Author Archives: hbpublications

Practical Budgeting & Financial Management Training

| February 24, 2026

Are your managers under pressure to deliver services while also controlling budgets, forecasting spend, and explaining variances—without being finance specialists? Across local government, the NHS, housing, charities, and public bodies, financial pressures are intensifying. Rising costs, tighter funding, and increased scrutiny mean there is less room for error than ever. Yet in many organisations, budget responsibility sits with non-finance managers who have had little or no formal financial training. That’s where HB Training & Publications International can help. We are now taking bookings for our half-day virtual training courses designed specifically for budget holders, service managers, and non-finance leaders who need practical, usable financial skills—fast. What Your Team Will Gain Our training focuses on real-world challenges and delivers immediate impact. Participants will learn how to: This is jargon-free, practical training based on real public and non-profit sector experience—not generic private-sector theory. Proven, High-Impact Training Participants consistently rate our courses highly: “The content was brilliant – clear, practical and easy to follow.”“The exercises really helped bring the learning to life.”“The length

Key Financial Management Challenges

| February 16, 2026

Many public sector and nonprofit organisations continue to face key financial management challenges. Tight budgets, rising service demands, and greater scrutiny mean finance teams and budget holders must work more efficiently and confidently than ever. Below are some of the most common challenges we see across the sector: Issue Description Overspend Risk Budget pressures often arise from limited forecasting skills, delayed financial information, or lack of confidence among budget holders. Weak Internal Controls Inconsistent processes and unclear responsibilities increase the risk of errors, non‑compliance, and governance concerns. Audit Findings Recurring audit issues highlight deeper gaps in skills or processes, particularly around documentation, controls, and financial accuracy. Poor Budget Monitoring Many managers struggle to interpret financial reports, leading to reactive decisions and late identification of variances. Grant Reporting Issues Managing restricted funds and meeting funder requirements can be complex, especially when multiple grants are involved. Skills Gaps in Finance Teams Both finance and non‑finance staff often need support to build confidence in budgeting, financial management, and internal controls. These challenges are

Budget on Track

| February 12, 2026

Keep budgets under control and meet financial targets Budget on Track is our service to support budget holders, managers, and financial decision makers in the public and non-profit sector. If controlling budgets is important for your organisation, it requires all budget holders at every level to meet their targets, whether that be savings, or just not overspending. Sometimes they will need help. Budget on track is more flexible than a training course, but more cost effective than a personal consultant. It provides bespoke answers to questions when they are needed. Subscribers to Budget on Track are able to email their personal budget mentor (PBM), who is there to support them. It can be any kind of budget, revenue or capital or income. Our subscribers can ask simple or more difficult questions and receive some assistance. It may be help with financial planning, budget setting, variance analysis, budgetary control, more for less, statistical analysis, management reports, or something else. We are experts in delivering financial training courses, but often participants have

The 5 Step Budgetary Control Process

| February 12, 2026

To ensure effective budgetary control, budgets must be effectively monitored and managed. Although the difference between monitoring and managing budgets is not clearly defined, there are certain characteristics that set them apart.

Financial Management and Budgeting for the Public Sector

| February 12, 2026

This CPD course on budget setting, management and control will boost your budgeting skills and contribute to your ongoing professional development. For more details please contact us at info@hbpublications.com and we can send you a booking form or book online with https://www.eventbrite.com/e/budget-management-for-the-public-sector-cpd-course-tickets-39875319153

Robust Financial Management (RFM) for the Public Sector

| April 26, 2023

Robust Financial Management in the Public Sector (RFM) A necessity not a choice  What is robust financial management ? Firstly, we can define “robust” as follows: “Robustness is a characteristic describing a system’s ability to perform effectively while its variables or assumptions are altered. In general, a system is robust if it can handle variability and remain effective” (Investopedia) Public financial management refers to “the collection, management, and expenditure of public finances throughout an economy. The core objective of public financial management is to improve citizens’ lives through better management of public money.” (International Federation of Accounting) Combining these definitions, we can state that robust financial management in the public sector should be focusing on achieving the 4Es – Economy, Efficiency, Effectiveness and Equity in the use of public funds. This is in line with New Public Management (NPM) theories. NPM seeks to improve public sector management generally, including increased flexibility and transparency. This can be a challenging objective when public funds are limited, and the demands are high. Therefore,

Financial Management Skills critical to control Public Sector Budgets

| October 23, 2022

Public Sector Budgets are facing the most serious challenges for decades. Now, more than ever, it is critical that organisations and individuals have the financial management critical to control Public Sector budgets and ensure effective budgetary control. Given the economic climate, we can anticipate more austerity, more savings needed, and delivering more for less. We can help with our courses, books, and online resources. Our virtual half day course provides all the basic underpinning knowledge for effective budgeting, monitoring and control. Also, the online courses cover a range of much needed core skills in finance for the public sector, along with online competency assessments. Managing the Devolved Budget is just one of the range of public sector management books. These are well known for being easy to read and full of useful information for day-to-day financial budgetary control and contain self-development activities. HB Publications and Training International continues to develop new, interesting and dynamic ways to enhance financial management skills in the public sector. Many of our courses have CPD

Basic Maths and Statistics

| November 19, 2020

This CPD course on budget setting, management and control will boost your budgeting skills and contribute to your ongoing professional development. For more details please contact us at info@hbpublications.com and we can send you a booking form or book online with https://www.eventbrite.com/e/budget-management-for-the-public-sector-cpd-course-tickets-39875319153

Fraud Awareness for the Public and Non Profit Sectors

| November 19, 2020

Half Day Online Live Course Being aware of the potential for fraud, and having knowledge of the bribery act, money laundering, fraud response plans etc. is extremely beneficial. It is relevant to all staff within an organisation and useful underpinning knowledge when applying for jobs or promotions. Great for interview preparation and enhancing CVs. All organisations need to ensure their staff have an awareness of fraud and the Bribery Act. Acquiring this knowledge is very useful and is transferable. We would recommend the course to individuals and organisations that may have several staff who need this knowledge. BOOK NOW Programme Content Definitions of fraud The fraud triangle Internal and external fraud Bribery Act Money Laundering Criminal Finances Act Fraud response plans Whistle blowing Consequences of fraud A Half Day Live Online course which may save money, reduce the potential for fraud, and meet the requirement of organisations to ensure all staff have this awareness. Everyone should undertake this training. This course will include: Case Studies and Exercises Trainer-led PowerPoint presentations

FINANCE TRAINING COURSES – WHAT’S ON?

| August 24, 2020

We specialise in finance training courses for the public and non profit sectors