Finance manager Robert Nix (left) and financial analyst II Collin Coble (right) gave a presentation on mission-based budgeting and how it affects every member of the department.

The Surgery Faculty Professional Development Series is in its second year, and as part of the series, finance manager Robert Nix and Collin Coble, financial analyst II, in the Department of Surgery gave a presentation in October on mission-based budgeting and its relevance to every member of the department.

Robert and Collin covered the entire budgeting process from start to finish and how decisions are made based on the missions of both the university and the department. Two large portions of those missions, unsurprising in an academic medical center, are research and education.

The biggest takeaway from the presentation: the department works with every member of the leadership team to get a sense of his or her goals and priorities for each fiscal year and makes sure those goals align with the overarching department mission. Division chiefs and other leaders in the department have a say in their budgets for the fiscal year, and the finance team verifies the numbers multiple times to ensure the budgets are accurate.