Recent Posts91
Interesting experiences / Re: Professional Diaries #4 with Gary Bandy, professional PFM writer
« Last post by GaryBandy on January 18, 2023, 10:25:58 GMT »December 2008
In December 2008 the global financial crisis was underway and I found myself in Juba, the capital city of what is now South Sudan. Back in 2008 South Sudan’s independence referendum had not yet taken place but there was a n autonomous government in place under the terms of the 2005 comprehensive peace agreement that ended more than 50 years of conflict.
I was in Juba as part of a team from Warwick Business School that was delivering a five-day course in public finance to 50 civil servants from the Ministry of Commerce and Development.
My connection with Warwick Business School goes back to 2002 when I enrolled in its part-time Master’s of Public Administration. I completed the degree in 2005 but remained in contact with the business school as many alumni do. In the 2000s Professor John Benington and others from the business school were involved in various capacity building projects in fragile states, including South Sudan. In 2008 he put out a call for a public finance expert to go to South Sudan and I volunteered.
I had been an independent public finance consultant since 2005 so I was free to take on any project that interested me. Although I had given many presentations in my career by then I had never delivered a lecture. It was a challenging and rewarding week in a hotel beside the River Nile.
There were (and are) no direct flights between South Sudan and the UK so the team had to fly home via Nairobi. In Nairobi we had a 12 hour stopover during which John and I had a conversation about teaching financial management. It included this exchange
John: For the MPA we have a textbook for each module except the financial management module.
Me: Why’s that?
John: We’ve never been able find a suitable one.
Me: I guess they’re a lots of accounting textbooks aimed at people who want to be accountants and there are all those books with business tips that are sold in airports.
John: Yes, but they’re not public-sector focused.
Me: I see there is a gap in the market.
John: Why don’t you write a book to fill the gap?
Ultimately, two things came out of my trip to Juba. First, having proved myself in the classroom I was invited to teach public finance courses at Warwick Business School. Second, I wrote a book proposal. That’s the subject of the next diary entry.
In December 2008 the global financial crisis was underway and I found myself in Juba, the capital city of what is now South Sudan. Back in 2008 South Sudan’s independence referendum had not yet taken place but there was a n autonomous government in place under the terms of the 2005 comprehensive peace agreement that ended more than 50 years of conflict.
I was in Juba as part of a team from Warwick Business School that was delivering a five-day course in public finance to 50 civil servants from the Ministry of Commerce and Development.
My connection with Warwick Business School goes back to 2002 when I enrolled in its part-time Master’s of Public Administration. I completed the degree in 2005 but remained in contact with the business school as many alumni do. In the 2000s Professor John Benington and others from the business school were involved in various capacity building projects in fragile states, including South Sudan. In 2008 he put out a call for a public finance expert to go to South Sudan and I volunteered.
I had been an independent public finance consultant since 2005 so I was free to take on any project that interested me. Although I had given many presentations in my career by then I had never delivered a lecture. It was a challenging and rewarding week in a hotel beside the River Nile.
There were (and are) no direct flights between South Sudan and the UK so the team had to fly home via Nairobi. In Nairobi we had a 12 hour stopover during which John and I had a conversation about teaching financial management. It included this exchange
John: For the MPA we have a textbook for each module except the financial management module.
Me: Why’s that?
John: We’ve never been able find a suitable one.
Me: I guess they’re a lots of accounting textbooks aimed at people who want to be accountants and there are all those books with business tips that are sold in airports.
John: Yes, but they’re not public-sector focused.
Me: I see there is a gap in the market.
John: Why don’t you write a book to fill the gap?
Ultimately, two things came out of my trip to Juba. First, having proved myself in the classroom I was invited to teach public finance courses at Warwick Business School. Second, I wrote a book proposal. That’s the subject of the next diary entry.