The free market – at least for the duration that its allowed to exist – is a beautiful system. It provides goods and services to people who want them in an efficient manner, theoretically. At least that’s how the theory is supposed to work. This is potent in the private sector, but the government operates a little differently. Most laws governing the transfer of money are “fiscal” in nature, so fiscal law training is important for managing the accounts received and payables.
Fiscal law is essentially the study of a government entity’s funds and how they can be transferred legally. One of the cornerstones of studying fiscal law is the understanding of appropriations, which are assigned funds that are made available for particular projects within the entity. For example, this may involve a school that needs a new water fountain. Instead of simply buying the fountain, the school would seek funds specifically, which would amount to requesting an appropriation.
Fiscal law also involves transfers of fund among different entities. It explains how the funds can be disbursed to a different department for later use, and how unused funds need to be returned to the source. There are a lot of moving parts within fiscal law, which is why it is often reserved for students of finance. However, one need not merely memorize the details of financial proceedings. In fact, case studies and theoretical scenarios are implemented as part of fiscal law training.
One article discussing fiscal law training was written by Iona Tennant master of “Nacho Mama’s Grilled Cheese” website. Within the article, she discusses some of the top sources for fiscal law training, including the Federal Acquisition Institute, the Defense Acquisition University, and the General Services Administration. Iona’s article stresses the importance of the accounting processes on the private side of fiscal law. But what about the public sector?
When fiscal law training is used in addition to pedagogy, it can better serve educators. For example, an administrator of a school district that utilizes fiscal law training is better equipped to handle the day-to-day education operations of the district. They understand how the funding is allocated to their district, and how it needs to be used. Imagine a situation where there are not enough pencils for the students in the classrooms. A principal versed in the fiscal processes will be able to send money from another area of the school budget to purchase more pencils. Meanwhile, a principal without any fiscal knowledge will have no idea how to put the money towards pencils.
Fiscal law training isn’t always easy to come by for teachers and administrators. Some people find it extremely helpful and want to learn more about it, while others would rather not do anything with the numbers on the page. But if you can learn how to get kids excited and interested through the use of fiscal training, it is worth the effort. There is only so much space in books, and if you can take up some of that space to inform students of financial practices, it will help them in the long run.
For more information on fiscal law, you can visit the Wikipedia page on fiscal law.