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Professional Certificate in Finance and Project Management
Units
In order to qualify for this Certificate, candidates must successfully complete its two component units and two written tasks. Candidates who wish to qualify for an Award must complete one Unit and its associated written task.
Unit 5007 Financial control (9 CATS Points)
This unit covers a range of skills and knowledge which any civil servant working in finance needs. The skills are also transferable to and applicable in a wider range of contexts. The current financial situation is also examined in detail with implications for the public sector as a whole and the civil service in particular.
The component seminars cover demystifying the jargon and accounting concepts, the financial year, budgeting techniques and profiling, the role of finance professionals, using management information, budgeting methods and considerations, defending a budget and the art of profiling, re-forecasts and variance reports, as well as the future of public spending, budget management and control, scrutiny and accountability, and performance management.
Learning outcomes include being able to understand, use and control a financial system to meet objectives, being able to identify and use a range of financial controls, and being able to understand the sources and availability of finance to an organisation.
Seminars
- Civil servants guide to finance
- Civil servants guide to budgeting
- Forthcoming issues in public sector finance
Unit 5009 Project development and control (6 CATS Points)
This unit covers an overview of project management and project planning skills and techniques in a practical, hands on series of workshop exercises, practical presentations and interactive plans.
The component seminars cover the main stages of project management, critical path analysis, key aspects of prince 2 and Microsoft project, project teams and risk, as well as different types of plan and their application, flow diagrams, specifications and contracts, Gantt charts, resource smoothing, and monitoring progress against the plan.
Learning outcomes include being able to identify the components of project stages and life cycle, being able to describe project methodologies and their application, being able to develop and project plan, identify and mitigate risks and construct a monitor and review strategy.
