Financial Management

The Certificate in Management and Financial Accounting (previously Certificate in International Public Financial Management) consists of two modules: Management Accounting and Financial Accounting.

The Management Accounting module provides an introduction to the principles of costing and budgeting and their use in providing information to support management decision making. The skills and knowledge that students develop in this module are crucial in performing the finance professional roles of steward, enabler and innovator and underpin much of the activity associated with the business partner role.

The Financial Accounting Module provides an introduction to accounting theory, ethics, bookkeeping and the preparation of financial statements, which are all fundamental to the stewardship role performed by finance professionals in modern organisations.

View the Course Brochure here.

A robust system of recording transactions is the means by which we can ensure that all financial data is captured and that the final accounts can be relied upon and fully reflect all that has happened in any organisation. Double entry bookkeeping is a widely used system of recording transactions and provides the basis for many IT based accounting systems.  The Accounting Fundamentals course will examine in detail the whole bookkeeping process from the beginning of a transaction through to the preparation of a trial balance and will consider journals and corrections. It will also consider how the bookkeeping process sits within an accrual accounting or cash reporting framework.  This is a Specialist-Led Online Course that is designed for those who need a working knowledge of the principles of the double entry bookkeeping system.

Accounting for Civil Service and Vote Funded Bodies is a one-day interactive course that will provide a greater understanding of and familiarity with the various elements of Central Government Accounting and its role within the financial management systems.

The responsibility for budget management and control is being cascaded down to individual Departments and Centres within Irish Local Government.  This creates a need for those with the responsibility for these areas and Elected Members to understand the financial processes, reports and documents that they are being asked to comment upon.

This half day Budget Management and Control for Local Government course is designed to provide the support needed by detailing the system of preparing budgets, the process by which actual expenditure is calculated and the control system used whereby actual and budgetary figures are compared to produce ‘variances’.  The process of analysing variances, for the purpose of explaining under or over spending is a key aspect of this course, in the same way that is the main means of effecting budgetary control in Local Government.

In many organisations the accountability and responsibility for budget management and control has been cascaded down to individual departments, budget centres and to individual budget-holders. This creates a need for those with the responsibility for these areas to understand the financial arrangements, the process of budgetary preparation, costing systems and budgetary control reports and documents available to assist in managing the budgets.  This intensive online course is designed to provide key insights and understandings for accountable budget-holders and those who support them in fulfilling this key role.

Finance for Non-Finance Managers within the Public Sector is a two day online course that is intended to provide an overview of the main aspects of finance confronting an increasing number of individuals in public service organisations.  Devolved financial management responsibilities have led to a redefinition of many roles and the establishment of many budget holders.  This has led to an increased need for people with an understanding of financial reporting, management accounting and control and audit.  This is a Specialist-led online course which is aimed at providing an overview of these areas of finance.

Basic Finance for Non-Financial Directors was developed to serve Directors or aspiring Directors who do not have financial expertise. 

As a Director, it is critical that your decision-making is supported by a robust understanding of the financial statements and the overall financial position of the enterprise.  This course aims to demystify the basic structure of financial statements to allow non-financial Directors to navigate the financial position of the entities they lead.

Intermediate Finance for Non-Financial Directors was developed to serve Directors or aspiring Directors who have basic financial expertise.

As a Director, it is critical that your decision-making is supported by a robust understanding of the financial statements and the overall financial position of the enterprise. This course builds on the competencies gained from a basic understanding of financial statements (see Basic Finance for Non-Financial Directors) and expands your knowledge to provide you with the confidence to interrogate the financial statements.

Informed Decision Making for Non-Financial Directors was developed to serve Directors and/or aspiring Directors who are driving the strategic vision and mission of their organisation.

The decision-making process of allocating investment and allocation of resources of any enterprise requires a keen understanding of the quantitative and qualitative levers to drive growth.  This course aims to expose Non-Financial Directors to principles of managerial accounting and corporate finance necessary to support the obligation to evaluate growth opportunities of their enterprise. 

A good Financial Management Maturity Model will link practice and awareness of financial management to strategic outcomes of an organisation.  In 2018, the Comptroller and Auditor General published a good practice guide (Special Report 101) to assist public sector bodies.  

This half day course presents key financial management principles underpinning good practice and reviews this guide for application in the real world.  The course will be of particular interest to Executives and Boards within Public Sectors entities.