AFReC - Accredited Municipal Finance Training

In August 2001 AFReC launched the Municipal Budgeting and Financial Management (MBFM) programme. This programme was launched due to the demand for such training at the local government level, following the success of the Performance Budgeting and Financial Management programme that was presented to National and Provincial departments by AFReC from 1998. The MBFM was designed by practitioners and local government public finance experts to develop the skills and expertise required to manage municipal resources as required by the local government legislative framework. At that time half of that framework was in draft form. The programme started as an intensive two-week course hosted at the Graduate School of Business in Cape Town and was soon after restructured into a series of one-week courses and presented around the country.

The pressure on training service providers to become accredited was beginning to grow and AFReC started following procedures to accredit itself as an institution as well as its training programmes. This involved the redevelopment of materials, design and implementation of quality management systems and training of staff on a wide range of facets of outcomes-based education. The MBFM programme is now accredited through the LGSETA as of 1 August 2005 against two registered unit standards.

The Municipal Budgeting and Financial Management (MBFM) programme begins with the following courses:

Principles of Budgeting SAQA US ID 116345 5 days + workplace assignment NQF Level 5 15 credits

Budgeting and Reporting Cycle SAQA US ID 116364 4 days + workplace assignment NQF Level 6 8 credits

Both these courses are offered as part of the Level 6 Certificate in Municipal Financial Management.

AFReC has developed an additional course on Supply Chain Management, but is currently awaiting final accreditation.

All our courses can be offered in-house.

Why should you attend?

The introduction of the MFMA established the legislative basis for sound and sustainable financial management in local government and introduces accountability by holding the municipal manager and senior managers responsible for outputs. The act goes as far as prescribing the competency levels of professional financial officials working in municipalities. Thus, implementing the MFMA will have implications not only on management processes and institutional arrangements of your municipality, but will also impact your skills development. Completing these two courses brings you one step closer to attaining the Level 6 Certificate for Municipal Financial Management, which is set to become the standard qualification for municipal officials. These courses will allow you to learn about the legislative background, conceptual framework and the implementation challenges faced by municipal officials through the utilisation of practical exercises to illustrate the processes involved. In addition, the interactive nature of our courses will allow you to learn from the experiences of officials in similar positions to yourselves.

Who should attend?

Municipal managers
Mayors and Councillors
Chief Finance Officers
Senior and Middle managers within Municipalities
Finance Interns
Local government finance officials
Officials in National and Provincial government working with local government financial affairs.

Presentation and Content

The courses are presented as interactive facilitation sessions and practical exercises in the teaching process over a multi-day period. Contact time normally amounts to five full days, and participants are required to complete a take-home summative assessment.

Assessment

At the end of each course, in addition to the in-class summative assessments completed throughout the duration of the course, learners also need to submit a Workplace-Based Assignment.

Qualified Trainers and Assessors

All facilitators and assessors of the Municipal Financial Management Programme are accredited assessors and moderators and have qualified as Occupationally Directed Education Training and Development Practitioners at NQF Level 4. The facilitators undergo presentation and facilitation skills development training and are able to further enhance and develop these skills during training programmes. This training has included a focus on principles of adult education, which we have applied in developing our materials for the courses of the MBFM programme.

Training Policy and Guidelines

AFReC has a strict policy that ensures learners are trained in an environment that is conducive to learning. As we believe the learners learn as much from each other as the facilitators, we encourage learner interaction and limit class sizes to a maximum of 35 learners to ensure interaction and learner participation. Our trainers actively encourage learner interaction during presentations and our regular case study-based group exercises ensure on-going interaction and application of the material that is taught.

Each class comprises of as wide a mix of municipalities as possible; and a combination of politicians and officials. This ensures two things. Firstly, that experiences from diverse circumstances are shared and added to the learning experience. Secondly, mixing politicians and officials allows both sides of the political divide to work together and establish a common understanding of the issues as well as share challenges with each other. This helps politicians fully appreciate the difficulties faced by municipal officials, and vice versa.

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Principles of Budgeting

This course is based on the SAQA unit standard “Apply the principles of budgeting within a municipality” (SAQA US ID 116345, NQF Level 5, 15 credits), which is offered as part of the Level 6 Certificate in Municipal Financial Management.

Course Outline

Budgeting Concepts
- Budgeting in SA
- Division of Budget
- Capital Expenditure
- Unforeseen/Unavoidable Expenditure
- Adjustments Budget
- Shifting of Funds
- Wrongful Expenditure
Public Expenditure Management (PEM)
- The PEM system and all its components
- The key elements of PEM
- The five stages of PEM
- The impact of people on the entire PEM process
Methods of Presenting Budgets
- Line Item Budget Format
- Vote-Based Format
- Performance Budgeting Format
- National Treasury recommendation
Approaches to Budgeting
- Incremental Budgeting
- Zero-based Budgeting
- Vote Budgeting
- Process of Performance Budgeting
Integrating the IDP, Budgeting and Performance Management
- Key terms and concepts
- Tools for linking IDP, Budget and PMS
- Key components and development of SDBIP
- Departmental SDBIPs
- IDP – budget reconciliation

After completing this course, the competent learner will be able to:

demonstrate an understanding of the concept of budgeting in a municipality;
demonstrate knowledge of the importance of budgeting in the public sector;
discuss the integration of components of strategic planning and budgeting processes;
differentiate between popular formats of budgets used in a municipality;
discuss the various approaches to preparing a municipal budget;
apply the steps involved in performance budgeting; and
contribute to preparing a municipal budget that reflects an integrated development plan.

Portfolio of Evidence

To complete the course, each learner would need to compile a Portfolio of Evidence which will include:

Practical Coursework (formative assessments)
In-class summative assessments
Workplace Assignment (final summative assessment)

AFReC facilitators, experienced in local government, will be available for support and tutoring via telephonic consultation and email, while learners complete their workplace-based summative assessment.

The entire course is expected to take a learner approximately 150 hours to complete.

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Budgeting and Reporting Cycles

This course is based on the SAQA unit standard “Plan a municipal budgeting and reporting cycle” (SAQA US ID 116364, NQF level 6, 8 credits), which is offered as part of the Level 6 Certificate in Municipal Financial Management.

Course Outline

Budgeting Concepts
- Budgeting in SA
- Division of Budget
- Capital Expenditure
- Unforeseen/Unavoidable Expenditure
- Adjustments Budget
- Shifting of Funds
- Wrongful Expenditure
Municipal Roles and Responsibilities
- The National Treasury
- The Provincial Treasuries
- The Mayor and Council
- The Accounting Officer
- The role of Top Management and Senior Management
- Budget and Treasury Office
- Chief Financial Officer
- The Delegation System
The Budget Cycle and Contents of a Budget
- The Budget and Reporting Cycle events
- Key Role-Players
- Best Practice
- MTBPS Projections
- Tariffs and Public Participation
- Compiling a Budgeting and Reporting Plan

After completing this course, the competent learner will be able to:

explain the roles and responsibilities of municipal political executives and senior managers required by the local government legislative framework in the budget preparation process;
discern between roles and responsibilities during the municipal budget process of municipal political executives, municipal managers and senior managers;
identify and explain the events required by the local government legislative framework for preparing budgets;
identify the status of the municipal budget and treasury offices and role-players in municipal financial management;
identify and explain the legislated municipal reporting requirements;
apply local government legislative requirements for delegations; and
plan and use a municipal budgeting calendar.

Portfolio of Evidence

To complete the course, each learner would need to compile a Portfolio of Evidence which will include:

Practical Coursework (formative assessments)
In-class summative assessments
Workplace Assignment (final summative assessment)