Leisure Services Financial Management

Leisure Services Financial Management equips students and professionals with the knowledge and skills to plan, implement, analyze, and report on the financial operations of leisure service agencies, businesses, and organizations. This unique text examines financial management systems, standards, and practices in recreation, leisure, tourism, and related fields, making it an essential reference for both future and current professionals.

Leisure Services Financial Management prepares students for the roles and responsibilities of entry-level to middle managers in public, private, and nonprofit sectors of the leisure service industry. Readers will learn

• foundational knowledge used in economics, accounting, finance, and marketing;

• the technical and technological skills involved in managing the financial aspects of a leisure service agency, organization, or business;

• how to develop a financial management philosophy and practice ethical financial management; and

• interpersonal skills useful for financial managers interacting with various stakeholders on fund-raising and development initiatives.

Leisure Services Financial Management presents current financial management approaches, giving students an understanding of the differences in accounting methodologies and financial report methods across the private, nonprofit, and public sectors. By examining and working with varied examples of financial reports and analyses, students gain experience in creating and interpreting a range of financial report models.

A comprehensive package of online ancillaries, including an instructor guide, presentation package, and test package, assists instructors in delivering engaging lectures, facilitating class discussion, and creating effective assessment tools. The instructor guide includes chapter overviews, learning objectives, glossary terms and definitions, learning activities, critical thinking questions, case studies, web links to additional resources, and sample financial reports to assist instructors in planning lectures and student assignments.

A student web resource offers a range of learning resources, including learning activities that replicate the work professionals do on the job. The student web resource also contains examples of management case studies, which offer insights into the realities of the economic, political, and financial workings of the leisure service industry. Both the instructor guide and student web resource contain sample financial reports from each sector (private, public, and nonprofit). Included with each of these reports are problem-solving activities, which provide students with practice in reading, understanding, and analyzing financial reports similar to those they will encounter as professionals. Problem-solving activities in each sample report help students show their understanding of how to interpret these financial reports.

Leisure Services Financial Management offers students in-depth discussion of the knowledge and skills necessary for beginning a career in the varied and dynamic leisure service industry. This foundational guide to financial management will serve as an essential resource to both future and current professionals in the leisure industry.

David N. Emanuelson, PhD, has three decades of experience working in the leisure services, serving for 12 years as department head of two parks and recreation departments in Illinois and Indiana and 20 years as a park district executive director in Illinois.

Emanuelson also taught courses in parks and recreation administration, public administration and political science for 14 years. Before retiring, Emanuelson held the post of assistant professor at George Williams College of Aurora University, teaching administration, financial management, commercial recreation, facility management, and the economics of parks and recreation. Emanuelson currently works as a consultant in the leisure service industry.

In 2003, he received the Gold Medal Award for Excellence in Parks and Recreation Management and has received nine consecutive Certificates of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Accounting. He is a member of the National Recreation and Park Association, Illinois Park and Recreation Association, Wisconsin Park and Recreation Association, Midwest Political Science Association, and the honorary fraternities Rho Phi Lambda, Pi Alpha Alpha, and Beta Gamma Sigma.

Emanuelson worked closely with his wife, Sharon, on the creation of this book. They reside in DeKalb, Illinois, and enjoy traveling, boating, water sports, and golf.