Public Sector Finance and Budgeting Training Course

Participants can interpret core financial reports and identify the management questions each report answers.

• Statement of financial position: assets, liabilities and net assets
• Financial performance reports distinguishing revenue, expenses and surplus deficits
• Cash flow statement categories: operating, investing and financing movements
• Notes to accounts supporting balances, commitments and contingent liabilities
• Recognising differences between budget reports and financial statements
• Trend analysis using prior-year results, ratios and explanatory notes

Participants can apply core accrual accounting concepts when making managerial budget and spending decisions.

• Accrual accounting compared with cash accounting for management decisions
• Revenue recognition for taxes, fees, grants and transfers
• Expense recognition for payroll, utilities, contracts and depreciation
• Capitalisation criteria for property, equipment and intangible assets
• Provisions and contingencies arising from claims, guarantees and litigation
• IPSAS concepts affecting public-sector financial reporting and disclosures

Participants can classify budget information consistently for planning, approval, monitoring and reporting.

• Administrative, economic, functional and programme budget classifications
• COFOG classification used for comparable government expenditure reporting
• Chart of accounts links between budget codes and ledger accounts
• Distinguishing recurrent expenditure from capital expenditure and financing
• Classifying personnel, goods, services, transfers and asset purchases
• Mapping service activities to programmes, subprogrammes and cost centres

Participants can structure a programme budget that links resources to planned outputs and outcomes.

• Logic models connecting inputs, activities, outputs, outcomes and impacts
• Programme objectives written as measurable public-service results statements
• Output indicators defined with units, baselines, targets and data sources
• Costing programme activities using staffing, volumes and unit-cost assumptions
• Separating controllable operational costs from centrally managed allocations
• Aligning programme proposals with strategic plans and policy priorities

Participants can prepare a defensible annual operating budget from service plans and cost evidence.

• Budget calendar milestones from planning guidance through legislative approval
• Baseline budgeting using prior-year expenditure and approved adjustments
• Zero-based review of discretionary spending and low-value activities
• Driver-based budgeting for caseloads, staffing levels and service volumes
• Payroll budgets incorporating grades, vacancies, benefits and employer contributions
• Assumption registers documenting inflation, exchange rates and demand forecasts

Participants can prepare multi-year expenditure estimates and explain their fiscal implications.

• Medium-term expenditure framework linking fiscal ceilings to sector plans
• Forward estimates for wages, contracts, grants and asset maintenance
• Policy costing distinguishing existing commitments from new initiatives
• Scenario analysis for inflation, demand growth and funding reductions
• Fiscal space assessment using revenue projections and spending commitments
• Multi-year budget narratives explaining assumptions, risks and trade-offs

Participants can apply spending authority rules before committing public funds.

• Approved budget ceilings translated into departmental spending authority
• Delegations of authority for requisitions, approvals and contract awards
• Virement rules governing transfers between programmes and budget lines
• Supplementary appropriations triggered by emergencies, policy changes or shortfalls
• Commitment authority distinguished from payment authority and cash release
• Audit trails supporting approval decisions and delegated accountabilities

Participants can control commitments and assess procurement decisions against available budget resources.

• Commitment registers recording purchase orders, contracts and outstanding obligations
• Three-way matching of purchase orders, goods receipts and invoices
• Encumbrance accounting for reserving budget against approved commitments
• Procurement plans aligned with budget timing and cash availability
• Whole-life costing for equipment, facilities, vehicles and technology purchases
• Contract variations assessed against delegated authority and remaining funds

Participants can construct and maintain a short-term cash forecast for a public entity or programme.

• 13-week rolling cash forecast built from receipts, payroll and supplier data
• Monthly cash plans aligned with treasury releases and payment priorities
• Timing differences between commitments, invoices, payments and bank movements
• Forecasting grant receipts against conditions, milestones and claim schedules
• Cash prioritisation during funding delays and constrained treasury releases
• Variance review between forecast cash movements and actual bank activity

Participants can analyse budget variances and recommend timely corrective management action.

• Actual-to-budget variance analysis by programme, cost centre and account
• Price, volume and timing variances separated for meaningful diagnosis
• Materiality thresholds triggering investigation, escalation and corrective action
• Forecast outturn calculations using actuals, commitments and revised assumptions
• Management commentary distinguishing one-off issues from recurring pressures
• Corrective actions covering rephasing, savings, virement and service changes

Participants can identify, assess and treat financial risks affecting delivery of approved plans.

• Risk registers linking financial risks to owners, controls and actions
• Likelihood-impact scoring calibrated for public-service financial exposures
• Sensitivity analysis for revenue shortfalls, inflation and exchange movements
• Fraud risk indicators within payments, payroll, grants and procurement
• Contingency reserves justified through quantified exposure and uncertainty
• Escalation protocols for risks exceeding management tolerance levels

Participants can assess and strengthen internal controls over key public financial processes.

• COSO control components applied to public-sector financial processes
• Segregation of duties across requesting, approving, receiving and paying
• Preventive, detective and corrective controls matched to financial risks
• Reconciliations for bank accounts, payroll, advances and suspense balances
• Control self-assessments identifying gaps, owners and remediation deadlines
• Document retention requirements supporting audit evidence and accountability

Participants can assess capital proposals using affordability, whole-life cost and service criteria.

• Business cases defining need, options, costs, benefits and delivery risks
• Whole-life cost estimates covering acquisition, operation, maintenance and disposal
• Capital affordability tests using funding profiles and future operating costs
• Option appraisal comparing do-nothing, repair, replacement and new-build alternatives
• Asset registers recording location, condition, custody and useful life
• Capital project monitoring against approved scope, schedule and budget

Participants can manage grant-funded activities with clear financial controls and reporting requirements.

• Grant agreements analysed for eligible costs, reporting and repayment clauses
• Restricted funds tracked separately from unrestricted operating resources
• Donor budget revisions controlled through approved change requests
• Subrecipient monitoring using financial reports, site evidence and risk ratings
• Cost allocation methods for shared staff, facilities and support services
• Grant close-out procedures covering final reports, assets and unspent balances

Participants can use financial and non-financial data to assess service performance and value for money.

• Key performance indicators linking expenditure to outputs and outcomes
• Unit-cost analysis for comparable services, sites and delivery channels
• Benchmarking expenditure and results against peer public-service providers
• Efficiency measures separating productivity gains from reduced service quality
• Dashboard design combining budget, forecast, risk and performance measures
• Performance narratives explaining deviations, decisions and expected recovery

Participants can prepare clear financial reports for senior managers, boards and oversight bodies.

• Monthly management reports structured around decisions, exceptions and actions
• Budget execution reports comparing appropriations, commitments, payments and balances
• Board papers presenting financial implications, options and recommended decisions
• Variance narratives supported by evidence, root causes and forecast effects
• Reporting packs tailored for executives, audit committees and legislators
• Data-quality checks for completeness, consistency, accuracy and timeliness

Participants can prepare for audit scrutiny and respond constructively to financial findings.

• Internal audit assignments testing controls, compliance and management responses
• External audit evidence for transactions, balances, disclosures and performance claims
• Audit findings classified by risk, root cause and agreed action
• Management action plans assigning owners, milestones and verification evidence
• Public accounts committee questions anticipated through documented financial decisions
• Follow-up monitoring of overdue audit recommendations and control improvements

Participants can recognise ethical financial issues and apply transparency measures in public spending decisions.

• Public-interest test applied to spending decisions and resource allocations
• Conflict-of-interest declarations for procurement, grants and approval decisions
• Open budget information supporting public scrutiny and stakeholder trust
• Whistleblowing channels, protection arrangements and investigation escalation procedures
• Ethical dilemmas involving political pressure, favouritism and resource allocation
• Financial disclosure requirements for senior officials and decision makers

Participants can build, review and present a complete budget-management pack for a public-service programme.

• Service plan translated into programme objectives, outputs and resource requirements
• Annual budget constructed from cost drivers, assumptions and expenditure ceilings
• Cash forecast prepared from funding schedules, commitments and payment profiles
• Variance analysis identifies pressures, causes, risks and corrective actions
• Control plan specifies approvals, reconciliations, evidence and accountable owners
• Performance dashboard combines financial indicators, output measures and risk status
• Management presentation defends recommendations, trade-offs and implementation priorities