In the commercial world companies estimate annual sales and make a budget. Hard to apply basic management 101 to the Continuous Resolution situation that many federal agencies have found themselves in the past few years.

Today’s interview brings together several experienced federal professionals who give guidance on the new world of budgeting. Issues brought up include critical timing concerns, technical definitions, and the impact of shortened periods to accomplish annual goals.

Timing. An agency can set a budget, then not know when, or how much, they will get funded. Somehow, agencies manage to get by, but most of the lessons learned are part of institutional knowledge of each respective agency and are not shared.

For example, what if an agency plans an expenditure, then only gets 75% of what was planned? If a chunk of a budget is eliminated, how does an administrator prioritize what projects to continue and which ones to cut?

Definition. Under a CR, an agency cannot begin any projects. This leads to the legal parsing of the meaning of “new.” If a system replaces an existing system, is it new? When a system is maintained, is this a new project? If a vulnerability is found, can it be remedied with a new patch?

Compressed year. How long will the CR last? 30, 60, 90 days? Does this mean that each agency must produce an administrative plan for each shortened year?

The interview ends on a bright note. Elizabeth Field shows the GAO understands the challenges this presents. They have issued a report called Selected Agencies and Programs Used Strategies to Manage Constrains of Continuing Resolutions.