| CODE | PPL3223 | |||||||||
| TITLE | Local Government Financial Regulations and Procedures | |||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 03 - Years 2, 3, 4 in Modular Undergraduate Course | |||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 6 | |||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 4 | |||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Policy, Politics and Governance | |||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | As Public officers responsible for financial and accounting issues, students of this programme need to focus not only on the national and European political and administrative platform, but they also need to be proficient at the local level of public administration. To this end, this study-unit aims to give students an overview of the local government executive and financial management; thus rendering them proficient and qualified to perform their duties at the different levels of governance, including the local, national and European arenas. This study-unit is specifically designed to render students familiar with all the financial considerations pertaining to local governments, understand the pivotal role of the Executive Secretary as Head of Administration and Finance and comprehend the idea of subsidiarity not only in political terms, but most importantly, in financial affairs as well. The study-unit will in particular deal with the following themes: - Principles of Local Government (Subsidiarity, local democracy, local autonomy, etc); - Local Government Financial legislation; - Local Government Financial Procedures; - Local Government Auditing; - The concepts of Good Governance in financial management; - Procurement regulations and procedures. Study-unit Aims: In particular this study-unit aims to provide an understanding of the dual role of the Executive Secretary of a Local Council as Head of Finance, as well as Head of Administration, and familiarise the students with the fiscal responsibility and autonomy of local councils. The unit aims to cover all aspects of local government financial management, including Procurement, Financial Management, Accounting and Auditing, and the principles of good government. The unit aims to provide the students with a wider and deeper knowledge of alternative sources of funding besides those allocated by the central government. Learning Outcomes: Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Describe the role of the Executive Secretary as Head of Administration and Head of Finance; - Explain the concept of Subsidiarity in the financial autonomy of local governance; - Identify alternative sources of financing, besides the annual allocation of government funds in the budget; - Critically study local government legislation in light of the principles of local autonomy, fiscal responsibility , transparency and accountability, and supervisory controls; - Analyse empirical cases wherein local councils were not in conformity with regulatory and financial obligations; - Apply the principles of good governance to secure the financial sustainability of local councils; - Identify the manner in which a local authority exercises its financial responsibilities; - Assess the wider European scenario relating to Local Governance, in particular the EU Committee of the Regions and the Council of Europe institutions. 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: - Apply business planning at local governance level by planning and executing (by simulation) projects at the local level of governance that are financially viable; - Implement the principles of good governance at the local and regional level; - Critically assess the functions and operations of a local authorities within the context of statutory fiscal responsibility and good governance practices; - Critically appraise the manner in which local autonomy and oversight institutions are complimentary measures to ascertain Good Governance on a national level. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: - ALONSO Angel Iglesias, 鈥楽trategic Planning as a management tool in local government鈥�, article published in Cuadernos de Gestion, Vol. 10(1), pp. 101-120 [Peer Reviewed Journal], 01 May 2010. - ATTARD Natalino, 鈥楾he Role of Local Authorities Within the Framework of the European Union Institutions鈥�, Magister Juris in European and Comparative Law thesis, Faculty of Laws, University of Malta, September 1995. - CLARK Gordon, 鈥楢 Theory of Local Autonomy鈥�, Annals of Association of American Geographers, vol.74, 1984. - CONZELMANN Dr Thomas, 鈥楾owards a new concept of multi-level governance?鈥�, University of Maastricht, 25 September 2008. - OLSEN Hans Bjorn, 鈥楧ecentralisation and Local Governance, Module 1: Definitions and Concepts鈥�, paper, external consultant to the Swiss Confederation, November 2007. - PAGE E., 鈥楲ocalism and Centralism in Europe鈥�, Oxford, OUP, 1991. - PRATCHETT L., 鈥楲ocal autonomy, local democracy and the 鈥榥ew localism鈥�, De Montfort University, 2004. Statutes: - Code of Ethics for Locally Government Elected Representatives, Fourth Schedule to the Local Councils (Association) Regulations, SL 363.06, Laws of Malta. - Constitution of Malta (viz. Chapter X A). - European Charter of Local Self-Government, Council of Europe, 1985. - Local Councils Act, Chapter 363, Laws of Malta. - Local Council Financial Regulation (S.L. 363.01). |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture & Independent Online Learning | |||||||||
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| LECTURER/S | Clare Bugeja |
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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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