Course Overview
This 2 day seminar will cover key financial/operational risks across the public financial management cycle – budgeting, budget execution, planning and delivery of services focusing on how to:
- Prepare public sector budgets and service plans in difficult times by making realistic choices about priorities and thus make best use of limited resources;
- Link budgets to service priorities;
- Use budgets as a tool to manage public services, including setting/using KPIs and when/how to deal with unfavourable outcomes.
We will also cover stakeholder impact budgets (such as gender-based budgeting), the role of multi-annual budgets and the challenges in performance budgeting.
How will it help you?
- By the end of the workshop you will:
- Better understand the role of budgeting in the public sector and why it matters;
- Be able to deal more effectively with the current challenges for budgeting and service planning for finance staff and service managers;
- Achieve better co-operation between finance staff and service managers to improve public service planning and delivery;
- Be able to identify/manage the most commonly arising financial and operational risks in budget preparation and planning for service delivery;
- Be able to identify/manage the commonly arising financial and operational risks in the budget execution of and service delivery;
- Better understand how auditors can help public sector bodies to improve their management of finances/services.
Course methodology
To help you to do so we will give you:
- Initial input with presentations on key issues on budgeting, financial management and operational service management and service planning;
- Examples/case studies to show you what happens in practice across the EU at national and sub-national level;
- Exercises to reinforce your understanding of the practical application of budgeting, financial management and operational service management and service planning;
- Adequate time to discuss with our experts and other participants issues arising in your situation.
Who will benefit most?
This workshop is for officials from European institutions/agencies, ministries, national executive agencies, regional governments, municipalities and other public sector bodies such as:
- Finance staff experienced in preparing budgets and financial management reports;
- Service managers who need to understand budgets, financial management reports and operational management reports to better plan and manage services;
- Auditors who can help public sector bodies improve how they control finances and manage services.
If you are a finance professional or service manager in the public sector, come and share experiences with your peers and learn from our experts to deal with the difficult challenges you are facing.