About

This course provides a comprehensive understanding of public finances. You’ll understand how financial decisions are made and who has authority to make them i.e. understanding the role of parliament, cabinet, committees and phases of the government budget cycle. You'll be able to demonstrate the financial, economic and social impacts of policy advice and operational initiatives. On completion of the course you'll be able to make informed tradeoffs and deliver improved value for money. This course makes use of numerous real life examples and practical exercises.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND THIS COURSE:
• Principal Policy Advisers
• Senior Policy Advisers
• Policy Advisers
• Policy Analysts
• Business Analysts
• Economists
• Lawyers
• Managers who require an understanding of government finances

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
Upon completion of this course participants will be able to:
• Understand the government budget cycle
• Understand governance and financial structures across state sector agencies
• Understand the role and scope of appropriations, estimates and imprest supply
• Align outputs with key government priorities, public good outcomes and value for money
• Create economic models that inform tradeoffs between costs, deliverables and risks
• Understand parliamentary processes: seven stages of passing a bill, the role of cabinet committees and parliamentary select committees
• Identify the role of monitoring and advisory agencies to government
• Link your agency’s internal financial systems and processes into the government budget cycle
• Fully cost new initiatives

Outline

Governance and financial management within the public sector
•    The role of public sector financial management
•    Identifying agencies within the government reporting entity
•    Exercise – Defining financial terms in the public sector

Governance and financial accountability within the public sector

• Governance and financial accountability chart for the public sector
• Key government priorities and the role of the fiscal strategy report and the budget policy statement
• The role and purpose of inputs, outputs and outcomes
• The role of parliament– appropriations, estimates and imprest supply
• Government reporting including monthly financial reports, annual financial reports and SOI’s
• Who monitors performance and provides advice to the government
• The Public Finance Act 1989 and core public sector legislation
• The role and appointment of departmental chief executives and crown entity boards
  
• The government budget cycle

Governance and financial management within your agency
• The role of departmental financial management frameworks
• The finance pyramid to show departmental finance structures
• The budgetary control process
• Parliamentary authority and the organisation chart
• What authority is required for variations?
• Exercise – Determining the level of authority for variations and funding bids
• The departmental planning process
• Golden financial rules for public sector managers

 Economic modelling for new initiatives
• The importance of economic modelling
• Focusing on government priorities and public good outcomes
• Modelling for inputs, outputs and outcomes
• Incorporating social and economic indicators
• Aligning costing and funding methodology with desired outcomes
• Identifying, measuring and mitigating risk
• How to avoid cost overruns and under delivery of outcomes
• Making trade offs
• Establishing critical success factors
• Tips for creating robust and accurate models
• Limitations of economic modelling

Identifying costs and benefits of new initiatives
• Categorising initiatives according to their financial impact
• Set up costs for new initiatives - Capex vs Opex
• Service delivery costs and benefits - first year and outyears
• Using standardised templates vs. bespoke costing methods
• Which approach - zero base vs. incremental approaches
• Adapting models for the requirements of different business groups
• Identifying the full costs of an initiative
• Costing for overheads as well as direct costs
• Identifying baseline impacts

Funding formulas
• Proactively managing funding sources
• Internal sources vs. external sources
• Crown funding vs. user pays
• Working with other agencies

Facilitator

Kevin Lee, Director, Business Skills Training

Kevin Lee BA (Hons), Pg Dip, MBA, ACMA runs a consultancy for business skills development.  He is a Chartered Management Accountant with 20 years experience of Government Agencies, Corporates and SME’s.  Kevin is a member of the New Zealand Association for Training and Development, the Human Resources Institute for New Zealand and accredited as a Belbin Team Role facilitator.  His post-graduate qualifications include a post-graduate diploma in business administration with distinction and an MBA in which he majored in finance.  

Kevin specialises in helping managers and staff to develop practical financial skills and knowledge.  He is passionate about making finance relevant, understandable and fun.  He enables people to develop their business acumen and to apply financial management practices that suit their organisation’s needs and circumstances. 

Kevin’s clients include: Ministry of Justice, Department of Internal Affairs, ANZ National Bank, Meridian Energy, Auckland District Health Board and Auckland City Council.   

Kevin’s approach is highly practical, using only the financial theory that people need to know, and then building skills and knowledge through case studies, examples and small group work.  He is able to provide “real life” advice based on his experience in CFO roles and his experience of managing major Capex projects, implementing financial systems, improving financial processes and procedures and achieving ongoing efficiency savings.   

Kevin’s passion, enthusiasm and commitment result in excellent feedback from participants at all levels: Directors, General Managers, Accountants, Senior Managers, Middle Managers, Supervisors and Support Staff.     

Kevin Lee is also facilitating:

• Budgeting and Cost Control for Non Financial Managers
• Cash Flow and Liquidity Management for improved performance
• Commercial Approaches for Government Agencies
• Effectively Managing & Organising Accounts Payable
• Effectively Managing and Organising Accounts Payable
• Essential Finance Skills for EAs, PAs & Administrators
• Finance & Accounting Skills for Managers in the Health Sector
• Managing Credit, Accounts Receivable and Debt Recovery
• Managing the Numbers: The Financial Skills for Non Financial Managers
• Practical Budgeting and Forecasting
• The Effective Accounts Assistant

In-house Training