Public Sector Financial Management Graduate Certificate

This Certificate Program is designed for public managers and others interested in obtaining an understanding of governmental financial management concepts, functions, techniques, and issues. The program is designed to familiarize students with financial management problems and the techniques available for solving them. An emphasis is placed on how to recognize, evaluate, and utilize financial information in decision-making.

Those most interested in pursuing the Certificate would likely fall into one of three categories. First, current private sector finance professionals who wish to develop an understanding of financial management functions and practices within the public sector. Second, current public sector financial managers who wish to further develop expertise in public sector financial management. Finally, inservice public sector employees who wish to start a career in government finance and who may use the courses for the Certificate as a guide for their course work towards the Master of Public Administration degree.

Students may only pursue the certificate program in combination with a CSULB degree program.

Prerequisites

Certificate students will need to complete the following prerequisites:

Calculus for Business or Calculus I with a grade of “C” or better or equivalent.
Microeconomics with a grade of “C” or better.
Elementary Financial Accounting with a grade of “C” or better.
Statistics with a grade of “C” or better.

Note: Graduate level courses may be used to satisfy the above prerequisites but they may not be counted toward completion of the Certificate.

Requirements

Take all of the following (15 units):

PPA 590 - Selected Topics in Public Policy and Administration (3 units)
PPA 590T - Selected Topics in PPA - Public Finance
PPA 560 - Public Financial Management (3 units)
PPA 567 - Basic Governmental (Fund) Accounting (3 units)
ACCT 610 - Managerial Accounting and Control (3 units)
I S 601 - Quantitative Methods for Managerial Decision Making (3 units)

Note:

Appropriate substitutes for the required courses may be allowed subject to permission of the Public Finance Specialization Faculty Advisor. Also, ACCT 610 and I S 601 have substantial prerequisites. Prospective students should refer to the University Catalog for details.