Financial Management in Public Sector

Tämä on maisteritutkinnon syventävän tason opintojakso, joka edellyttää hallintotieteiden aineopintotasoisia tietoja ennen kurssin aloittamista.

After completing the course, the student understands the overall scope of financial management tasks and subareas. The student is able to evaluate financial management as part of public management and the operations of a public organization. They can analyze and interpret information related to public sector finances and sustainability in a changing operational environment. In addition, the student is capable of taking into account the legal obligations related to public financial management.

The course deepens the mastery of the following common learning objectives of the Master's program in Administrative Sciences: understanding administrative systems and the ability to make informed, sustainable, and lawful decisions. Additionally, the student develops problem-solving and critical thinking skills. In terms of sustainable development, the goal is to learn to develop effective, responsible, and transparent practices at all levels of society and to promote partnerships between the public and private sectors and civil society.

• The overall structure of public sector finances and the various related tasks
• The sustainability perspective in public financial management
• Tools of public financial management and their significance
• Legal obligations related to public financial management

1. Kioko, S. N., Marlowe, J., Matkin, D. S., Moody, M., Smith, D. L., & Zhao, Z. J. (2011). Why public financial management matters. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 21(suppl_1), i113-i124.
2. Muukkonen, M. (2021). Kunnan talousarvioprojektista. Oikeus, 50(3), 363-385.
3. Mauro S.G., Cinquini L., Sinervo L.-M. (2019), "Actors’ dynamics toward performance-based budgeting: a mix of change and stability?". Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management, Vol. 31 No. 2 pp. 158–177
4. Sinervo, L.-M., Kanniala, A. M., Lindgren, H., & Vakkuri, J. (2025). Julkisen budjetoinnin muutoksen mahdollisuudet–näkökulmana nollapohjabudjetointi kunnassa. Hallinnon Tutkimus.
5. Sinervo, L.-M., Vikstedt, E., Luhtala, M., Laihonen, H., & Welinder, O. (2024). Fostering sustainability in local government: The institutional work perspective on the accounting–management nexus. Financial accountability & management, 40(4), 592-612.

Lectures are usually held on campus but can also be followed online.

Valuable background information can be obtained from the economics course KANS2005 Public Economics and Institutions, which is open to all university students.