Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:

Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
LO1 Recognise the major theoretical frameworks and concepts that underpin contemporary public sector budget and financial management processes 
LO2 Explain how government is financed 
LO3 Evaluate the applications of finance principles to the evaluation of public sector projects 
LO4 Analyse different accountability and political processes LO5 Demonstrate the skills applicable to designing and working with budgets

Indicative Assessment

Expenditure Analysis Presentation (10 minutes presentation + 10 minutes Q&A + Slideshow of 15 slides (max) 20% 
Budgeting Systems Policy Brief (2000 words) 30% 
Public Financial Management Research report (3,500 words) 50% 

The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.

Workload

42 hours of class contact, and an additional 80 hours of private study

Requisite and Incompatibility

Preliminary Reading

Allen, R. and Tommasi, D. 2001. Managing Public Expenditures: A Reference Book for Transition Countries. Paris: OECD.
Bandy, G. 2015. Financial Management and Accounting in the Public Sector. Second Edition. London: Routledge.
Bouckaert, G. and Halligan, J. 2007. Managing Performance: International Comparisons. London: Routledge.
Boston, J., Martin, J., Pallot, J. and Walsh, P. 1996. Public Management: The New Zealand Model. Auckland: Oxford University Press.
Forster, J. and Wanna, J. 1990. Budgetary Management and Control: The Public Sector in Australasia. Melbourne: Macmillan.
Heclo, H. and Wildavsky, A. 1974. The Private Government of Public Money: Community and Policy Inside British Politics. London: Macmillan.
Hood, C. and Dixon, R. 2015. A Government that Worked Better and Cost Less? Evaluating Three Decades of Reform and Change in UK Central Government. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Olson, O., Guthrie, J. and Humphrey, C. 1998. Global Warning! Debating International Developments in New Public Financial Management. Oslo: Cappelen Akademisk Forlag.
Pollitt, C. and Bouckaert, G. 2011. Public Management Reform: A Comparative Analysis. New Public Management, Governance and the Neo-Weberian State. Third Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Savoie, D. 1990. The Politics of Public Spending in Canada. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
Schick, A. 1996. The Spirit of Reform: Managing the New Zealand State Sector in a Time of Change. Wellington: State Services Commission and Treasury.
Shah, A. 2007. Ed. Budgeting and Budgetary Institutions. Washington DC: World Bank.
Thain, C. and Wright, M. 1995. The Treasury and Whitehall: The Planning and Control of Public Expenditure1976-1993. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Wanna, J., Kelly, J. and Forster, J. 2000. Managing Public Expenditure in Australia. Sydney: Allen & Unwin.
Wanna, J., Jensen, L. and de Vries, J. 2003. Controlling Public Expenditure: The Changing Roles Central Budget Agencies. Better Guardians? Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Wanna, J., Jensen, L. and de Vries, J. 2010. The Reality of Budgetary Reform in OECD Nations: Trajectories and Consequences. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Wanna, J., Lindquist, E. and de Vries, J. 2015. The Global Financial Crisis and it Budget Impacts in OECD Nations: Fiscal Responses and Future Challenges. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar.
Willoughby, K. 2014. Public Budgeting in Context: Structure, Law, Reform and Results. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
World Bank. 1998. Public Expenditure Management Handbook. Washington DC: World Bank.

Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links