Sound financial management is critical to the success of all development projects. This course defines the components of effective financial management within the context of the development project life cycle. It examines the financial tools and techniques available for the efficient implementation of projects and for assessing the effectiveness of project financial management systems. It covers: budgeting; accounting standards; procurement and contract management; performance measurement; financial management staffing; audit and internal controls.

During the ten days, delegates will explore the processes needed to implement appropriate project risk mitigation strategies and set up monitoring of performance indicators and reporting for effective decision making. They will assess their own financial management systems and develop action plans for improvement of these systems.

This is week three and four of The Development Project and Financial Management Toolkit.

Course Objectives

On completion, you will be able to:

• Adopt appropriate financial tools and techniques for managing projects
• Understand the dynamics and principles involved in the use of donor systems
• Assess existing project financial management systems and effect needed improvements
• Understand how to appraise and choose between various prospective project investment opportunities using discounted cash-flow analysis
• Formulate project plans and budgets and understand their impact on project profitability and cash-flows
• Align project procurement and contracting processes with international best practice
• Use integrated financial management information systems to enhance project efficiency and effectiveness
• Evaluate project implementation risks and minimise them by establishing appropriate internal controls

Key Topics

• Project life-cycle, project documentation and project management
• Project implementation structures, financial management and controls
• Tools to assess project financial management systems
• International public sector accounting standards
• Budgeting, and accounting policies and procedures
• Reporting, monitoring and evaluation
• Governance and fraud prevention
• Procurement for development projects
• Information systems
• Country and donor financial systems
• Project appraisal techniques and internal and external audit

All courses will be conducted entirely in English. A proficient level of both spoken and written English is required by all delegates so that they are able to fully benefit from the course and participate in our interactive style of training.