The article considers the issues related to safeguarding public interest in the process of managing public finances. Based on the analysis of such concepts of financial science as “public finances”, “public interest”, “levels of public interest development”, “interests of different groups” and “public finances functions”, the author has made an attempt to identify and classify current issues in the sphere of safeguarding public interest in the process of managing public finances. According to the author, the given issues vary in character and nature. The reason for that is that there are several factors that give rise to the given issues. In particular, it”s the fact that “public finances” have different functions; there is competition and conflict of interests of different groups of persons in the course of identifying “public interest”; there are common issues that exist in the public sector (bureaucracy, corruption, lack of trust in public institutes, lack of legislation stability); problems in defining “public interest”, the sources of “public finances” formation and their allocation (reallocation) at the national, regional and local levels; problems in allocating and delegating authorities among the public authority bodies in terms of “public budgets” development (at the national and local levels)