PLS 656: Financial Management for State and Local Governments My name is Yuhua Qiao. I am an assistant professor in the Political Science Department at Southwest Missouri State University. I am the instructor of the on-line course PLS 656: Financial Management for State and Local Government. It is really a great pleasure and privilege to work with you. As we all know, public budgeting and financial management is an important subfield of public administration. Jay M. Shafritz and Edward Russell once wrote that “the flow and management of funds is the lifeblood of our system of public administration.” This is no exaggeration. No matter how great a public policy or a program is, it will not have impact on the public unless it is associated with the flow of funds that makes it possible. This course is devoted to studying this “flow and management of funds.” We will explore two distinctive but highly related subjects: public budgeting and financial management. We will discuss various topics, including budgeting process, practices, and techniques, and revenue sources, tax strategies, debt management, cash management, and intergovernmental fiscal relations. One constant theme that public administrators, particularly public financial officers, have to deal with is: how can governments provide efficient and effective public service with limited public money? This is particularly true when the public is very reluctant to pay more tax but expects more and better services. So public financial officers really have to face the challenge of “doing more with less.” Another point that I want to highlight here is that the information technology has created both challenges and opportunities for public finance officers in various aspects. Throughout the semester we will explore such an impact in various modules. Though an online class gives you some time flexibility, it is more demanding than the traditional classroom setting class. A course in this format requires you to take a lot of initiative and assume a lot of responsibilities. You really have to be self-disciplined and be committed. However, do not panic if you have some problems either with the subject matter or with the technology. If it is a technology problem, call the help desk. If it is related to the subject matter, I am here to help. As long as we work together and support each other, we will be fine. Hope everybody have a great semester. |