The course examines the role of government in Australia and its mechanisms for control over public expenditures and resources to ensure greater efficiency and effectiveness in government activities. It considers the public sector environment and how it differs from private markets, including the roles of externalities and accountability. It examines major issues in public sector financial management; the use of cash and accrual accounting information systems; management of financial and physical assets including environmental and heritage considerations; marketisation of public sector activities; performance measurement issues for departments of state; management and performance of government business enterprises including privatisation issues; public sector audits and roles of the Auditor General and accountability issues; role of the budget, budget process and management, and cash and accrual budgeting systems.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
Upon successful completion of the requirements for this course, students will be able to:1. Evaluate the role of government in a modern democratic society;
2. Critically evaluate the differences between the public sector and the business sector parts of the economy, and the implications of these differences for accountability, financial management, accounting, budgeting and performance measurement;
3. Understand, critically analyse and research major issues in public sector accountability, financial management, accounting, budgeting and performance measurement.
Other Information
See the course outline on the College courses page. Outlines are uploaded as they become available.
Indicative Assessment
Typical assessment may include, but not restricted to, class participation, assignment(s), quizzes and examination(s).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
Students taking this course are expected to commit at least 10 hours a week to completing the work. This will include 3 hours per week in class and at least 7 hours a week on average (including non-teaching weeks) on course, reading, writing and assignment work.
Requisite and Incompatibility
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
Commonwealth Support (CSP) Students
If you have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). More information about your student contribution amount for each course at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 34
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are a domestic graduate coursework student with a Domestic Tuition Fee (DTF) place or international student you will be required to pay course tuition fees (see below). Course tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | $4440 | Standard Rate |
| 2022 | $3510 |
Grandfathered Rate*
*continuing students in nominated programs only. See fee website |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2022 | $5700 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
