Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS)

Diploma Course in Financial Management and Accountablity, 1 year on-line programme, joint initiative of TISS and FMSF


Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS)
P.O. Box 8313 , Deonar, Mumbai 400 088.
E-mail: tiss@fmaonline.in
AND
Financial Management Service Foundation (FMSF)
" ACCOUNTABILITY HOUSE", A-5, Sector 26, NOIDA 201 301Phone: 0120- 2546732/ 33/ 44/ 45. Fax: 0120 - 2546731
Email: fmsf@fmaonline.in
Website: www.fmsfindia.org
Diploma Course in Financial Management and Accountablity, one year on-line programme

Last Date for Registration: April 30, 2008

In order to Register Click Here

Diploma Course in Financial Management and Accountablity; is a joint initiative of TISS & FMSF

DFMA is a one year, long-distance education programme on financial management of not-for profit organizations. It is a joint initiative of TISS & FMSF which is specially designed to suit to the needs of persons working in the voluntary sector or are willing to join the sector.

BACKGROUND
The emerging role of the voluntary sector in today’s scenario in promoting wholistic development is recognized by one and all. Historically, the evolution of the sector was not very structured rather it grew in response to the growing need for just and equitable development. But over the last decade, the face of the sector is undergoing through a change. There has been a remarkable increase in the number of persons wanting to join the sector. The size and intensity of the sector has increased by leaps and bounds over the last decade and the amount of resources involved in the work of the development sector has also shot up remarkably. A large amount of funds, both from within as well as outside the country are being utilized for the purpose of development work. This creates a need for better financial management practices, a more professional approach in the sector as a whole.

The one year Diploma in Financial Management and Accountability aims at building the capacity of individuals wanting to join the sector as well as for persons already working in the sector in the areas of financial management and thereby promoting transparency and accountability in the sector.

THE NEED:
The financial management practices determine the effectiveness, accountability and transparency of the sector to a large extent. Even though some degree, diploma, or certificate programmes on rural management, management of non-profit organizations and related subjects are being offered by different institutions to cater to the needs of the voluntary sector, there still exists an unmet demand for specific capacity building in the area of financial management of voluntary organizations (VOs). This Diploma programme is designed to meet that unmet need in the voluntary sector.

OBJECTIVE:
The overall objective of the programme is to promote accountability in the sector by strengthening the financial management practices and by building individual capacities.
. To introduce and familiarize personnel in the non-profit/voluntary sector to institutional, legal, policy and regulatory framework governing the sector.
. To build capacities of the personnel in the non-profit/voluntary sector in financial management
. To develop and institutionalize systems to enhance and ensure transparency and accountability.

ABOUT TISS:
The Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) was established in 1936, as the Sir Dorabji Tata Graduate School of Social Work. Over the years, the Institute has, among other thrusts, made a significant contribution to policy, planning, action strategies and human resource development in several areas, ranging from sustainable rural and urban development to education, health, communal harmony, human rights and industrial relations. In all cases, the focus has been on the disadvantaged and marginalized sections of society, such as organized and unorganized labour, women, children, Dalits, and tribals.
Today, the TISS has earned recognition as an institution of repute from different Ministries of the Government of India, various state governments, international agencies such as the United Nations, and national and international non-government organizations. Academic freedom leading to a positive work ethos and creativity in the Institute, strong linkages among education, research, field action and dissemination and the social commitment and responsiveness to varying social needs have made it possible to pioneer various innovative academic programmes.
It is recognized as a centre of excellence contributing relevant education and research, towards the national agenda of sustainable, participatory and equitable development by multilateral UN organizations by multilateral UN organizations, For further details, visit, www.tiss.edu

ABOUT FMSF:
FMSF is a Resource Organization specializing in financial management, legal and governance issues pertaining to Development Organizations. The core area of the work done by FMSF includes capacity building of partner organizations, networking, information dissemination, action research, knowledge building, and financial monitoring of projects. The Financial Management Service Foundation (FMSF) is an offshoot of the Financial Management Service (FMS), a unit set up by the Evangelischer Entwicklungsdientst or EED (formerly known as Evangelischer Zentralstelle fuer Entwicklungsdienst or EZE), a German funding organization, in the year 1995. FMS was established in India to ensure that partners in India, Bangladesh and Nepal were able to fulfill their obligations to EED and enhance their capacity in financial management reporting systems.
With a vision for a reality in development co-operation where there will be overall and wholistic accountability among all the constituencies, FMSF is guided by the core values of accountability, transparency, humaneness and sensitivity. It has published six books on financial management and laws, social audit, governance etc related to the voluntary sector; it also publishes a quarterly journal that covers legal and financial issues pertaining to the sector.
It has been engaged in promoting accountability and transparency in the sector for over a decade in South Asia. It conducts various capacity building workshops on financial management, governance and related matters for the VOs. As a part of its capacity building initiatives, the FMSF is launching this one year Diploma programme specifically designed to suit to the needs of the persons wanting to join the sector or already working in the sector.(see website www.fmsfindia.org).
Recently it has also registered a spin-off organization, ‘Centre for Promoting Accountability’ which specifically focuses on Capacity Building & Development Research. DFMA is rolled out under the aegis of Centre for Promoting Accountability.

PROGRAMME DETAILS:
Diploma in Financial Management and Accountability is a one year diploma programme, specially designed to suit to the needs of persons working in the voluntary sector or are willing to join the sector. This programme will be taught on line via INTERNET.

Minimum Eligibility Criteria:
Graduates (in any stream) having scored 50% in their graduation
Or
Graduates (in any stream ) having at least 3 years of work experience in the voluntary /non-profit sector in finance, program monitoring or management areas.
Basic computer skills and access to internet is a pre-requisite for the course.

Course Fee:
The annual fee structure of the course is as follows:
1. Tuition Fee Rs.12,000/-
2. Exam Fee Rs.1500/-
3. Course Material Fee Rs.3500/-
4. Development Fund Rs.2500/-
5. Refundable Caution Deposit Rs.3000/-

Seats:
One batch of 75 students in a year will be admitted.

Registration:
The registration fee for the course is Rs.500/-(non-refundable)

Registration Procedure:
1. Visit www.fmaonline.in . 2. Click on ‘Registration’ 3. Fill up the form online
4. Click, ‘Submit’
After submitting the form online, send us a demand draft of Rs. 500/- (subject to realization) along with a covering letter or a print out of the completed registration form and the required documents. The demand draft should be drawn in favor of Centre for Promoting Accountability, payable at New Delhi.

Documents Required:
The documents that need to be submitted along with the Registration form are:
* Graduation Mark sheet
* 12th mark sheet
* 10th mark sheet
* 10th Pass certificate
* No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Employer’s (For Working Persons)
* 4 copies of recent passport size photographs

Payment:
The payment of the course fees can be done through demand draft.

Scholarships: About 12 scholarships will be available for needy candidates.

Certification:
After the successful completion of the requirements, the student will be awarded the Diploma in Financial Management & Accountability. The Diploma will be in joint names of the TISS and the FMSF.

1.On-line teaching
Admission formalities will be completed after verification of documents. A three day contact session will be held in different regions. The location for the contact session will be decided depending on the number of applications received from different regions. During the contact session, apart from verification of documents, bona fide students will be given training in e-learning and an orientation to the introductory modules.

2.After a student completes admission formalities, s/he will be given a pass-word protected access to the website. The website will contain lessons, self-assessment questions, reading material, and other learning material. The website will also facilitate studentteacher interaction, student-student interaction, learning systems manager- faculty interaction, faculty-faculty interaction, learning systems- student interaction, monitoring of fee payment, assignment submission and completion status, credits completed, recording of grades, hours logged in by students and faculty, exam dates and other details for allowing students to appear for exam, exam completion status, updating of lessons, reading material, assignment submission dates and other details.

3.Subsequent contact sessions will be decided on the basis of need in the first year.