Managing Public Expenditure
GSOG6004
This unit examines contemporary budgeting and financial management practices in Australia and selected comparative jurisdictions (for example, Canada and the United Kingdom) as a continuing site of political, bureaucratic, and parliamentary conflict. In particular, it is framed around the continuing quest to increase the 'rationality' of resource allocation. The unit traces the shift from traditional cash-based financial management to the rise of accrual-based performance budgeting, and examines issues such as the nature of 'budgeting control', the place of non-financial performance information in resource allocation, the consequences of accounting reforms for public accountability and the contested orthodoxy of applying 'market discipline' in budget-dependent government services. Students will review the changing role of central budget agencies, in particular, the influence of the accounting profession, corporate interests and international organisations on the reform agenda. At a practical level the unit provides insight into techniques for budget management and preparation, including the strategies and issues involved in risk management, procuring capital works and managing assets and facilities. The role and application of pricing policy and strategies are addressed in case studies.
Unit of study details
Unit of study level: Postgraduate
Credit points: 6
Commencing semesters: 32
Further unit of study information
Unit of study handbook: GSOG6004
Costs and scholarships information: Costs and Scholarships
Final dates to withdraw from units of study: Census Dates
Available for study abroad and exchange: No