Foreword Preface Contents List of figures List of tables List of case studies Glossary of terms and acronyms Part 1: The organisation and development of public services 1 Introduction: public services and the public sector · Introduction · Public sector and public services: provisioning and financing · Growth and development of the UK public sector · Configuration of the public sector and public services · The importance of financial management in public service organisations · Structure of the book 2 Financing public services · Introduction · Patterns of public expenditure · International perspectives · Sources of public services finance · Taxation · User charges · Government borrowings · Other sources · Framework of public expenditure · Planning and financing of public services · Allocating resources to public services 3 Public service trends and the impacts on financial management practices · Introduction · Brief history of public service reform · Aims and nature of public service reform · Causal factors of public service reform · General themes of public service reform · The impact of public service reform on financial management practices Part 2: Financial Management of Public Services: Key Aspects 4 Costing and costing systems in public service organisations · Introduction · Using cost information in PSOs · Basic principles of costing · Obtaining cost information in PSOs · Future public service trends and their impact on costing systems · Developing costing systems: the way forward 5 Managing strategic change in public services: The financial management contribution · Introduction · Major strategic changes in public services · The management of strategic change in public services · Strategic planning in public services - commissioners and providers · Implementing strategy · Monitoring strategy implementation and outcomes · The key roles of financial management in strategic management · Strategic financial management - some relevant techniques · Cost and income benchmarking · Activity based costing and management · Financial modelling · Capital investment appraisal techniques 6 Budgeting Systems and budget management in public service organisations · Introduction · The roles and purposes of a budgeting system in a PSO · Types of PSO budges · Main elements making of a budget system · Budget framework · Budget setting process · Budget reporting system · Resource allocation models and the budgeting process · Programme analysis and budgeting · Variations in PSO budget arrangements 7 Pricing public services · Introduction · The distinction between costs and prices · Business pricing and economic pricing · Why pricing is important in relation to public services · Business prices and economic prices · The nature and structure of pricing decisions · Key Strategic pricing factors · Cost inputs into pricing decisions · Pricing strategy and the marketing mix · Special factors related to pricing in PSOs · Individual pricing decisions: tactical considerations · The financial management roles in pricing 8 Improving performance in public services: The financial management contribution · Systems of performance management · What constitutes performance in PSOs · Using performance information · The role of benchmarking · Improving performance in public services · Performance management and improvement: The financial management roles n public services organisations 10 The nature and role of financial information systems in public service organisations · Introduction · General Structure of information systems · Management information systems and PSOs · Financial information systems in PSOs · Key characteristics of financial information systems in PSOs · Developing financial information systems in PSOs · The financial management involvement in the acquisition of IS/IT · Key management challenges regarding IS/IT in PSOs 11 Financial control and governance in public service organisations · Introduction · Frameworks of financial control in PSOs · Audit arrangements in PSO · Internal audit arrangements · External audit arrangements · Internal and external audit compared · Other audit bodies · Specialist audit activities · Corporate governance arrangements · Audit implications of PSO governance requirements 12 The organisation and staffing of the modern public service finance function · Introduction · The organisation of the PSO finance function · The Roles and responsibilities of the PSO director of finance · Staffing of PSO finance departments · Strategic trends in PSO finance functions · Organisational change in the finance function Part 4: Looking ahead 13 Future trends in public services; The implications for financial management · Forces for change - Political, economic, societal technological · Implications for public services · Implications for public service financial management References List of relevant web sites Bibliography.