Managing Public Finances (PADM90003)

Graduate courseworkPoints: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)

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Overview

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July
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Managing Public Finances is one of the core subjects in the Melbourne Master of Public Administration. The Melbourne MPA is an interdisciplinary, globally-focused degree program for managers that work within or with government. This subject provides the theoretical and analytical tools for understanding the nature and practice of finance in relation to public administration and management, drawing on the disciplines of economics and finance. Key ideas that will be explored in this subject include budgets, performance, reporting and decision–making and how these relate to broader notions of governing in complex institutional and policy environments.

Intended learning outcomes

Students who successfully complete this subject should:



  • Acquire an understanding of key concepts in public finance;
  • Understand the importance of finance to the public manager in both a strategic and operational sense;
  • Understand the complexities of developing and executing budgets, evaluating performance, and decision-making; and
  • Appreciate the local, national and global aspects of these issues.

Generic skills

On completion of this subject students should have:

  • A comprehensive understanding and appreciation of key concepts in public finance;
  • A sound understanding of the interconnectedness between finance and politics, economics and law, as they apply to public management processes and decisions and shape the public manager’s environment;
  • A high-level ability to combine the theory and practice of public finance in a meaningful way in order to address managerial challenges and reflect critically on one’s own professional practice;
  • A high-level ability to combine professional skills such as analysis and decision-making with discipline-based expertise and to apply this complex synthesis to the practice of public finance; and
  • Well-developed interpersonal and communication skills necessary to a range of professional activities relating to public finance.

Last updated: 3 November 2022