Overview
Governance 450: Public Budgeting and Financial Management in a Globalized World is a senior-level, three-credit course that examines the theory and practice of public budgeting and financial management in an era of globalization. The course conveys an understanding of the purposes and roles of budgeting in public organization and examines the major trends and the political, economic, and financial considerations involved in budgeting. One such consideration is globalization. Students will explore the impact of globalization on the governance capacity of governments and discuss what globalization means for budgeting.
The course examines the various theories, practices, challenges, and reforms of budgeting and financial management in governments and government agencies. Students will learn what public budgeting and its related theories are; how budgets are formulated; the roles of politics, economics, and management in public budgeting; how public resources should be allocated efficiently; the impact of globalization on the governance capacity of governments; what globalization means for budgeting; and the feasibility of recent public sector reform initiatives. The content deals primarily with budgets and budgeting in Canadian federal, provincial, and municipal governments. Research on budgeting, governance, and globalization is reviewed.
Outline
The course consists of the following 12 units.
- Unit 1: Introduction to Budgeting and Financial Management in an Era of Globalization
- Unit 2: Overview and Trends in Public Budgeting in Canada
- Unit 3: Theories of Budgeting
- Unit 4: Theory Continued—Politics and Bureaucracy in Public Budgeting
- Unit 5: Budgeting in the Federal Government
- Unit 6: Budgeting in the Provincial Governments
- Unit 7: Budgeting in Municipal Governments
- Unit 8: Macroeconomic Issues in Public Budgeting
- Unit 9: The Tax System, Tax Expenditures, and Tax Reform
- Unit 10: Accountability, Management, and Efficiency of Resource Allocation
- Unit 11: Public Sector Reform: Developments in Canada
- Unit 12: Reform Initiatives and the Realities of Budgeting
Evaluation
To receive credit for GOVN 450, you must complete all of the assignments, achieve a mark of at least 50 percent on the final examination, and obtain a course composite grade of D (50 percent) or more. The weighting of the composite grade is as follows:
| Activity | Weight |
| 3 Written Assignments | 60% |
| Final Examination | 40% |
| Total | 100% |
The final examination for this course must be requested in advance and written under the supervision of an AU-approved exam invigilator. Invigilators include either ProctorU or an approved in-person invigilation centre that can accommodate online exams. Students are responsible for payment of any invigilation fees. Information on exam request deadlines, invigilators, and other exam-related questions, can be found at the Exams and grades section of the Calendar.
To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University’s online Calendar.
Materials
Digital course materials
Links to the following course materials will be made available in the course:
Good, David A. 2007. The Politics of Public Money: Spenders, Guardians, Priority Setters, and Financial Watchdogs inside the Canadian Government. University of Toronto Press: Toronto.
Physical course materials
The following course materials are included in a course package that will be shipped to your home prior to your course’s start date:
John C. Strick. 1999. The Public Sector in Canada: Programs, Finance and Policy. Toronto: Thompson Educational Publishing.
Other Materials
All other course materials can be accessed online.
Challenge for credit
Overview
The challenge for credit process allows you to demonstrate that you have acquired a command of the general subject matter, knowledge, intellectual and/or other skills that would normally be found in a university-level course.
Full information about challenge for credit can be found in the Undergraduate Calendar.
Evaluation
To receive creditfor the GOVN 450 challenge registration, you must complete all required components, and achieve an overall grade of at least D (50 percent).
| Activity | Weight |
| Written Assignment 1 | 10% |
| Written Assignment 2 | 15% |
| Exam | 75% |
| Total | 100% |
Challenge for credit course registration form