Financial Management for Public, Health, and Not-for-Profit Organizations Fifth Edition

Now in its Fifth Edition, Financial Management for Public, Health, and Not-for-Profit Organizations is the leading textbook on financial management in the government, health, and not-for-profit sectors providing a comprehensive yet practical introduction to the financial decision-making and management skills required of students and practitioners in the field.  Assuming readers have no prior training in financial management, authors Steven A. Finkler, Daniel L. Smith, Thad D. Calabrese, and Robert M. Purtell artfully combine the principles and theory and analytics of accounting and finance.  Coverage includes cost analysis, budget preparation, budget and variance analysis, management control, and recording and reporting financial information, with an emphasis on preparing and analyzing financial statements. The authors detail the foundational principles of each of the methods introduced in the book, and through step-by-step equations, figures, and exhibits, they illustrate how to execute financial management in practice.

Dr. Steven A. Finkler is Professor Emeritus of Public and Health Administration, Accounting, and Financial Management at New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service (NYU Wagner). At NYU Wagner he headed the specialization in health services financial management for more than 20 years. Dr. Finkler is an award-winning teacher, author, and researcher.

Among his publications are 33 books, including Accounting Fundamentals for Health Care Management, 4th ed. (with Thad Calabrese and David Ward, 2024); and Finance and Accounting for Nonfinancial Managers, 6th ed. (forthcoming, 2024), and Financial Management for Nurse Managers and Executives, 5th ed. (with Cheryl Jones and Christine T. Kovner, 2019). He has also published more than 200 articles in many journals, including Health Services Research, Journal of Public Policy and Management, and Healthcare Financial Management.

He received a bachelor of science degree in economics (summa cum laude with dual majors in accounting and finance), and a master of science degree in accounting (with High Honors) from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and a master of science degree in economics and doctorate in business administration at Stanford University.

Dr. Finkler, who is also a certified public accountant, worked as an auditor with EY (Ernst and Young Global Ltd.) and was on the faculty of the Wharton School before joining NYU. He is a past member of the executive board of the International Society for Research in Healthcare Financial Management and the editorial board of Health Care Management Review, and he served as treasurer and a member of the board of governors of the Daughters of Israel Geriatric Center. He was the editor of Hospital Cost Management & Accounting for 12 years and is a past member of the National Advisory Council for Nursing Research at the National Institutes of Health. He consults extensively, both around the country and abroad.

Daniel L. Smith, PhD, is Associate Dean for the Social Sciences in the College of Arts & Sciences and Professor in the Biden School at the University of Delaware. His research focuses on state government budgeting and financial management and appears in Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory (JPART), Public Administration Review (PAR), Public Budgeting & Finance, and Public Choice, among others. In addition, he has been coeditor of JPART and has served on PAR’s editorial board. Dr. Smith is a past chair of the Association for Budgeting and Financial Management and a former member of the Governmental Accounting Standards Advisory Council. He is also a former member of the Commission on Peer Review and Accreditation (COPRA). He earned his doctorate in public administration in the School of Public and International Affairs at the University of Georgia.

Thad D. Calabrese, PhD, is Professor of public and nonprofit financial management at NYU Wagner, and is director of the school’s finance specialization. His research focuses on not-for-profit and government accounting and finance and is published in the Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, Public Administration Review, Public Budgeting & Finance, Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, National Tax Journal, Public Finance Review, and Nonprofit Management & Leadership (NML), among others. In addition, he has served in several member-elected positions, including Chair of the Association for Budgeting and Financial Management and Treasurer for the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action. He also served on the Governmental Accounting Standards Advisory Council for six years until 2023. Prior to entering academia, he worked as a financial manager in the not-­for-profit sector and in local government.

Robert M. Purtell, PhD, recently retired as a clinical assistant professor of finance and director of the MPA program at the Nelson A. Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy at the University at Albany, State University of New York. Dr. Purtell came to the academy after a long career as a financial manager and executive in the financial services industry. His research interests and publications focus on the valuation of public assets, the measurement and management of risk in public service organizations, and the use of evidence-based management.

Dr. Purtell received his Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics from Manhattan College. He also received a Master of Business Administration degree from the Stern School of Business and Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, both of which are at New York University.