Management of Public Sector Finance Function

The programme takes a fully integrated approach, fully in-line with the most recent developments in the public sector environment and will draw together accounting theory and practice for each of the main areas of accounting, providing contemporary examples from a range of public sector experience.

In the past few years financial management and accounting in the public sector have been characterised by several developments at international, national and regional levels. The most important development was the proposal to introduce accrual-based accounting in the public sector financial management.

Public sector entities currently experience difficulties in implementing accrual-based accounting and the requirements of the Public Finance Management Acts (PFMAs). The implementation of sound financial management principles is also hindered due to various shortcomings in the administrative functions. This specialised programme deals amongst others issues with the current shortcomings of financial management in the public sector and indicates how the principles and features of sound financial management practice could address these shortcomings. A key aspect of the training programme is the analyses of recent public sector internal revenue generation and management strategies.

Objectives

Sound knowledge of the workings of public services and the public sectors, including provisioning and financing of public service; growth and development of the UK, US, SA and Sweden public sectors; etc.
Good understanding of how financing public services is undertaken, including patterns of public expenditure; international perspectives; sources of public services finance; taxation; user charges; government borrowings; etc.
Be able to analyse public service trends and the impacts on financial management practices, including sound basis of public service reforms; aims and nature of public service reforms; causal factors of public service reforms; etc.
Able to work with costing systems in public service organisations, including using cost information in PSOs; basic principles of costing; obtaining cost information in PSOs; etc.
Able to manage strategic change in public services, including understanding the major strategic changes in public services; strategic planning in public services – commissioners and providers; implementing strategy; monitoring strategy implementation and outcomes; etc.
Able to set and manage budgeting systems in public service organisations, including knowing the roles and purposes of a budgeting system in a PSO; types of PSO budgets; main elements making of a budget system; budget framework; budget setting process; etc.
A sound knowledge of pricing in public services, including such issues as distinction between costs and prices; business pricing and economic pricing; why pricing is important in relation to public services; business prices and economic prices; etc.
Explore recent approaches to internally generated revenue strategies and management.

Who should attend

This programme is recommended for top business managers, senior/middle level officers in corporate banking, senior finance officers in government sectors, managers of government functionaries, senior managers in other public and private sectors.