ABFM Turning 37 – Invites New Members

By Helisse Levine, PhD

Long Island University

The Association on Budgeting and Financial Management (ABFM) is readying to celebrate its 37th year as ASPA’s Section on Public Budgeting and Financial Management.

Originally created in 1976 as the Section on Budgeting and Financial Management (SBFM), this section continues to promote the professional development of budgeting and financial management in the public and non-profit sectors. From its well-recognized Public Budgeting and Finance journal, to a host of activities, including discounts for academic conferences and symposia the section is diligent in promoting effective financial management. Past chairs, officers, and committee members should be commended for their diligent and passionate hard work in building a “place to call home” for all academic, professional and government folks interested in the budgeting and finance of public funds.

On a personal note, as a newcomer to ABFM and female, I was rather curious to know how the numbers were stacked up in terms of females in the field of finance. The U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics reports that over the past four academic years (2006/2007 – 2009/2010) women had out-numbered men in earning Master’s degrees in Accounting and Finance by a ratio of 2 to 1.

For those recent female graduates and all graduates, students, professionals and scholars alike, who join the ABFM community, as I did, as we celebrate its 37th year, I remind you of the words of ABFM’s first Chair, Dennis Lynch. In 2003, he remarked that even after more than 30 years ABFM had become, just as it was first envisioned, “a direct dynamic force for the greater professionalism of public budgeting and financial management in America and an indirect influence in the world.”

To learn more about ABFM, visit www.abfm.org.