| CODE | ACC5965 | ||||||||||||
| TITLE | Public Sector Accounting | ||||||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 05 - Postgraduate Modular Diploma or Degree Course | ||||||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 7 | ||||||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 5 | ||||||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Accountancy | ||||||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit will be offered as an elective for students reading for a Masters in Accountancy at the University of Malta. The particularities of public sector accounting are identified in the legal and accounting framework covering financial accounting, management accounting and auditing. Study-unit Aims: The study-unit seeks to promote interest in public sector accounting. It defines the public sector and identifies its regulatory framework; outlines the historical background of government accounting in Malta; describes current government accounting practice and reforms in the areas of financial and management accounting and auditing; and familiarises the student with some of the more important international accounting research in government accounting. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: 1) Identify the nature of public sector organisations and their objectives. 2) Identify and discuss the objectives of external financial reporting in the public sector. 3) Identify the role and significance of accounting standards in public sector accounting. 4) Describe the structure of government and key items of legislation. 5) Explain the importance of management accounting and control in the public sector. 6) Describe the budget preparation process of the government. 7) Differentiate between different financial accounting techniques, namely, budgetary accounting, cash accounting, accrual accounting, commitment accounting and fund accounting. 8) Distinguish between internal and external auditing in the public sector, and: 鈥� Analyse each audit鈥檚 unique role in promoting corporate governance, accountability and control 鈥� Explain and demonstrate the stages in managing and performing each audit through to the reporting of findings. 2. Skills: By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to apply the various techniques and methodologies used in value for money auditing and measure performance. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: 1) Jones & Pendlebury, (latest Edition). Public Sector Accounting. Pearson UK. 2) Coombs & Jenkins, (latest Edition). Public Sector Financial Management. Thomson Learning. London 3) The Constitution of Malta. 4) Public Administration Act, 2009. 5) Public Management Code. 6) Public Finance Management Act (still to be enacted. Present legislation is the Financial Administration and Audit Act, 1962, and the General Financial Regulations, 1966). 7) Buttery et al. (1993). Audit in the Public Sector. 8) The Institute of Internal Auditors Research Foundation (2009). Internal Audit Capability Model (IA-CM) for the Public Sector. |
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| ADDITIONAL NOTES | Pre-requisite Qualifications: Bachelor of Commerce | ||||||||||||
| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture | ||||||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Peter J. Baldacchino Josette Caruana |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2025/6. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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