Public finance leaders now work under tighter constraints than at any time in recent years. Borrowing costs are high, revenue is volatile, and citizens expect visible results from every shilling spent. At the same time, hidden liabilities in guarantees, utilities and long-term contracts can erode fiscal space without ever appearing in the annual budget.

The Executive Budgeting, Fiscal Risk & Outcome-Based Budgeting Training Course is written for those who sign off budgets and answer for them. It reviews the strategic budget cycle, top-down ceilings and bottom-up bids, and how a medium-term framework disciplines choices. It then teaches a structured approach to fiscal risk identification, quantification and mitigation, including scenario analysis and the content of a fiscal risk statement. The final modules set out outcome-based and programme budgeting: defining programmes, selecting indicators, costing results, and using performance information in negotiation, reallocation and in-year monitoring.

Sessions are discussion-led and use anonymised budget documents, macro-fiscal frameworks and programme data. Participants practise questioning a ministry's submission, ranking risks by likelihood and impact, and drafting an outcome framework for one of their own programmes. They leave with a practical plan for strengthening budget discipline and results orientation in their institution.

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

• Explain how strategic planning, ceilings, medium-term frameworks and annual budgets connect.
• Evaluate budget proposals against fiscal rules, affordability and strategic priorities.
• Identify explicit and contingent fiscal risks, including guarantees, enterprise losses and PPP commitments.
• Quantify fiscal risks through scenario and sensitivity analysis and rank them.
• Prepare the content of a fiscal risk statement and a mitigation plan.
• Design programme structures, indicators and targets for outcome-based budgets.
• Use spending reviews, unit costs and performance data to reallocate resources.
• Lead executive-level dialogue on budget execution, arrears and in-year adjustments.

This advanced programme is designed for senior leaders who direct or oversee public resources, including:

• Principal secretaries, accounting officers and chief executives of public bodies
• Directors of budget, planning and fiscal policy
• County and local government finance executives
• Treasury and debt management senior officers
• Heads of state-owned enterprises and their finance directors
• Internal and external audit leaders in the public sector
• Parliamentary and legislative budget committee advisers
• Development partner public finance specialists

Participants leave the course with:

• A fiscal risk register template with likelihood, impact and mitigation fields.
• A scenario table showing how macroeconomic shocks affect the budget baseline.
• A programme and indicator framework for one of their own budget lines.
• A set of challenge questions for reviewing ministry budget submissions.
• A one-page executive briefing format for presenting risk and results.
• An improvement plan for budget governance in their institution.

Delivery suits experienced leaders who want to test ideas against real constraints. It features:

• Facilitated executive discussions rather than long lectures
• Anonymised budget circulars, macro-fiscal tables and programme documents
• Group exercises building a risk register and a results framework
• Role-play of a budget hearing in which participants challenge a submission
• Peer exchange on reforms that have worked in different public finance systems

Each participant who completes the sessions and group exercises is issued with a CPD-accredited Certificate of Completion by Vision Reach Global Consultancy.