ACADEMIC COURSES ON GOVERNMENT FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT

Jesse Hughes and Michael Parry

Abstract

Government expenditure as a portion of GDP has risen dramatically over the last 50 years reaching almost 50% in France and even in the USA 23%. In low income countries government spending is inevitably a smaller portion of GDP but remains very significant in all countries. The financial management of governments is therefore of great importance but also poses unique challenges because of the nature of the sovereign state as an economic entity. As a subject government financial management involves economics, accounting, statistics and public administration. Governments and multilateral agencies are investing large sums seeking reforms to the management of government expenditure and much has been written on new approaches and methodologies. The accounting and auditing professions have become involved with the formation of the International Public Sector Accounting Board and International Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions, as have statisticians with the IMF Government Finance Statistics Manual and European System of Accounts. Economists have developed approaches involving fiscal strategies and public administrators on linking sector strategies with medium term programme budgets. Yet the experience of the authors over many years and in many countries of very limited academic focus, often as a minor part of another course. A limited survey of Comparative International Government Accounting Research (CIGAR) Network members has confirmed this view and only one specific course on public financial management has been identified. This paper concludes that there is a need for more research into academic coverage of government financial management and also the development of both specific courses and the coverage as a module in other courses.