Managing Government Finance G (6260.6)

Required texts

Introduction and Module 1: Context for managing government finances

Preparatory readings

Department of Finance and Deregulation, Introduction to the Financial Framework, June 2013 (text available on Canvas)

Further readings

Commonwealth of Australia, Budget Strategy and Outlook, Budget Paper No. 1, 2019-20, Canberra, 2017 (Budget Statement 1)

Commonwealth of Australia, Towards Responsible Government, Report of the

National Commission of Audit, Phase One, February 2014 (text available on Canvas)

Department of Finance and Deregulation, Appropriations, Public Money and Financial Reporting, June 2013 (text available on Canvas)

Grafton Q, "Boom or bust: where to Australia", Advance, Autumn 2014, (http://issuu.com/anuasiapacific/docs/advance_autumn_2014_final-for_pdf_u/19?e=0/7043685)

Kirchner S, Strengthening Australia's Fiscal Institutions, Centre for Independent Studies, December 2013 (text available on Canvas)

Further readings (Governance)

Aldons, Malcolm, "Responsible, representative and accountable government" Australian Journal of Public Administration 60.1 (2001): 34-42

Australasian Council of Auditors-General (2015), "Effective Public Sector Accountability", available at < http://www.acag.org.au/epsa.htm>.

Australian National Audit Office (2014), "Public Sector Governance: Strengthening performance though good governance", available at:  <http://www.anao.gov.au/Publications/Better-Practice-Guides/2013-2014/Public-Sector-Governance>

Gilmour, Robert S., and Laura S. Jensen. "Reinventing Government Accountability: Public Functions, Privatization, and the Meaning of" State Action" Public Administration Review (1998): 247-258

Kim, Pan Suk, et al. "Toward participatory and transparent governance: report on the Sixth Global Forum on Reinventing Government." Public Administration Review 65.6 (2005): 646-654

T. W. & A. G. (2005), "Governance", Political Quarterly, vol. 76, no.4, p. 469 – 470

Module 2: Budget making

Preparatory readings

Caiden N, A New Perspective on Budgetary Reform, Australian Journal of Public Administration, 48 (1) 53-60 (text available on Canvas)

Further readings

Christensen H and Grant B, ‘Participatory Budgeting in Australian Local Government: An Initial Assessment and Critical Issues', Australian Journal of Public Administration, December 2016, Vol 75, Issue

Curtis K, "How does the federal budget work – and how is it different from yours?", The Age, 4 October 4 2020 (text available on Canvas)

Department of Finance, Resource Management Guide No. 001, Commonwealth Resource Management Framework, November 2015 (text available on Canvas)

Department of Finance and Deregulation, Glossary and Acronyms, June 2013 (text available on Canvas)

Department of Finance and Deregulation, The Budget Process and NPPs, June 2013 (text available on Canvas)

OECD, Designing and implementing gender budgeting – a path to action, OECD Journal on Budgeting, Volume 2020, Issue 2, Paris (text available on Canvas)

Wanna J, 2015, "Through a Glass Darkly: The Vicissitudes of Budgetary Reform in Australia" in J Wanna, EA Lindquist and P Marshall (eds), New Accountabilities, New Challenges. Canberra: ANU Press: 159-187

Module 4: Government finances and the economy

Preparatory readings

Freebairn J and Corden M, "Vision Versus Prudence: Government Debt Financing of Investment", Melbourne Institute Working Paper No. 30/13, September 2013 (text available on Canvas

Further readings

Carling R and Kirchner S, Fiscal Rules for Limited Government: Reforming Australia's Fiscal Responsibility Legislation, Centre for Independent Studies, Sydney 2009 (text available on Canvas)

Carmody, ‘Considering future generations – sustainability in theory and practice', Treasury Roundup, Nov 2012 (text available on Canvas)

Commonwealth of Australia, Towards Responsible Government, Report of the

National Commission of Audit, Phase One, February 2014 (text available on Canvas)

Commonwealth of Australia, Budget Strategy and Outlook, Budget Paper No. 1, 2019-20, Canberra, 2017 (Budget Statement 1)

Commonwealth of Australia, 2015 Intergenerational Report, Australia in 2055, Canberra, March 2015

Coombs G and Dollery B, ‘The Aging of Australia: Fiscal Sustainability, Intergenerational Equity and Inter-temporal Fiscal Balance', Australian Journal of Social Issues, 2004, 39 (4) pp459ff

Daley J, Budget pressures on Australian governments, Grattan Institute, April 2013 (Appendix C contains a good explanation of economic, financial and budget terminology) (text available on Canvas

Department of Finance and Deregulation, Introduction to the Financial Framework, June 2013 (text available on Canvas)

Department of Finance and Deregulation, Appropriations, Public Money and Financial Reporting, June 2013 (text available on Canvas)

Ferguson N, "Clash of generations the greatest economic struggle of our time", The Australian, 11 June 2016 (text available on Canvas)

Gruen D and Spender D, A Decade of Intergenerational Reports: Contributing to Long Term Fiscal Sustainability, Australian Treasury, Intergen+10 Workshop, 11 May 2012 (text available on Canvas)

Hazlitt H, Economics in One Lesson, Harper & Brothers, 1946 ,Chapters 2, 3 4, 11 and 23 (text available on Canvas)

Kirchner S, Strengthening Australia's Fiscal Institutions, Centre for Independent Studies, December 2013 (text available on Canvas)

Productivity Commission, "An Ageing Australia: Preparing for the Future", November 2013 (text available on Canvas)

Wood D and Griffith K, Generation Gap, Ensuring a fair go for younger Australians, Grattan Institute, August 2019

Assignment # 2 – some reading for the coronavirus topic (all six pieces are on Canvas)

BCA, COVID-19, Economic Analysis (text available on Canvas)

Creighton, A, Coronavirus: Trillion-dollar debt to rival post-WWII years,

Grattan Institute, The Australian, 1 April 2020 (text available on Canvas)

Grattan Institute, The Recovery Book, What Australian governments should do now, June 2020 (text available on Canvas

International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook, Chapter 1 The Great Lockdown, April 2020 (text available on Canvas)

Keating M, Covid-19 and Inter-generational Equity, Pearls and Irritations, 27 April 2020 (text available on Canvas)

Keating M, Covid-19 and Future Fiscal Policy, Pearls and Irritations, 14 April 2020  (text available on Canvas)

Module 5: Performance management through budgeting

Preparatory readings

Mackay K, ‘The Performance Framework of the Australian Government, 1987 to 2011', OECD Journal on Budgeting, Volume 2011/3, OECD, 2011 (text available on Canvas)

Further readings

Commonwealth of Australia, Australia's Experience in Utilising Performance Information in Budget and Management Processes, Department of Finance and Administration report to

OECD Senior Budget Officials, Canberra, 2007 (text available on Canvas)

Commonwealth of Australia, Enhanced Commonwealth Performance Framework, Department of Finance Discussion Paper, August 2014 (text available on Canvas)

Commonwealth of Australia, Towards Responsible Government, Report of the

National Commission of Audit, Phase One, February 2014 (text available on Canvas)

Commonwealth of Australia, Towards Responsible Government, Report of the

National Commission of Audit, Phase Two, March 2014 (text available on Canvas)

Commonwealth of Australia, Towards Responsible Government, Appendix to the Report of the National Commission of Audit, Volume 3, March 2014 (text available on Canvas)

Commonwealth of Australia, Is Less More? March 2012 (text available on Canvas)

Donaldson D, "Welcome to Targetworld, where goals can undermine performance", The Mandarin, 15 March 2018 (text available on Canvas)

Duckett S, Activity-Based Hospital Funding Healthy Way to Go, The Australian, 5 March 2014, page 8 (text available on Canvas)

Morton D and Cook B, Evaluators and the Enhanced Commonwealth Performance Framework, Department of Finance, Evaluation Journal of Australasia, September 2018, Vol 18, Issue 2 (text available on Canvas)

Murray, A Review of Operation Sunlight: Overhauling Budgetary Transparency, 2008, at http://www.finance.gov.au/financial-framework/financial-management-policy-guidance/operation-sunlight/docs/official-government-response-to-murray-report.rtf

Robinson, Marc and Brumby, Jim. 2005, "Does Performance Budgeting Work? An Analytical Review of the Empirical Literature" IMF Working Paper, WP/05/210

Robinson, Marc and Last, Duncan, 2009, "A Basic Model of Performance-Based Budgeting" IMF Technical Notes and Manuals

Schick, A. 2014, "The Metamorphoses of Performance Budgeting", OECD Journal on Budgeting, Vol. 13(2)

Tanner L, Operation Sunlight, Enhancing Budget Transparency, December 2008 (text available on Canvas) 

Thomas P G, Performance Measurement, Reporting, Obstacles and Accountability:

Recent Trends and Future Directions, ANU E Press, 2006 (text available on Canvas)

Module 6: Financial and performance auditing

Financial accounting and reporting

Preparatory readings

McPhee I, ‘The Evolving Role and Mandate of the ANAO since Federation', Senate Occasional Lecture, Canberra, 2011 (text available on Canvas)

Further readings - auditing

ANAO: A guide to conducting performance audits, March 31 2017 https://www.anao.gov.au/work/corporate/guide-to-conducting-performance-audits

ANAO: Set of performance audit reports at https://www.anao.gov.au/pubs/performance-audit

ANAO Better Practices Guides (see ANAO website):

Public Sector Internal Audit: An investment in assurance and business improvement, September 2012

Public Sector Audit Committees: Independent assurance and advice for Accountable Authorities, March 2015

Auditing and Assurance Standards Board: Auditing Standard ASA 200 Overall Objectives of the Independent Auditor and the Conduct of an Audit in Accordance with Australian Auditing Standards (text available on Canvas)          

Aulich, C (2012) Autonomy and control in three ACT-based integrity agencies, Policy Studies 33 (1), 49-64

Hehir, Grant.   A reflection on how far performance auditing has come from its roots in the 1970s to where we are today and where we are heading.  Speech to IMPACT— International Meeting of Performance Audit Critical Thinkers. March 15 2017. https://www.anao.gov.au/sites/g/files/net2766/f/Grant%20Hehir%20IMPACT%20presentation.pdf  (text available on Canvas)

McPhee, I (2015), Leveraging Technology to Enhance Audit Quality and Effectiveness, 6th ASOSAI Symposium, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

McPhee, Ian (2013) Public Sector Management, a score card on the journey, 2^nd Annual GRC Conference, Risk Management Institute of Australia

Mulgan, R. (2008), How much responsiveness is too much or too little, The Australian Journal Of Public Administration. Vol.67, no.3, pp. 345-356

The Institute of Internal Auditors: International Standards for the Professional Practice of Internal Auditing (text available on Canvas)

Further readings – financial accounting and reporting

Blondy G ,Cooper J, Irwin T, Kauffmann K and Khan A, "The Role of Fiscal Reporting in Public Financial Management". In Cangiano M, Curristine T and Lazare M, Public Financial Management and its Emerging Architecture, IMF, Washington, 2013, pp 259-282

Khan A, "Accrual Budgeting: Opportunities and Challenges". In Cangiano M, Curristine T and Lazare M, Public Financial Management and its Emerging Architecture, IMF, Washington, 2013, pp 339-362

Moretti D and Youngberry T, "Getting added value out of accruals reforms", OECD Journal on Budgeting, Volume 2018/1, OECD 2018 (text available on Canvas)

van Helden J and Reichard C, "Cash or accruals for budgeting? Why some governments in Europe changed their budgeting mode and others not", OECD Journal on Budgeting, Volume 2018/1, OECD 2018 (text available on Canvas)

Module 7: Intergovernmental financial relations

Preparatory readings

Craven G, "Capital's Theory of Devolution", The Australian, 19 March 2014, p 10 (text available on Canvas)

Stewart M, ‘Renewing Australian federalism', The Conversation, September 2014 (text available on Canvas)

Further readings

Commonwealth of Australia, GST Distribution Review, Final Report, October 2012 (text available on Canvas)

Commonwealth of Australia, Towards Responsible Government, Report of the

National Commission of Audit, Phase One, February 2014 (text available on Canvas)

Commonwealth of Australia, Towards Responsible Government, Appendix to the Report of the National Commission of Audit, Volume 1, February 2014 (text available on Canvas)

Commonwealth Grants Commission, 2015, The Commission's Methods, https://cgc.gov.au/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=36&Itemid=152

Council on Federal Financial Relations, Council on Federal Financial Relations, http://www.federalfinancialrelations.gov.au/

Department of Finance and Deregulation, Introduction to the Financial Framework, June 2013 (text available on Canvas)

Department of Finance and Deregulation, Appropriations, Public Money and Financial Reporting, June 2013 (text available on Canvas)

Eccleston R, Warren N and Wooley T, "Beyond the Blame Game: Political Strategies for State Funding Reform", Australian Journal of Public Administration, vol 72, no. 1,

pp 14-30

Pincus J, ‘Commonwealth-State Financial Relations: the case for competitive federalism' Papers on Parliament, 53, 2010 (text available on Canvas)

Productivity Commission 2017, Horizontal Fiscal Equalisation, Draft Report, Canberra

Journals and websites

The Australian Journal of Public Administration (a UC e-journal) is a good source of non-specialist articles on Australian financial reforms and accountability.

OECD Journal on Budgeting (a UC e-journal): an excellent source of comparative and other information.

Public Budgeting and Finance: a more specialised journal, with many useful articles on financial control, trust and accountability in the public sector

The OECD's website (www.oecd.org) is a mine of information on public sector governance and financial management issues. See also the IMF and World Bank websites at, www.imf.org and www.worldbank.org

Participation requirements

None

Required IT skills

None

Work placement, internships or practicums

None

• Period 3, 2021, On-Campus, UC - Canberra, Bruce (204469)
• Period 2, 2021, On-Campus, UC - Canberra, Bruce (204466)