Ethics in Public Budgeting

Discussion 1: Ethics in Public Budgeting

When it comes to the use of public funding, ethics count. Consider the ethical issues that arose for the Red Cross in 2002 after millions of dollars in public donations and funds were received in response to the request to help support victims and those affected by the 9/11 terrorist attacks. According to CBS Evening News:

News of this ethical breach caused a public outcry. Although these ethical funding issues were limited to the Red Cross, the entire nonprofit community felt the repercussions. Public donations dropped off sharply and the Red Cross had to convince the public that funds donated would be appropriately used in the future. In public agencies, similar ethical breaches may occur and, in turn, impact future budget funding requests.

For this Discussion, you select an article that features an ethical issue related to the use or misuse of funds by a company or organization. You also consider how a company or organization’s misuse of funds can impact future budget funding requests.

To prepare for this Discussion:

• Review the article “A New Ethics of the Budgetary Process” and think about how ethical codes in budgeting foster a sense of ethical responsibility.
• Review the article “Corporate Ethics Officers and Government Ethics Administrators: Comparing Apples With Oranges or a Lesson to Be Learned?” Pay attention to ethical standards and guidelines in both the private and public sector.
• Search the Walden Library and the Internet for an article about the use or misuse of funding. Review the article you selected and identify an ethical issue related to the use or misuse of funding in the article.
• Consider how the use or misuse of funding might impact future budget funding requests.

With these thoughts in mind:

Post a brief summary of the article you selected. Then explain in detail the ethical issue related to the use or misuse of funding you identified in the article. Finally, explain how the use or misuse of funding might impact future budget funding requests for the company or organization in the article.