Spring 2024 - 59720 - PA 391 - Public Financial Management

This course provides a basic understanding of the financial activities of governments at all levels in the United States. The course acquaints students with the purposes, characteristics, processes, and operations of financial management systems and develops their capabilities to analyze financial operations, coordinate such operations with relevant public policies and programs, and effectively manage the financial resources of public entities. Topics in the course include: the economic, political, and administrative environment of financial management systems and operations; budgeting theory and practice--including program and performance budgets; accounting and internal control; financial reporting; auditing--financial and performance; debt management; and revenue/tax administration.  The class breaks down into four sections: 1) various ways governments raise revenues on the federal, state, and local level including taxes (property, income, and sales), user fees, and intergovernmental transfers; 2) financial reporting and accounting focused on governmental operations as well as examining and understanding what they mean; 3) how governments decide and allocate these revenues for expenditures through the operational budgetary process; and 4) how governments decide to finance long term capital projects including the process, decision-making analysis, and evaluation.