Public Money Management Training Course

Participants can diagnose how core public financial management functions connect across the budget cycle.

• PEFA dimensions used to diagnose budget credibility and control weaknesses
• Budget cycle stages linked from policy formulation through legislative scrutiny
• Treasury, line ministry and spending unit responsibilities differentiated clearly
• Fiscal rules translated into operating limits for budget managers
• Chart of accounts structures connected to budgets, transactions and reports
• Financial management information systems assessed for data quality and timeliness

Participants can prepare a medium-term expenditure plan linked to policy priorities and fiscal constraints.

• Medium-term expenditure framework ceilings linked to policy priorities and forecasts
• Baseline expenditure separated from new policy proposals and cost pressures
• Macroeconomic assumptions tested for inflation, exchange rates and revenue changes
• Fiscal space estimated after mandatory spending, debt service and commitments
• Scenario planning compares central, adverse and favourable resource assumptions
• Policy costings document assumptions, unit costs, volumes and implementation timing

Participants can formulate an annual budget with clear assumptions, priorities and resource requirements.

• Annual budget submissions structured around outputs, costs and performance targets
• Incremental and zero-based budgeting compared for different spending categories
• Unit-cost analysis calculates staffing, materials, facility and service requirements
• Budget ceilings allocated using prioritisation criteria and service demand evidence
• Capital and recurrent costs separated throughout project and programme budgets
• Budget narratives explain assumptions, delivery risks and funding trade-offs

Participants can control spending commitments before obligations become payments.

• Commitment controls prevent spending beyond approved appropriations and cash limits
• Purchase requisitions checked against budgets, contracts and delegated authority
• Obligations recorded when enforceable commitments create future payment requirements
• Commitment registers reconcile approved orders, invoices, payments and cancellations
• Virement requests assessed against legal restrictions, priorities and funding conditions
• Month-end procedures identify unrecorded commitments and expired spending authority

Participants can build and maintain a rolling cash forecast for public operations.

• 13-week rolling cash forecast built from receipts, payroll and supplier data
• Daily cash positions reconciled with bank statements and treasury records
• Payment scheduling prioritises statutory obligations, payroll and critical service suppliers
• Revenue collection patterns analysed for timing, arrears and concentration risks
• Liquidity buffers sized against forecast volatility and approved financing arrangements
• Forecast variances investigated using timing, volume, price and classification drivers

Participants can strengthen revenue controls and manage public receivables systematically.

• Revenue streams classified by taxes, fees, transfers, fines and service charges
• Billing controls match approved rates, customer records and supporting evidence
• Receivables ageing identifies overdue balances, disputed items and recovery priorities
• Collection plans specify reminders, enforcement steps, write-offs and escalation authority
• Revenue reconciliations compare billing systems, bank deposits and general ledger entries
• Arrears reports distinguish collectable debt from impaired or disputed amounts

Participants can design payment processes that prevent error, fraud and unauthorised expenditure.

• Segregation of duties separates requisitioning, approval, receipt and payment functions
• Three-way matching compares purchase orders, goods receipts and supplier invoices
• Payment approval matrices assign authority by value, risk and expenditure category
• Duplicate payment checks test supplier details, invoice numbers and amounts
• Exception reports identify late payments, manual journals and unusual transactions
• Supporting documentation standards preserve audit trails for every payment

Participants can monitor payroll expenditure and maintain key personnel payment controls.

• Establishment controls compare approved posts, funded positions and payroll records
• Payroll reconciliations test starters, leavers, allowances and bank-account changes
• Personnel cost forecasts model vacancies, increments, overtime and pension contributions
• Ghost-worker indicators investigated through personnel, attendance and payroll record matching
• Overtime approvals tested against policy limits and operational evidence
• Payroll variance reports separate workforce changes from pay-rate movements

Participants can assess procurement and contract decisions for affordability, competition and financial control.

• Procurement plans align purchasing schedules with budgets, cash forecasts and priorities
• Total cost of ownership compares acquisition, operation, maintenance and disposal costs
• Tender evaluation criteria separate price, quality, delivery and risk considerations
• Contract registers track values, milestones, variations, expiry dates and liabilities
• Variation controls test scope changes against authority, budget and documented justification
• Supplier performance evidence supports payment certification and contract management decisions

Participants can manage grants and transfers with clear eligibility, monitoring and reporting controls.

• Grant agreements define purpose, eligible costs, milestones and reporting requirements
• Recipient due diligence reviews governance, capacity, financial records and delivery history
• Disbursement schedules link payments to verified outputs and compliance evidence
• Grant monitoring visits test expenditure records, procurement files and beneficiary results
• Restricted funds tracked separately from unrestricted allocations and counterpart funding
• Donor reporting reconciles financial statements, narrative results and supporting schedules

Participants can manage public assets through acquisition, use, maintenance and disposal decisions.

• Asset registers record location, custodian, cost, condition and useful life
• Capital project business cases assess costs, benefits, risks and affordability
• Lifecycle costing informs maintenance budgets and replacement timing decisions
• Physical verification reconciles asset records with observed equipment and property
• Impairment indicators identify damaged, obsolete, idle or underperforming public assets
• Disposal controls document valuation, authority, sale process and proceeds collection

Participants can prepare decision-useful public financial reports using IPSAS-informed principles.

• IPSAS concepts distinguish cash, accrual, assets, liabilities, revenue and expenses
• Financial statements link statement of financial position and financial performance
• Accrual adjustments record receivables, payables, depreciation and prepayments accurately
• Budget execution reports compare approved budgets, revised budgets and actual expenditure
• Notes to accounts explain accounting policies, commitments and material uncertainties
• Management reports present financial implications alongside service delivery information

Participants can analyse financial variances and prepare management reports that prompt action.

• Price, volume, timing and classification drivers explain budget variances
• Materiality thresholds focus management attention on significant financial movements
• Forecast updates incorporate commitments, service changes and revised funding assumptions
• Dashboard indicators combine budget use, cash, arrears, commitments and control exceptions
• Corrective actions assign owners, deadlines, resources and measurable completion evidence
• Senior briefing notes state decisions required, options, risks and recommendations

Participants can develop risk-based controls for major public money processes.

• COSO components connect control environment, risk assessment and monitoring activities
• Risk registers record causes, events, impacts, controls and accountable owners
• Inherent and residual risk ratings guide control priorities and assurance plans
• Preventive, detective and corrective controls matched to identified failure modes
• Control self-assessments test design adequacy, operating evidence and remediation needs
• Key risk indicators provide early warning of financial control deterioration

Participants can identify fraud risks and establish proportionate prevention and response measures.

• Fraud risk assessments examine incentives, opportunities, rationalisation and control gaps
• Red flags identify vendor collusion, split purchases, false invoices and payroll anomalies
• Whistleblowing arrangements protect reporters, preserve evidence and support investigation routes
• Conflict-of-interest registers tested against procurement, recruitment and grant decisions
• Data analytics screens transactions for duplicates, unusual patterns and threshold breaches
• Incident response plans assign investigation, recovery, reporting and disciplinary responsibilities

Participants can prepare evidence for audit and manage agreed actions through closure.

• INTOSAI guidance distinguishes internal audit, external audit and supreme audit functions
• Audit universes rank auditable areas by risk, materiality and control maturity
• Audit evidence assessed for relevance, reliability, sufficiency and documented source
• Management responses address root causes, corrective actions, owners and deadlines
• Audit recommendation trackers monitor implementation status and overdue actions
• Public accounts committee hearings require clear evidence, explanations and accountability

Participants can assess whether programmes use public resources economically, efficiently and effectively.

• Economy, efficiency and effectiveness criteria frame value-for-money assessments
• Logic models link inputs, activities, outputs, outcomes and intended impacts
• Cost-effectiveness analysis compares alternative delivery approaches using common outcome measures
• Benefits realisation plans assign measures, baselines, owners and review dates
• Programme financial dashboards connect expenditure, milestones, outputs and emerging risks
• Stop, continue and redesign decisions use evidence, affordability and performance thresholds

Participants can build, review and present a complete public money management pack for a public programme.

• Programme mandate translated into financial accountabilities, budget assumptions and control requirements
• Medium-term budget profile integrates recurrent costs, capital needs and funding scenarios
• Rolling cash forecast aligns receipts, commitments, payroll and planned disbursements
• Risk register and control matrix address major financial failure modes
• Management report presents variances, performance, decisions required and assurance actions
• Peer review tests regularity, propriety, value for money and evidence quality