Essential finance for managers in the public sector

With the arrival of the new government there has been a change in priorities for the public sector. Departments need to focus on improving services to the public, managers need to be able to justify all expenditure and resources need to be directed towards the provision of front line services.

So it's never been more important to sharpen up your financial management skills. This programme has been especially designed to provide you with management and financial tools that you'll be able to apply as soon as you return to work. You'll understand the workings of the government budget cycle, departmental and Crown governance frameworks and how to control and manage departmental expenditure. You'll be able to use financial information to make well informed decisions and prepare credible budgets, forecasts and business cases.

What our participants say:

'The course put all of the parts of the puzzle together for me and explained some of the financial terms and concepts that I had not previously fully understood' - Emma Taylor, Policy Manager, Ministry of Fisheries.

Objectives:

After completing this course you will be able to:

Apply key finance principles to your department or agency in accordance with the requirements of the Public Finance Act
Understand the constraints imposed by different funding sources and types of appropriation
Understand your department's financial terminology and financial processes including financial delegations and purchasing processes
Understand your department's planning and reporting obligations to the Crown and how these link into baseline updates and the government budget cycle
Know what is expected from you from a financial perspective and how to record and manage expenditure to the approved budget
Understand different types of cost and be able to appropriately cost new initiatives
Interpret operating statements for your area
Successfully prepare budgets and forecasts for your area and understand the authority required for variations

Our training is:

Competency based: we enable participants to apply what they have learned when they return to work
Professionally designed to cater for all learning styles, with a mix of activities
Based on accelerated learning techniques to engage participants
Fully evaluated for continuous improvement
Customised for an organisation's specific needs and issues and financial systems and processes

Participant feedback from essential finance for managers in the public sector