Government Finance Review

Browse past and current articles from this publication.

OakVideo: efficiency and cost savings through cooperation.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Consider the logistics behind arresting, arraigning, bailing, and remanding offenders. Transportation is traditionally at the center of the process, with police officers hav . . .

Popular reporting: North Vancouver's efforts to re-engage the public.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] As financial reporting requirements become increasingly complex, many local governments are using popular reporting formats to present their financial and performance data i . . .

Measuring what matters: the City of Westminster, Colorado, takes a comprehensive approach to performance measurement.(Best Pract
What makes for a good performance measurement program? It takes a willingness to look unflinchingly at your current internal situation and report on it accurately. It takes flexibility and an openne . . .

Making a commitment to performance measurement: Salisbury city officials chose to include performance measurement as an establis
The City of Salisbury, North Carolina, with a population of 28,480, is committed to performance measurement--but that wasn't always the case. The cornerstone of the city's program is the University . . .

Confronting performance problems with clarity: how can you confront performance problems without alienating the people whose beh
Managing employee performance involves a special set of challenges. One of a manager's most difficult tasks is confronting employees whose performance does not measure up to expectations. There ar . . .

Looking backward to move forward: the best way to avoid future problems is to review the results of past projects and put the le
Looking to the past can be difficult because it forces us to reassess accomplishments and, often, start second-guessing ourselves. Nonetheless, many successes are achieved by reviewing past results, . . .

President's budget proposal and other news from the nation's capitol.(Federal Focus)
The president delivered his $3.1 trillion budget proposal to Congress in early February. The budget calls for an increase of less than 1 percent over fiscal year 2008 for domestic, non-security disc . . .

GASB exposure draft on fund balance.(The Accounting Angle)(Governmental Accounting Standards Board)
At the end of February, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) released an exposure draft (ED) that proposes to substantially change how fund balance is categorized. It also proposes gui . . .

Myth busting: seeking improvement through a new perspective.(We Don't Make Widgets: Overcoming the Myths That Keep Government fr
We Don't Make Widgets: Overcoming the Myths That Keep Government from Radically Improving By Ken Miller Governing Books 2007; 124 pages; $24,95 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] We Don't Make Widgets . . .

Calendar.(Calendar)
[state association events] May New Hampshire GFOA May 1-2 North Conway, NH www.nhgfoa.org Pennsylvania GFOA May 4-7 State College, PA vvvvw.gfoa-pa.org Montana Municipal Clerks, . . .

Innovation: beyond the 'big bang'.(Commentary)
To the average person on the street, "innovative government" is an oxymoron. The private sector innovates while government--bureaucracy's lair--imposes rules and regulations. (In the words of presid . . .

The finance officer's role in disaster management.(from the editor)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In no sector is disaster planning a more salient issue than in local government. Surveys conducted by the National League of Cities reflect the increased concern with this i . . .

Worsening outlook for local governments.(News & Numbers)
The nation's cities saw improved finances in 2007 but now project slowing revenues and increased spending pressures for 2008 and beyond, according to the National League of Cities' annual research b . . .

IT disaster and business continuity planning toolkit.(News & Numbers)
Disasters that shut down mission-critical applications for any length of time can have devastating direct and indirect costs. The National Association of State Chief Information Officers recently re . . .

Americans prefer to spend more on mass transit.(News & Numbers)
Three-fourths of Americans believe that being smarter about development and improving public transportation are better long-term solutions for reducing traffic congestion than building new roads, ac . . .

Missouri's plan to fix or replace state's bridges.(News & Numbers)
The State of Missouri will quadruple the pace of bridge repairs through its Safe & Sound Bridge Improvement Program. In November, the state awarded a single 30-year contract to repair/replace and ma . . .

Rebuilding a resilient nation.(Viewpoint essay)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Two days after this summer's rush-hour collapse of the I-35W bridge, I found myself standing along the southern bank of the Mississippi River, looking out on the twisted wre . . .

Stepping back from the edge of disaster: capital planning for resiliency.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In recent years, disaster preparedness has become increasingly important for local government officials. Most disaster preparedness efforts have emphasized reacting to a dis . . .

Being prepared for disaster: strategies and tactics for finance managers.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Since the events of September 11, 2001, the role of government financial managers has changed along with the rapidly changing environment of emergency management. Demand for . . .

Working with FEMA: (I'm from the government--I'm here to help).
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Associated Press reported on September 25, 2007. New Orleans--nearly 2, 000 pages spell out in excruciating detail something that is plain to Virgil Tiller but not the F . . .

Walking on water: a look back at Rita and Katrina.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Disaster planning is a growth industry for local governments. As major weather disasters become more frequent, and disasters of all kinds become more expensive to handle, lo . . .

Smart disaster preparedness includes purchasing cards: purchasing cards are valued for their flexibility and oversight in times
Hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, and floods are the sorts of natural disasters most of us would rather not contemplate. But for state and local governments--in most cases the first responders-wor . . .

No matter how you measure performance: it's the results that count: GFOA research has identified six approaches that local gover
Performance measurement concepts and applications have grown in use and sophistication since 1943 when the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) first published a report on measuri . . .

Crisis communications: taking center stage with confidence: being prepared can prevent a crisis from compounding due to poor com
It was only supposed to be worth $15, according to the police report. Days later, the data backup tape stolen from an Ohio Administrative Knowledge System intern's car began making national news. Pe . . .

The information technology role in disaster recovery and business continuity: governments, and particularly IT departments, need
When disaster happens, who is in charge in your city, county, or school? Depending on the severity of a disaster, different areas and groups of employees are affected; however, the information techn . . .

Public sector health care purchasers convene in Washington, D.C.: state and local governments and pension plans provide health b
Now in its third year, the Public Sector HealthCare Roundtable (Roundtable) held its annual conference in Washington, D.C., in late October. The Roundtable, a nonprofit national organization establi . . .

Guidelines for responding to proposed accounting and auditing standards: the GFOA Executive Board recently approved specific pri
The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) routinely responds to proposed new guidance from the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB), such as exposure drafts, preliminary views doc . . .

What will it take to be prepared?(The Bookshelf)
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The Edge of Disaster: Rebuilding a Resilient Nation By Stephen Flynn Random House 2007; 272pages The essential message of Stephen Flynn's The Edge of Disaster. Rebuilding . . .

gfoa events.(Calendar)
January Long Beach, California 7 Evaluating Internal Controls 7 Effective Budget Presentation 7-8 Financial and ERP System Acquisition and Implementation 8 Enterprise . . .

State association events.(Brief article)(Calendar)
January Maryland GFOA January 25 BWI Airport www.mdgfoa.org Nevada GFOA January 27-29 Las Vegas, NV www.ngfoa.org Alabama GFOA January 28-30 Mobile, AL www.gfoaa.org March . . .

Fire and water twin challenges.(Reprint)(Column)
COULD THERE BE A PATTERN HERE? The San Diego and Los Angeles areas are hit by a raging series of high-impact wildfires--the worst in the state's history. Many of the blazes coincide with areas alr . . .

What transformational leaders do: leading a public organization through change requires the executive to find a way to invest si
Much has been written about the attributes of leadership. Ability to communicate a vision, courage, and integrity are surely qualities of great leaders. Our experience studying the transformation of . . .

State association events.(Government Finance Officers Association)(Brief article)(Calendar)
September Illinois GFOA September 7-11 Springfield, IL www.igfoa.org Michigan GFOA September 9-12 Traverse City, MI www.migfoa.org Ohio GFOA September 11-13 Columbus, OH www. . . .

gfoa events.(Government Finance Officers Association)(Calendar)
August Minneapolis, Minnesota 20 Accounting for Pensions and Other Postemployment Benefits (OPEB) 20-21 Budgeting for Budget Analysts 20-21 Economic Development for Finance Officer . . .

Time-Driven activity-based costing.
Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing Robert S. Kaplan and Steven R. Anderson Publisher: Harvard Business School Press www.HBSPress.org 257 pages, 2007; $45 In the 1980s Kaplan developed activity-bas . . .

Selling or pledging future cash flows: guidance from the Governmental Accounting Standards Board on selling or pledging future c
In September 2006, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) issued GASB Statement No. 48, Sales and Pledges of Receivables and Future Revenues and Intra-Entity Transfers of Assets and Futu . . .

Supreme court watch: judiciary decisions often impact state and local government finances.(Federal Focus)
In each term, the United States Supreme Court is petitioned to consider a number of cases that have a significant impact on the policy, management, and finances of state and local governments. The S . . .

Capital project cash flow management: using these tools to manage capital project cash flows can increase investment earnings, r
Last minute changes in payment schedules on capital projects can be among the most frustrating and unpredictable complicating factors in effective municipal cash management. Capital projects are by . . .

City Management Institute: a blueprint for leadership succession: the City of Sacramento's City Management Institute helps it id
The City of Sacramento, California, is the state capital and was founded in 1849, and is the oldest incorporated city in the state. It is a city council-city manager form of government, with eight s . . .

Auditing from a citizen's point of view: the citizen's perspective is often overlooked in traditional audit of government progra
Governments provide programs and services. Auditors look at how well those programs and services are delivered. Often overlooked in a traditional audit is the citizen's perspective: how well and how . . .

Liquidity assessments: an alternative financing option for variable-rate debt.
An environment of volatile and very high interest rates in the late 1970s and early 1980s led to significant innovations in the municipal debt markets that remain operative today For municipal bond . . .

Municipal Way-Fi.
Since 2003, the hype and hyperbole surrounding municipal Wi-Fi systems for broadband Internet access has been inescapable. City after city, counties, even consortia of jurisdictions have hopped on t . . .

Creating and using a revenue manual: a dynamic tool for analysis.
The landscape of local government revenue presents an assortment of challenges and opportunities for public finance officials. The traditional role of the public finance officer has expanded to incl . . .

From cash to card acceptance: transforming routine transactions into extraordinary opportunities.
Leading government entities are taking advantage of quickly evolving electronic payment trends to improve revenue collections while reducing costs, particularly through the latest solutions designed . . .

Innovations in managing public funds: benchmarking and total return.(Cover story)
Like most local governments, the City of Los Angeles, California, spent years looking under every budgetary rock in search of more funds for police and fire protection, education, parks, community s . . .

Government finance in the trenches: standing committees update.(Government Finance Officers Association)
More than 175 GFOA members volunteer their time and expertise to be a part of the GFOA's standing committees. Each committee concentrates on a particular discipline within government finance. The me . . .

Spotlight on financial performance: 2007 Annual Conference recap.(Conference news)
The GFOA held its 101st Annual Conference in the City of Anaheim, California. More than 4,100 delegates were in attendance at the Anaheim Convention Center, June 10-13, making this year's conference . . .

Meet your new president-elect and executive board.
The GFOA is governed by an 18-member Executive Board, which consists of 15 members-at-large serving staggered three-year terms, the current president, the previous year's president, and the presiden . . .

GAO predicts budget challenges ahead for state and local governments.(News & Numbers)(Government Accountability Office)
For more than a decade, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has warned of an impending severe structural deficit for the federal government, driven above all by rising costs in Medicare and M . . .

We can make a difference.(president's message)
As an individual with both U.S. and Canadian ancestry, it is an honor to serve as your new president. I look forward to leading the GFOA into its second century of fulfilling its mission of enhancin . . .