Course Catalogue

View Specification Document | Reading List

This course provides students with the opportunity to develop a deep understanding of public sector accounting ie budgeting, accounting, auditing and accountability. This will complement students' understanding of the analogous private sector issues.

10 x 2-hour lectures (one a week for ten weeks) and 8 x 1-hour tutorials

Grade D3 or above in Financial Accounting 1 or equivalent

None

 None

1. Written assignment, including essay; Individual; 2000 words; 25%; ILOs 1-8.

2. Degree exam: in-person; Individual; 120 minutes; 75%; ILOs 1-8.

The aims of this course are to explore the theory and practice of public sector accounting (i.e. budgeting, accounting, auditing and accountability) in the United Kingdom, with a particular emphasis on Scotland. In so doing, the course aims to provide students with the opportunity to develop their ability to:

■ recognise and explain governance structures within the public sector

■ analyse how similarities to, and differences from, the private sector influence budgeting, accounting, auditing and accountability within the public sector

■ examine how practices in public sector accounting have been changing, in response to pressures for fiscal transparency, austerity, internationalisation and fiscal devolution

■ evaluate the official and academic literature on developments in public sector accounting, such as the effects of the adoption of accruals, off-balance sheet arrangements such as Public-Private Partnerships, consolidation, international harmonisation of standards and regulation, and challenges to the scope of public audit

■ locate UK and Scottish developments within the international context and consider their relevance to other jurisdictions

By the end of this course students will be able to:

1. Apply principles of accounting theory and financial management to the public sector

2. Recognise and clearly explain the accounting frameworks used by local authorities and central government bodies, and be able to discuss the differences between them

3. Understand how funding is raised and applied in the public sector

4. Critically evaluate financial reporting in the public sector compared to the private sector

5. Critically evaluate the development of public sector audit and broader scrutiny arrangements in the public sector

6. Explain the similarities and differences between public and private governance and accountability, including ethics

7. Understand the approaches to capital investment in the public sector and evaluate the costs and benefits of different approaches

8. Search for, use and critically evaluate relevant literature.