Public Sector Finance and Strategy

By attending this course, non-finance staff who need to extend their understanding of finance will learn how this could make a difference to their organization’s financial management. You will understand:

• The role of finance in implementing projects.
• How an organization’s stakeholders affect its financial performance and growth.
• The activities in determining pricing objectives, policies and strategies.

You will also explore:

• The specific role that is required of strategic manager in a public sector organization.
• The complexities of the relationship between paid civil servant and elected politicians in the context of public service planning and delivery.
• How each public service contributes to the economy.

The course will wrap with a summary of the key learning points, followed by an action planning exercise with a view to apply the acquired knowledge and skills immediately upon your return to work. Post-course support is also available in relation to the implementation of your action plan, up to six (6) months following course completion.

Investment and Financial Management of Long-term Projects

• Project Appraisal
• Project Estimation
• Budgeting
• Financial management

Financial Management – Stakeholder Expectations

• Identifying stakeholders
• Accountability to stakeholders
• Triple bottom line
• Levels of investor control

Pricing Decisions

• Strategic Pricing
• Price Structure
• Pricing Policy
• Analysing costs and profits

Financial Management Decision-Making

• Defining the decisions that you make
• Deciding on what support you need to define the relevant financial information required to make those decisions
• Examples and case studies

Public Sector Strategic Management

• What is Strategic Management?
• Understanding the Strategic Position of the Organization
• The Strategic Toolkit
• Stakeholder Management

Politics and the Public Sector

• Working alongside politicians as they come and go
• Civil servants Working directly with elected representatives
• Aligning service and political objectives
• Maintaining strong corporate governance and continuity of service delivery

Aligning the Public Sector to Support the Economy

• Skills and job creation
• Facilitating a dynamic and productive environment for business development
• Assisting new businesses to establish and grow
• Public services providing a ‘showcase’ for modern Working practices

Strategic Risk Management

• Financial Risks
• People Risks
• Operational Risks
• Reputational Risks

Course Review

• Summary and recap of key learning objectives
• Action Planning

This course is suitable for:

• Directors and Deputy Directors, and all other public sector senior officers who work directly to lead politicians and with other public services to achieve broader community outcomes (public health and well-being and economic development).
• Staff who need to extend their understanding of finance to more specific operational activities.

Upon completion of this course, you will be able to understand:

• The role of finance in project delivery.
• The role of stakeholders and their impact on an organization’s financial performance.
• The processes involved in deciding prices.
• How to focus on ensuring that the authority and its services are fit for purpose in the current, medium and long term.
• A strategic overview of service delivery.
• When and how to ‘intervene’ in the authority’s operations.
• How to implement an Action Plan at your workplace using the knowledge and skills acquired through the course.