University Budgeting: Academic Information Technology Department
Case study: Budgeting in an Academic Information Technology Department of a University
(Source: This case has been adapted from - Vollmers, G. & Coons, W. (2012). IMA Educational Case Journal,
5(1), Art. 2).
INTRODUCTION
You are a senior accounting faculty member in the business school and your dean, Rose
Garrett, is asking for help. She is very discouraged after a midyear budget meeting with the
Vice President of Finance (VPoF). The college’s Department of Information Technology has a large budget deficit, and because of this the VPoF is inclined towards closing the department entirely or closing its bachelor’s program. The department’s deficit is the worst in the university and has been so for several years. Garrett met with James Dawson, Director of the Department of Information Technology, nine months ago, asking him to do his best to reduce expenditures, but Dawson said then that it wasn’t possible – they were down to the bone. Dean Garrett has already had to transfer funds from another department to cover the non-base-budgeted salary of a faculty member. The college will also have to cover the final deficit, which means that the other three departments of the college, operating within their budgets, will find any surplus proportionately depleted. Dean Garrett tells you that, from a budgetary viewpoint, the college would be better off without Information
Technology, but that she does not understand what is really going on. The deficit is obvious, but Dawson says the department is booming – there are plenty of students. She asks you to analyse this situation. Visit the department and talk to Director Dawson. Find out what you can, collect data, and report back as soon as possible. You have access to the budgetary information she has and all other possibly relevant information, including student credit hours and price of tuition. Make the case for or against the Vice-President of Finance’s recommendation to close the Department of
(Source: This case has been adapted from - Vollmers, G. & Coons, W. (2012). IMA Educational Case Journal,
5(1), Art. 2).
INTRODUCTION
You are a senior accounting faculty member in the business school and your dean, Rose
Garrett, is asking for help. She is very discouraged after a midyear budget meeting with the
Vice President of Finance (VPoF). The college’s Department of Information Technology has a large budget deficit, and because of this the VPoF is inclined towards closing the department entirely or closing its bachelor’s program. The department’s deficit is the worst in the university and has been so for several years. Garrett met with James Dawson, Director of the Department of Information Technology, nine months ago, asking him to do his best to reduce expenditures, but Dawson said then that it wasn’t possible – they were down to the bone. Dean Garrett has already had to transfer funds from another department to cover the non-base-budgeted salary of a faculty member. The college will also have to cover the final deficit, which means that the other three departments of the college, operating within their budgets, will find any surplus proportionately depleted. Dean Garrett tells you that, from a budgetary viewpoint, the college would be better off without Information
Technology, but that she does not understand what is really going on. The deficit is obvious, but Dawson says the department is booming – there are plenty of students. She asks you to analyse this situation. Visit the department and talk to Director Dawson. Find out what you can, collect data, and report back as soon as possible. You have access to the budgetary information she has and all other possibly relevant information, including student credit hours and price of tuition. Make the case for or against the Vice-President of Finance’s recommendation to close the Department of