as a whole. The budget is a financial control for the organization. The three most important budgetary tools are the income, balance sheet and cash flow statement.

Variance Analysis
The most common budgetary technique is a comparison of the budget to actual results. This is usually done on a monthly basis, with a summary closing process every quarter. Variances (differences between the budget and actual results) are noted and accounted for. A decision can be made to reduce expenses or reallocate resources. This technique greatly reduces the need for comprehensive review cycles.

Control Centers
Create budgetary control centers with your business groups. There are four types of responsibility centers: revenue, expense, profit, and investment. These are represented primarily by the income and cash flow statement. Both statements have natural relationships that can be monitored over time to maintain a balance to operations. The working capital formula, or "current assets minus current liabilities," is a common measure used by investors to gauge a company's underlying operational efficiency. Money tied up in inventory (current assets) or money that customers still owe to the company (current liabilities) cannot be used to pay off any of the company's obligations. If working capital from one cycle to the next signals slow collection, this is a sign of inefficiency.

Forecasting
The most important budgetary technique is forecasting, or the ability to set out a detailed plan for the future. This forecast is a dialogue about what to look for in the future. Each manager should prepare detailed plans with targets and resource needs. These needs should be compared with the overall look to ensure alignment with industry standards. Focus on creating an agile budget; provide percentages of common accounts for other groups to compare. Budgeting should be looked at as a tool, not a harness.

The technique of arranged budgetary control: Introduction:

Budget and Budgetary control, both at management and operational level looks at the future and lays down what has to be achieved. Control verifies whether or not the plans are understood, and puts into effect corrective measures where deviation or underperformance is occurring. This article "Techniques of Budgetary Control" examines how budget and budgetary control can impact on the performance of the organizations

Techniques:
Budgetary Control is an integral part of management. It consists in comparisons between the results of actual performance and budgeted performance. Central to this kind of comparison is Standard Costing and Variance Analysis. The purpose of this article is to clarify simply to the leaner, reader, and others peoples who related with accounts, budgets, costing department. What variance analysis is all about, avoiding pure technicalities and the terminology of accountants? Notice is confined to costs and cost variances in this article. A similar dealing of revenue and revenue variances would also be compulsory to acquire a proper perspective. Following explained The Budgetary Control Techniques

Variance Analysis:
In a well run organization the comparison between actual and budget is used as the basis for deciding the appropriate action. This document sets out how the analysis is used to highest effect. The procedure is actually part of the normal control process. Any variation from expected performance, in terms of budgets, where income or expenditure did not occur as expected. Variance analysis is the act of determining the drivers for those variations. Variances are noted and accounted for. A decision can be made to reduce expenses or reallocate resources. This technique greatly reduces the need for comprehensive review cycles.

Responsibility Centers:
Control systems can be created to monitor organizational functions or organizational projects. Controlling, a function involves making sure that a specified activity is properly carried out. Controlling a project involves making sure that a specified end result is achieved. There are four types of responsibility centers: revenue, expense, profit, and investment.

Revenue Centers are those organizational units in which outputs are measured in monetary terms but are not directly compared to input costs. In Expenses Centers or cost centers, inputs are measured by the control system in monetary terms, but outputs are not. The reason is that these centers are not expected to produce revenues. In Profit centers, performance is measured by the numerical difference between revenues (outputs) and expenditure (inputs). A profit center is created whenever an organizational an organizational unit is given responsibility for earning a profit. Investment centers: In an investment center, the control system again measures the monetary value of inputs and outputs, but it also assesses how those outputs compare with the assets employed in producing them.

03. Forecasting:
The most important budgetary technique is forecasting, or the ability to set out a detailed plan for the future. This forecast is a dialogue about what to look for in the future. Predicted income and expenditure, split over periods of the financial year, based upon known, or expected activity. The forecast gives an indication as to the financial position at the year end. Each manager should prepare detailed plans with targets and resource needs. These needs should be compared with the overall look to ensure alignment with industry standards.

Conclusion:
This article "Techniques of Budgetary Control" examined the relationship between budget and performance of an organization. Although the organization of budgets techniques relating the errands of executives to the requirements of a policy. & the continuous judgment of real with budgeted results either to protect by creature achievement the objective of that policy or to afford a base for its adjustment. Author: Mohammad wahid Abdullah khan

(The technique of arranged budgetary control)

Measuring tight budgetary

This paper presents an effort to construct a measurement instrument to capture tight budgetary control. While there is not a strong tradition of publishing articles of this nature in the accounting literature, there is a role for this for constructs for which there are no ready-made instruments available from other disciplinary areas. The notion of tight (budgetary) control seems to fall into this category: it has troubled theorists for many years (Simons, R., 1995. Levers of Control: How Managers Use Innovative Control Systems to Drive Strategic Renewal, Boston, Harvard Business School Press.), and identifying and calibrating its components has been called a fruitful area for academic inquiry (Chow, C. W., Kato, Y. and Merchant, K. A., 1996. The use of organizational controls and their effects on data manipulation and management myopia: A Japan v. U.S. comparison, Accounting, Organizations and Society, 21, 175-192.). In this paper, the tight budgetary control macro-construct is defined, de-composed into its micro-attributes, operationalized into scale-items, and re-composed empirically through factor analysis on data obtained from 153 business units. The data suggest that tight budgetary control involves, in order of importance, low tolerance for interim budget deviations, detailed budget line-item followups, intense discussions of budget results, and strong emphasis on meeting short-run budget targets. Broadly speaking, tight budgetary controls seem more stringent than simply monitoring bottom-line budget deviations in a hands-off management-by-exception basis.

AUTHOR: ABSTRACT

He Impact of Budgetary Institutions on Expenditure Outcomes: Binding Governments to Fiscal Performance:

This paper examines how institutional arrangements affect incentives that govern the size, allocation, and use of budget resources. It compares the effects of institutional structures on fiscal discipline in seven countries (Australia, Ghana, Indonesia, Malawi, New Zealand, Thailand, and Uganda. It also examines how donor assistance affects expenditure outcomes.

Author: Ed Campos, Sanjay Pradhan

Budgeting and Policy Making:

Reference book and training manual addressed to public administrators in transitional economies, and in particular to officials with budgeting and policy-making responsibilities. It compiles the papers presented at the Multicountry Seminar in Ljubljana (April, 1996)focusing on four major areas of the relationship between budgeting and policy-making: 1) A comprehensive look at the current state of theory, practice, solutions, trends and outstanding problems; 2) Preparation of policies and budgets, including legislative ratification; 3) Implementation, evaluation and control of policies and budgets; 4) A review of the utilization of state-controlled enterprises and the administration of social security schemes.

Budgeting for the Future:

This report reviews and analyzes techniques being applied in OECD Member countries for incorporating a more long-term orientation to the budget process. The report consists of three chapters. The first chapter focuses on the use of Multi-Year Budget Frameworks. The second chapter discusses Generational Accounting. The third and final chapter focuses on the New Zealand Fiscal Responsibility Act.

Author: Jon Blondal

Aid, Resource Rents and the Politics of the Budget Process:

This paper analyzes the combined impact of political, institutional and budgetary procedures on budget outcomes in aid- and resource-dependent countries. The paper builds on a new dataset containing a total of 47 low and lower middle income countries whose economies depend on aid or natural resource inflows, over a period of twelve years (19952006. The empirical section identifies some trends that qualify conventional beliefs about the importance of executive power on the budget process and helps identify some arenas where more empirical and conceptual research is needed to understand the political factors underlying the budget process and producing budget outcomes

Author: Andrs Meja Acosta and Paolo de Renzio

THE
This chapter is part of a comprehensive manual, Managing Government Expenditure, based on a sound conceptual foundation but with a deliberate operational thrust, covering the entire public expenditure management cycle from multiyear expenditure programming and budget formulation through budget execution, audit, and evaluation. This chapter focuses on core processes of budget preparation and on mechanism of aggregate expenditure control and strategic allocation of resources. Please visit the following website for more chapters.

Author: Salvatore Schiavo-Campo and Daniel Tommas

Organizational Issues in Budget Preparation and the Budget Approval Process:

This chapter is part of a comprehensive manual, Managing Government Expenditure, based on a sound conceptual foundation but with a deliberate operational thrust, covering the entire public expenditure management cycle from multiyear expenditure programming and budget formulation through budget execution, audit, and evaluation. This chapter emphasizes the importance of an overall strategic framework and the supportive institutional arrangement. Please visit the following website for more chapters.

Author: Salvatore Schiavo-Campo and Daniel Tommasi

Effect of the budget control act of 2011:

The debt limit crisis was resolved with the enactment of the Budget Control Act of 2011. The good news for Medicare providers is there are no immediate cuts to provider payment. In a best-case scenario, there may not be any in the longer term, either, but the bad news is such cuts are more likely than not to occur. The new law mandates more than $900 billion in reductions over 10 years to discretionary spending. While these reductions do not affect either Medicare or Medicaid, which are entitlementi.e., non-discretionaryoutlays, health care providers may be indirectly affected. For example, the Medicare contractor budget is subject to the annual discretionary appropriations process, as are grants for the National Institutes of Health and the research budget for Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Most importantly, unless certain events occur between now and year-end, Medicare (but not Medicaid) providers may be subject to across-the-board payment reductions of up to 2 percent, starting in 2013. These reductions, called sequesters, would work very similarly to those in effect in the 1980s, pursuant to the GrammRudman-Hollings Act.

A sequester can be avoided three ways, two of which are created by this new law.[i] The first, passage by Congress of a balanced budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution, is considered highly unlikely to occur. (The new law requires a vote in both houses of Congress by year-end.) The second way sequesters can be avoided is pursuant to a special legislative process to take place between Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. The new law creates a special congressional joint committee. If the joint committees report passes both houses of Congress through expedited consideration and is signed by the president, sequester will be avoided. The joint committee legislation must reduce the deficit by $1.5 trillion through some combination of budget cuts and revenue enhancements; nothing is off the table. On the other hand, no particular category of government spending must be included. In other words, a legislative free-for-all is on the horizon. Joint committees are not unusual; for example, there has been a Joint Committee on Taxation for many years. What is unique about this joint committee is its real legislative power; it can vote out a massive piece of legislation, rather than merely holding hearings or issuing reports. A joint committee, by definition, is bicameral, so identical bill language will go to the floors of both houses.[ii] As noted above, a fast-track process is mandated for consideration in both houses. Importantly, this bill cannot be filibustered in the Senate. The committee members will be appointed by the majority and minority leadership in both houses. Each of the four party leaders will pick three from his or her caucus, meaning 12 members are to be named.[iii] Since seven votes are required to vote out a bill, at least one committee member will have to agree to cross party lines. Whether that will occur is the great unknown. Sequesters could happen at many points. If the committee fails to report out a bill, sequesters are mandated. If a bill makes it out of this committee but is defeated on a floor vote, sequesters are triggered. If the bill passes Congress but is vetoed by the president, sequesters are in order. Providers should know the current expectation is that Medicare will bear the brunt of some of the cuts, as will Medicaid. Indirect medical education and graduate medical education programs will certainly be scrutinized, as will bad debts. The special treatment

of critical access hospitals, Medicare dependent hospitals and sole community hospitals likewise is in the crosshairs. Medicaid provider tax schemes have long been a target and will be again. By the way, Congress also must deal with the so-called doc fix by year-end. It is not clear whether this will happen in separate legislation or as part of this special process. In short, it is going to be a very busy and interesting autumn in the nations capital. [i] The third way is for the Congress, pursuant to regular order, to pass legislation saving $1.5 trillion before the sequestration takes place on 1/2/13. [ii] A specific timetable has been established by the new law. [iii] Committee members must be named by August 16. [iv] Of course, Congress retains its constitutional prerogative to override a veto. Also, as noted in footnote No. 1, Congress could pass separate legislation that achieves the savings.

According to Larry oday, a veteran of more than two decades in health care and insurance legislation, provides a variety of services for BKD including monitoring legislation in Washington, D.C., writing articles, making internal and external presentations and lobbying on behalf of the firm. His legal career includes work in corporate, government and private practice settings. He has served as director of congressional affairs and director of the Bureau of Eligibility, Reimbursement and Coverage for the Health Care Financing Administration, now the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Author: Larry oday