Managing financial resources to achieve goals, objectives, and results that maximize the value of an investment is critical for a long-term horizon in creating a system, project, or initiative in early childhood education. Strategic financial management involves a defined sequence of steps and strategies that include setting goals and objectives, identifying and allocating resources, analyzing data and making financial decisions, tracking the budget for variance and identifying the reasons for any variance, and making corrections as needed. State budget offices regularly use these strategies to ensure that outcomes and results are tracked and achieved. These practices may also be used to manage a local or community project to ensure that the budget is established and managed in an efficient way and should be incorporated in the work of the state early childhood office.