Financial Management MPA 827

access the 2021 Draft outline: Click Here 

The Text: The text we will be using in this course is, surprise, my own. This is the Third Edition. It is important that you read the assigned Chapters in advance. That includes the first weekend. You can get the text through Amazon.ca. There is a less expensive Kindle version that you can download immediately.

The Course: This is a practical, hands-on look at the key elements of financial management in the public sector. It addresses the three key elements of financial management as I see them: getting the funds, spending them and accounting for what was done with them. We cover, from a managerial and operational perspective of a public sector manager, the accounting basis for financial management, budgeting and planning, budget cutting and reallocation, managerial control, in-year budget management, reporting, accountability, and, as with all things, audit to end the cycle.

What We Will Be Doing: There is a lot to cover in this survey, but between class presentations by me, there will hands-on applications with case studies being the centre of both class and assignment activities. We will have plenty of time for table top discussions and feedback as well as drawing out the experiences in the room to learn and share.

What About Numbers and Accounting Skills: There will be some assignments that require the use of Excel Spreadsheets. Without taking away from the thinking, analysis and presentational work that is all yours, I try to make it as easy as possible to use these tools. The final assignment is an integrative challenge. The feedback I have received on it suggests that it is exactly what you will be seeing in the real world of government.

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