Public sector financial oversight | FINS

Seminars for specialists and executives (SSC)

The trust that populations put in local authorities and the public sector is accompanied by high demands in terms of good governance, integrity, accountability and transparency. In this regard, the organisations responsible for monitoring public sector activities have a very important role to play.

Many essential aspects of financial oversight in the public sector distinguish it from financial oversight in the private sector. Firstly, that oversight is done on behalf of stakeholders who have very specific expectations about compliance and performance audits. Secondly, those audits are governed by rules, regulations, and their own special audit and accounting frameworks. Thirdly, the governance of financial oversight is organised very differently.

This four-day seminar will provide you with an insider's understanding of public sector financial oversight because it will be led jointly by Professor Nils Soguel, head of the Swiss Public Sector Financial Reporting Advisory Committee, and by Eric-Serge Jeannet, director of the Swiss Federal Audit Office's Competency Centres. They will help you to deepen your knowledge and share your experiences with your peers working in the public sector.

This seminar for specialists and executives can be combined with two other seminars taught jointly by IDHEAP and the Swiss Federal Audit Office to lead to the award of a Certificate of Advanced Studies (CAS) in Public Sector Audit and Oversight from the University of Lausanne

• Understand the specificities of public sector financial oversight and the heterogeneity of the systems currently in place in Switzerland's public authorities;
• Understand the cantonal, national and international issues and challenges of the transitions underway in the field of financial oversight;
• Discuss the current norms for presenting and auditing public sector accounts and their implications for financial oversight.

This seminar is aimed at anyone working at the policy or administrative levels who: 

• Is responsible for the financial oversight of public entities, programmes, subsidies or projects (particularly auditors);
• Is responsible for interacting or negotiating with oversight bodies (e.g. in units under audit); 
• Utilises the services provided by oversight bodies (the media, elected officials, political or administrative leaders, etc.).

• French and german are the main teaching language for this program
• More information available on the corresponding pages