Public Financial Management for Public Sector Personnel
Plan, spend, account for and defend public money in line with Ghana's PFM Act, procurement law and audit rules, so your signature never lands you in an audit report.
What you'll learn
- Explain the five stages of the public budget cycle and your own role in each
- Apply the main duties of the PFM Act 2016 (Act 921) and its Regulations to everyday spending decisions
- Build and read a programme-based budget that links money to outputs and results
- Operate commitment control so that no order is placed without budget, release and approval in GIFMIS
- Spot procurement red flags, including contract splitting, and respond in line with the Public Procurement Act
- Strengthen revenue collection and payroll controls in your institution or Assembly
- Respond to internal and external audit findings and track recommendations to closure
- Describe your personal accountability for public money and the sanctions that follow breaches
Who this course is for
- Accountants, finance officers and budget officers in MDAs, MMDAs and public corporations
- Heads of department and unit heads who approve spending or sign payment vouchers
- Internal auditors and members of Audit Committees or ARICs
- Procurement, stores and revenue officers who handle public money or assets
- Newly promoted officers who have just become spending or approving officers
Course content
8 sections · 41 lessons · 7h 4mStart here 3 lessons · 16 min
Module 1: The budget cycle and the law behind it 5 lessons · 55 min
Module 2: Programme budgets, commitment control and cash 6 lessons · 1h 1m
Module 3: Public procurement and value for money 6 lessons · 1h 1m
Module 4: Revenue mobilisation and payroll control 6 lessons · 56 min
Module 5: Internal control, audit and following through 6 lessons · 1h 1m
Module 6: Financial reporting, accountability and sanctions 6 lessons · 59 min
Final module: Putting it to work 3 lessons · 55 min
Before you start
- Some experience working in, or with, a public institution in Ghana
- Basic familiarity with payment vouchers, budgets or financial records (no accounting qualification needed)
- About six to seven hours spread over two to four weeks
- A copy of your own institution's current budget or procurement plan is helpful but not required
About this course
Every cedi that passes through a ministry, department, agency or Assembly leaves a trail. Budget officers build it, heads of department approve it, accountants record it, and auditors follow it months later. When any link in that chain is weak, the result is an audit query, a surcharge, a headline, or a project that never reaches the people it was meant for.
This course is for the officers who hold that chain together. It walks through the full budget cycle and the laws behind it: the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921), the PFM Regulations, 2019 (L.I. 2378), the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2018 (Act 982), the Public Procurement Act as amended, and the Audit Service and Internal Audit Agency Acts. You will see how programme-based budgeting, commitment control in GIFMIS and the Treasury Single Account work in practice, and why they exist.
The teaching is practical. You will follow a Municipal Assembly through a year of budgeting, trace a payment voucher from request to bank, work through a request to split a contract below a procurement threshold, and answer an audit query properly. Each module has checklists and templates you can use at your desk the next morning.
You finish with a personal action plan for your own unit and a certificate once you pass the final assessment. The course explains the principles of the law in plain language. Where a figure or procedure changes often, we tell you where to check the current position instead of guessing.
Your instructor
SkillsPillar Faculty
Practitioners and trainers in strategy, public service, enterprise and workplace compliance
SkillsPillar courses are written by practitioners who have trained graduates, managers, public servants and business owners across Ghana. Every course is built around real situations, practical tools and activities that test judgement, not memory.
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Frequently asked
How do I pay for a course?
Pay securely with MTN MoMo, Telecel Cash, AT Money, Visa or Mastercard through Hubtel. You get access straight after payment.
How long do I have access?
For life. Once you enrol, the course stays in your account and you can learn at your own pace, including any updates we make.
Do I get a certificate?
Yes. Finish every lesson in a course and a certificate is issued automatically. Each one has a QR code and a public link employers can use to check it.
Can I learn on my phone?
Yes. Everything works on a phone, tablet or computer, and your progress follows you between devices.
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