Course objective: Students will acquire an overview of the elements that make up PFM, highlighting the interrelations that exist between the different components, good practices, as well as the most interesting trends and challenges that economies are currently facing due to COVID-19.

Course Type: Online with tutor

Language: English

Starting date: 01/10/2022

Duration: 36 hours (8 weeks)

Methodology: Self-paced online course accompanied by specialist tutors and 3 master-classes. 

Faculty:

• Marco Cangiano: Independent public finance consultant, he was deputy director of the Public Finance Department of the International Monetary Fund and Head of the Public Financial Management and Budget Strategy Divisions. His numerous presentations are noteworthy, especially at the OECD, Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, and NYU's Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. He has a degree from La Sapienza University of Rome and a master's degree in Economics from the University of York. 

• Almudena Fernandez: Independent public finance consultant and Comptroller and Auditor of the Spanish Government on leave of absence. She worked as an Advisor in the Public Financial Management Division of the International Monetary Fund and held various positions in the Spanish Ministry of Finance. She has also been a consultant for the Inter-American Development Bank. Graduated in Law and Business Administration and Management from the Complutense University of Madrid, and a postgraduate degree in Economics from the London School of Economics.

Cost: Free of charge

Syllabus:

Unit 1. Fiscal policy and public finance management

• The government and fiscal policy
  • Why the government: How to correct market failures
  • Objectives of fiscal policy
• Differences between fiscal policy and Public Financial Management (PFM)
  • The role of government and the objectives of fiscal policy
  • The institutional framework
  • From the budget to public financial management
  • PFM Goals and Desirable Features
• Fiscal Responsibility
  • Introduction
  • Definition, justification, and key characteristics of the Fiscal Responsibility Laws
  • Fiscal objectives and rules             
  • Fiscal frameworks in Latin America and the Caribbean, during and after the 2009 financial crisis

Unit 2. The budget cycle and its components. The annual budget. Medium-term budgetary framework (MTEF)

• Phases of the budget cycle and legal framework       
  • Why is it so important to build a good budget?     
  • Phases of the budget cycle           
  • Legal framework of PFM   
• Public budget: principles, structure, and functions. Preparation and approval of the budget. The role of Parliament
  • The Annual Budget           
  • Classical budget principles and their importance   
  • Content of the public budget         
  • Budget preparation and approval
  • Parliament's Role in Budgeting
• Medium-Term Budgetary Framework: concept, characteristics, types, and examples
  • Concept, advantages, and functions
  • Indicative content and relationship with the Macroeconomic Framework and the Medium-Term Fiscal Framework           
  • Types of MTBFs   
  • Country-specific adaptation of the medium-term approach and international examples    

Unit 3. Public Expenditure. Phases of expenditure execution. Spending review processes

• Concept, types, and characteristics of public expenditure. The contingency fund
  • Public expenditure             
  • Public expenditure in budgets     
  • Composition of public expenditure in the Caribbean         
• Phases of expenditure execution. The problem of arrears
  • Phases of execution of public expenditure
  • The problem of arrears 

Unit 4. Public Revenues. Public finance and tax administration

• Importance of Public Revenues for Public Financial Management     
• Principles of tax systems     
• Institutional elements of tax systems           
• Classifications of revenues 
• Taxes         
  • Description of the most important types of revenue
• Impact of COVID-19 on public revenues       
  • Comprehensive public revenue mobilization         
  • Combating tax fraud and tax avoidance

Unit 5. Treasury management

• The role and functions of treasury 
  • The role of the Treasury in the budget cycle         
  • Treasury functions and models    
• Cash Management and Single Treasury Account       
  • Cash Management             
  • Single Treasury Account   
• Public debt. Debt sustainability analysis. Medium-term public debt management strategy
  • Introduction         
  • Fiscal Sustainability           
  • Financial Crisis and Fiscal Vulnerability     
  • What is debt and how is it measured?       
  • Public Debt Management             
  • What are the future prospects for public debt?    

Unit 6. Fiscal rules and independent fiscal institutions

• Typology of fiscal rules       
  • What is a fiscal rule?         
  • Types of tax rules
  • "Second generation" of fiscal rules         
  • Enforcement       
  • Conclusions          
•  Independent fiscal institutions         
  • What are fiscal councils?
  • Transmission Channels to Policy and responsibility             
  • What Design Features Can Foster Effective Fiscal Councils?            

Unit 7. Fiscal transparency. Public accounting. Fiscal reports and accounting financial statements. Integrated Financial Management Systems

• Fiscal Transparency             
  • Introduction         
  • Definitions of fiscal transparency 
  • The benefits of fiscal transparency             
  • The IMF's Fiscal Transparency Code          
• Government accounting
  • Government accounting: definition, types, and features
  • The Integrated Financial Management Systems (IFMS)      
• The control of public expenditure. The role of Supreme Audit Institutions
  • The control of public expenditure               

Unit 8. Fiscal risks. Climate-Sensitive Management of Public Finances

• Fiscal risks
  • Definition of fiscal risks
  • Why are fiscal risks important?   
  • Understanding and managing risks
  • Macroeconomic risks       
  • Mitigating fiscal risks         
  • Reporting fiscal risks         
  • Introduction of the fiscal stress test           
• Climate-Sensitive Management of Public Finances