City University of Hong Kong

Information on a Course
offered by Department of Public Policy
with effect from Semester A in 2013/2014

Part I
Course Title:

Managing Financial Resources in the Public Sector

Course Code:

POL3307

Course Duration:

One semester

No. of Credit Units:

Level:

B3

Medium of Instruction:

English

Prerequisites: (Course Code and Title)

None

Precursors: (Course Code and Title)

None

Equivalent Courses: (Course Code and Title)

SA3103/SA3304 Financial Resources Management in the Public Sector (former courses
under Non-credit unit system),
SA/POL3318 Managing Financial Resources in Public and Private Sectors
SA3307 Managing Financial Resources in the Public Sector
Exclusive Courses: (Course Code and Title) None

Part II
1.

Course Aims:
The primary aims of this course are to:
(a) Enable students to acquire the knowledge and skills of managing financial
resources in the public sector
(b) Provide students with a comprehensive understanding and critical attitude about
the evolution of different approaches to budgeting and
(c) Help students develop good capacity in analyzing the problem, trend, and
reforms of budgeting and financial management in the public sector.

2.

Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs)

Upon successful completion of this course, students should be able to:
No.

CILOs

1.

(a) Recognise and (b) recall the core concepts,

model, processes, techniques and practices of
financial resource management within the public
sector.
(a) Examine and (b) analyse the interplay
among stakeholders, institutions and working
environment in public sector financial
management
(a) Discover, (b) classify and (c) appraise the
impact of economic, social, fiscal and political
factors on financial resource management in
public sector
(a) State, (b) explain, (c) compare/contrast and
(d) critically evaluate the different approaches to
budgeting
(a) Recognise, (b) summarize, (c) generalize
and (d) criticize the recent public sector financial
management reforms - both in Hong Kong and
abroad.
Communicate effectively in oral presentation
Develop/adopt correct approach/style in
academic writing with the grasp of the topic issue

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.
7

Weighting (if applicable)

10%

10%

10%

10%

10%

25%
25%

3.

Teaching and learning Activities (TLAs)

(Indicative of likely activities and tasks designed to facilitate students achievement of the CILOs. Final details
will be provided to students in their first week of attendance in this course)

CILO No.
CILO 1,2,3,4,5
CILO 1,2,3,4,5
CILO1,2,3,4,5,6,7
CILO 6
CILO 7

4.

TLAs

Hours/week (if applicable)

Lectures
Readings
Consultation
Oral presentation , Q&A and
discussion in tutorial session
Writing term paper

Assessment Tasks/Activities
(Indicative of likely activities and tasks designed to assess how well the students achieve the CILOs. Final
details will be provided to students in their first week of attendance in this course)

Students are required to pass BOTH the coursework assessment AND the examination
before they can be awarded an overall passing grade of the course.
CILO No.

CILO 1,

Type of assessment
tasks/activities

2, 3,

Weighting (if

Remarks

applicable)

Exam

70%

Performance in oral
presentation, response in
Q&A session and leading
ability in discussion
Written assignment: grasp
of topic issue, analytical
capacity, arguments by
case illustration, writing
style and academic
convention

15%

4, 5
CILO 6

CILO 7

5.

15%

Grading of Student Achievement: Refer to Grading of Courses in the Academic Regulations.

Letter Grading criteria in relation to CILOs

Grade
A+
High standard of knowledge of the different
approaches to budgeting, recent public sector
financial management reforms, and the core concepts
A
and techniques of financial resource management in
the public sector.
AB+
B
B-

Fairly good understanding of the different

approaches to budgeting, recent public sector
financial management reforms, and the core concepts
and techniques of financial resource management in
the public sector.

C+
C
CD

Rudimentary understanding of the different

approaches to budgeting, recent public sector
financial management reforms, and the core concepts
and techniques of financial resource management in
the public sector.
Poor understanding of the different approaches to
budgeting, recent public sector financial
management reforms, and the core concepts and
techniques of financial resource management in the
public sector.
Almost no knowledge of the different approaches to
budgeting, recent public sector financial
management reforms, and the core concepts and
techniques of financial resource management in the
public sector.

Part III
Keyword Syllabus:
Concepts, models, processes, and techniques of public sector financial resource
management. Different approaches to budgeting and recent changes. Traditional
budgeting. Performance budgeting. Program budgeting. Budgeting for results.
Budgeting cycle, methods and practices. Capital budgeting and debt financing.
Budgeting system and process in Hong Kong. Appraisal and accountability.
Compliance audit. Value for Money audit. Financial management reforms.
Devolution and decentralization. Public budgeting and financial management
reform in Hong Kong and Western countries.. New issues, problems and trend of
financial resource management in public sector.

Recommended Readings:
Nice, David C. 2001. Public Budgeting, 2001. Wadsworth Publishing.
Lee, Robert D., Ronald W. Johnson, and Philip G. Joyce, 2008. Chapter 1,
Introduction, Public Budgeting Systems, 8th edition. Available at:
http://www.jbpub.com/catalog/9780763746681/.
Carney, James D., and Stanley Schoenfeld. 1996. How to Read a Budget, in
Budgeting Formulation and Execution, edited by Jack Rabin, W. Bartley Hildreth,
and Gerald J. Miller, pp 140-153.

 Lee, Robert D., Ronald W. Johnson, and Philip G. Joyce, 2008. Chapter 3, Budget
Cycles, Public Budgeting Systems, 8th edition. Available at:
http://www.jbpub.com/catalog/9780763746681/.

A Wildavsky (1986) Budgeting: A Comparative Theory of Budgetary Processes,

2nd revised edition, New Brunswick, N. J.: Transaction Books, Chapter 10 Rival
Forms, or Why the Traditional Budget Lasts.

Schick (1973) A Death in the Bureaucracy: The Demise of Federal PPB,

Public Administration Review, Vol. 33 No. 2, pp. 145-56. Available through
CityU library e-Jounals.

A. Schick (1991) The Road to PPB: The Stages of Budget Reform, in J. M.

Shafritz and A. C. Hyde (eds) Classics in Public Administration, 3rd edition,
Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, pp. 260-77.
Schick (1990) Budgeting for Results: Recent Developments in Five
Industrialized Countries, Public Administration Review, Vol. 50, No. 1, pp.
26-34. Available through CityU library e-Jounals.
Lee, J. C. Y. and Cheung, A. B. L. (eds) (1995) Public Sector Reform in Hong Kong,
Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press.
Cheung, A. B. L. and Lee, J. C. Y. (eds) (2001) Public Sector Reform in Hong Kong:
Into the 21st Century, Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press.
Lam, N. M. K. (2000) The Changing Functions of Public Budgeting in Hong
Kong, Public Administration and Policy, Vol. 9, No. 2, September, pp. 1-26.
Anthony Cheung and Rikkie Yeung (2005) Privatization and Divestment of
Government-Owned Public Utilities in Hong Kong: Issues and Prospect, June,
Hong Kong: SynergyNet (available at
http://www.synergynet.org.hk/pdf/20081106_en.pdf.)
Brunori, David. 2005. Chapter 2, Principles of Sound Tax Policy, in State Tax
Policy: A Political Perspective, the Urban Institute Press, Washington D.C.:
11-24.
Smith, Robert W., and Thomas D. Lynch. 2004. Chapter 9, Revenue Systems, in
Public Budgeting in America, Pearson Prentice Hall, 5th edition.
Bland, Robert L. 2007. Chapter 5, Accounting and Financial Reporting, A
Budgeting Guide for Local Government, ICMA Press, 2nd edition, pp103-124.
Robert Bland and Wes Clarke, 1999, Budgeting for Capital Improvements, in
Handbook of Government Budgeting. (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers).
Online Resources:
Efficiency Unit (HK) http://www.eu.gov.hk
Financial Services & Treasury Bureau (HK) http://www.fstb.gov.hk/eng/sfst/fstb.html
Legislative Council website: http://www.legco.gov.hk/english/index.htm
Annual Budget website: http://www.budget.gov.hk/
Annual Estimates website: http://www.budget.gov.hk/2012/eng/estimates.html
Tax Reform in Hong Kong website: http://www.taxreform.gov.hk/eng/news.htm