Finance 101

Product code: FIN-0041

Overview

Delivery method

Virtual classroom

Duration

1 Hour

Audience

All public servants at all levels

Description

This session introduces a plain-language overview of financial management at SSC for delegated managers and their supporting teams. Participants will learn what they are accountable for, how financial delegation works, and how spending flows from commitment through verification to payment. The session explains how coding, budgets, and forecasting come together in the Financial Situation Report and covers capital assets, governance, available tools, and the role of finance as a partner. It also clarifies journal vouchers, showing that JVs move costs, not money, using one running example throughout: deploying LAN switches across SSC.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this session, participants will be able to:

Describe the core responsibilities of a delegated manager and what stewardship of public funds requires.
Explain financial delegation, the conditions for using it, and the difference between Section 32, 34, and 33 authorities.
Walk through the expenditure control process from commitment to payment.
Apply the financial coding blocks — fund, cost centre, functional area, internal order, and GL account — to track spending accurately.
Distinguish a forecast from a budget and update a forecast to reflect reality.
Explain the purpose of the Financial Situation Report and their role in each cycle.
Identify what qualifies as a capital asset and when to flag capital purchases early.
Recognize how larger initiatives move through project and funding governance approvals.
Understand that journal vouchers move costs, not money, and the effect on free balance.
Locate the tools, reports, and training available to support day-to-day financial management.

Target Audience

Delegated managers at SSC and the team members who support them in planning, approving, monitoring, and reporting on their budgets, no finance background required.

Prerequisite(s)

None

Notes