Courses

Public Sector Accounting and Budgeting

General

Course Contents

  1. Concept and purpose of Public accounting.
  2. Importance of the single-entry and double-entry bookkeeping method in the State.
  3. State budget and State budgets. Principles governing the budget.
  4. Preparation, passing and execution of the budget.
  5. Public revenues and expenses. Individual distinctions of revenue and expenditure of the State.
  6. Public accountants: Public revenues and expenses.
  7. Meaning of the assumption of expenditure by the authorizing officers for the public sector
  8. Preventive and repressive control of the State.
  9. Content and operation of the Sectoral Chart of Accounts of State organizations.
  10. Structure of Public Accounting plan of accounts and their connection with Financial Accounting.
  11. Sectoral Accounting Plan of Municipalities.
  12. Branch Accounting Plan of Health Units.
  13. Course outline.

Educational Goals

The accounting of public organizations initially used the simple method, and in recent years there has been a universal effort by various organizations to adopt the double-style system for the preparation of financial statements, which is now mandatory by law. The course aims to enable students to understand the full spectrum of capturing the economic functioning of the state and public organizations. To analyze the importance of the single-entry bookkeeping, the double-entry bookkeeping and the preparation of the various budget and accounting statements used to record and manage financial information in the Public sector.

Upon successful completion of the course, the student will be able to:

  • Explain the feasibility of State organizations transactions and accounting in relation to their objectives.
  • Examine the effect of the budget of both the State and its Units on their financial operations and transactions
  • Understand the operation of separate State organizations accounting plans, as applied with the simple method but also as they have been formed with the new rules of application of the double-entry method
  • Describe the special accounting needs and functions of Legal Entities under Public Law in general based on public accounting and in particular of local government organizations, health units, etc.
  • Compare the accounting functions of essentially non-profit organizations with those of private enterprises.

General Skills

  • Independent work.
  • Team work.
  • Decision making.
  • Adapting to new situations Production of free, creative and inductive thinking.

Teaching Methods

  • In the classroom, face to face.

Use of ICT means

  • Basic software (windows, word, power point, the web, etc.).
  • Support of learning process through the electronic platform / e-class.

Teaching Organization

ActivitySemester workload
Lectures26
Practice Works13
Assignement (Essay writing)20
Independent Study66
Total125

Students Evaluation

Written final exams (60%) that may include:

  • Judgemental questions.
  • Short answer questions.
  • Application exercises.
  • True/False and multiple choice questions.
  • Composite theoratical questions.

In each question, corresponding evaluation points are specified.
Optional assignment (Essay writing and presentation) corresponds to 40% of the final grade.

Recommended Bibliography

  1. Χρηματοοικονομική και Λογιστική Προσέγγιση του Μεταρρυθμιστικού Πλαισίου των Οργανισμών Τοπικής Αυτοδιοίκησης, Αρβανίτης Γεώργιος, Γαγάνης Χρυσοβαλάντης, Ζοπουνίδης Κωνσταντίνος, 2013, Εκδόσεις Κλειδάριθμος, ISBN: 978-960-461-540-7.
  2. ΜΑΣΤΡΟΓΙΑΝΝΗ ΦΩΤΕΙΝΗ, ΔΗΜΟΣΙΟ ΛΟΓΙΣΤΙΚΟ, ΠΡΟΫΠΟΛΟΓΙΣΜΟΙ, ΕΛΕΓΚΤΙΚΟ ΣΥΝΕΔΡΙΟ, ΔΙΕΘΝΗ ΛΟΓΙΣΤΙΚΑ ΠΡΟΤΥΠΑ ΔΗΜΟΣΙΟΥ ΤΟΜΕΑ, Εκδόσεις ΑΡΝΑΟΥΤΗ, 2016.

Related Research Journals

Financial Accountability and Management (for Governments, Public Services and Charities); Journal of Accounting and Public Policy; Public Administration Review; Journal of Public Administration: Research and Theory; Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting and Financial Management; κ.ά.