Understanding Public Health Although financial management is a highly effective means of implementing key policies in health services, it tends to get little attention, being seen as a necessary but unglamorous area of management. This book shows how health care policies and programmes to promote the health of the public can be supported through financial management techniques. No formal understanding of financial systems is necessary since the book begins with the basics of costings and then goes on to examine accounting systems. The book enables the reader to understand financial performance, examine and confidently discuss financial matters, and apply the concepts in their own organization. This book examines: management accounting; financial accounting; and financial control and information systems. Series Editors: Rosalind Plowman and Nicki Thorogood.