About this online course

Cost means much more than a budgetary allocation or a purchase cost. Better information on cost enables managers to make decisions about new services, activities, and investments. In other words, it enables them to review and understand how efficiently and effectively resources are being used.

During the budget process there is usually no time available to make such calculations and therefore such calculations should be made outside the normal budget timetable. One of the objectives of this course will be to show how such calculations can be made and that in turn should lead to better quality allocation decisions and more realistic relationships between expected performance and the available resources.

The aim of this course is to discuss dilemmas and challenges related to the introduction of costing systems and to practice various costing techniques. It will also allow participants to distinguish between various cost concepts and methodologies of measurement. The focus will be on how cost accounting adds value through understanding cost behaviors and cost drivers, thus providing management with meaningful cost measurement that they can use in the search for value for money.  

What will you learn

Cost accounting is a very useful management tool. It does not really matter whether a country is using accrual or cash accounting, using budgeted or actual figures - cost accounting is of value in all situations. The generation of costing information helps public organizations to improve their financial management and enhance the quality of their budgeting.

This online course examines how cost accounting can be used in government activities and how important it can be in helping to secure more rational budgetary allocation decisions. Costing can be used to determine unit costs such as the full cost of educating a child in a school for a year and can therefore generate benchmarking information to determine why costs may vary from school to school and from one public education body to another. Such information is vital in resource allocation and in assessing value for money. Another example would be to identify the costs of different regional offices delivering the same type of service so that both costs and performance on those offices can be compared.

Therefore, we will discuss this topic from both theoretical and practical side. Course includes two learning units:

• Unit 1 (December 7-10): Cost accounting techniques theory and practical exercises — includes video material, assignment and webinar on December 10 , 10:00 CEST
• Unit 2 (December 11-16): usage of cost information in costing process and examples from different institutions — includes assignment and webinars on December, 11 and 16, 10.00 CEST

How will you benefit

By attending this workshop you will benefit from refreshing your knowledge about costing, methodologies, and you will be able to identify opportunities for using cost accounting in your organization. You will be able to compare how cost accounting impacts costing information and how it can be used to improve costing process.

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• appreciate the importance of cost accounting and its role in modern public services (including the roles of the accountant and the manager in cost accounting)
• understand the changes that will be required to existing accounting and coding systems
• understand the role that relevant costing can play in a public sector context
• discuss the usage of cost accounting techniques in costing of structural reforms

Who should attend?

This online course is designed for accountants, financial officers and managers who are involved in applying cost accounting principles in their job. Officials involved into costing of structural reforms interested to learn more about cost accounting and its implementation and usage in public sector are also welcomed to apply.

Faculty

• Mohit Pun, Senior trainer, The Chartered Institute of Public Finances and Accountancy (CIPFA), UK
• Valmira Rexhëbeqaj; CEF expert, former Director of the Department for Economic and Public Policy in Ministry of Finance

Practical information

• The course will be delivered in English language.
• Upon fulfilment of the required learning steps, you will receive a certificate of successful completion of this online course.
• No fee will be charged.
• Deadline for applications is December 4^th .

This event is delivered as part of the EU funded multi-country project “Strengthening Line Ministries’ Capacities to Assess Fiscal Implications of Structural Reforms” (FISR) implemented by the CEF. Participation of public officials from Moldova is made possible by the Ministry of Finance of the Slovak Republic.

Partners

This learning initiative was supported by: