Managing Public Finances

This subject is not offered in 2014.

120 hours

Admission to the Master of Public Administration and successful completion of the subject The World of Public Administration

Previous study in public policy, political science, management, law, business, economics, international relations, non-profit management or cognate area.

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Description, Subject Objectives, Generic Skills and Assessment Requirements of this entry.The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the disability support scheme can be found at the Disability Liaison Unit website: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/

Managing Public Finances is one of the core subjects in the Melbourne Master of Public Administration. The Melbourne MPA is an interdisciplinary, globally-focused degree program for managers that work within or with government. This subject provides the theoretical and analytical tools for understanding the nature and practice of finance in relation to public administration and management, drawing on the disciplines of economics and finance. Key ideas that will be explored in this subject include budgets, performance, reporting and decision–making and how these relate to broader notions of governing in complex institutional and policy environments.

Students who successfully complete this subject will:

• Acquire an understanding of key concepts in public finance;
• Understand the importance of finance to the public manager in both a strategic and operational sense;
• Understand the complexities of developing and executing budgets, evaluating performance, and decision-making;
• Appreciate the local, national and global aspects of these issues.

Assessment Task 1: Issues paper of 1000 words where students identify an issue from their professional experience related to key themes in the subject (20%) due in the week beginning 28 July;

Assessment Task 2: Syndicate project (group presentation and individual paper)

• Group task/presentation (20%) scheduled from 4 August to 12 September
• Individual paper of 1500 words exploring a key aspect of the group presentation/task (20%) due one week after task/presentation

Assessment Task 3: Application paper of 2500 words where students apply key concepts from the subject to the issue identified in Assessment Task 1 (40%) due in the week beginning 6 October.

Hurdle Requirement: This subject has a minimum Hurdle Requirement of 80% seminar attendance. Regular participation in seminars is required.

Assessment submitted late without an approved extension will be penalised at 10% per working day. In-class tasks missed without approval will not be marked. All pieces of written work must be submitted to pass this subject.

All readings will be provided via the LMS

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

On completion of this subject students should have:

• A comprehensive understanding and appreciation of key concepts in public finance;
• A sound understanding of the interconnectedness between finance and politics, economics and law, as they apply to public management processes and decisions and shape the public manager’s environment;
• A high-level ability to combine the theory and practice of public finance in a meaningful way in order to address managerial challenges and reflect critically on one’s own professional practice;
• A high-level ability to combine professional skills such as analysis and decision-making with discipline-based expertise and to apply this complex synthesis to the practice of public finance;
• Well-developed interpersonal and communication skills necessary to a range of professional activities relating to public finance.