Government Finance Review

Browse past and current articles from this publication.

Selling our toll roads: good or retrograde idea?(Commentary)
Decaying roads, rising traffic congestion, and voters distrustful of government and extraordinarily leery about increased gas taxes. What are political leaders to do? The "hot" new idea is "moneti . . .

State association events.
June Vermont GFOA June 5, 2007 Middlebury, VT www.nesgfoa.org/officers.html/#vermont Maryland GFOA June 7-8, 2007 Ocean City, MD www.mdgfoa.org South Dakota GFOA June 13, 2007 . . .

GFOA events.(Calendar)
July Salt Lake City, Utah 16 GASB Pronouncements: A Comprehensive Survey 16-17 Treasury Management and Banking Relations 17 Preparing a CAFR 18-19 Introduction to Performance Measurement . . .

Holding money accountable.(The Bookshelf)(Integrating Performance and Budgets:The Budget Orifice of Tomorrow)(Book review)
Integrating Performance and Budgets:The Budget Orifice of Tomorrow Jonathan D. Breul and Carl Moravitz, Editors Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc. www.rowmanlittlefield.com 2007 233 pag . . .

Final guidance on pollution remediation.(The Accounting Angle)
Late last year, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) issued definitive guidance on how state and local governments should account for any legal obligation to remediate pollution. The n . . .

Mid-year Washington roundup.(Federal Focus)
The new Democratic majority was anxious to begin its work in January, hoping to tackle many issues important to local and state governments. This Federal Focus article examines just how far Congress . . .

The effective organization of administration functions through shared services.(Solutions)
To centralize or decentralize? That is often the question governments ask when trying to decrease costs and improve the delivery of administrative functions such as purchasing, human resources, acco . . .

Success can be contagious.(Management & Careers)
Every organization has its bright stars--one or more areas where everything seems to work efficiently and effectively and where innovation starts. How can an organization capture that success and sp . . .

Correction.(Correction notice)
Below is a corrected chart for Exhibit 2 of the Best Practices article "Electronic Information, Billing, and Collection" in the April 2007 issue of Government Finance Review. Exhibit 2: Popularity . . .

Scorecarding in the public sector: fad or tool of choice?(Best Practices)(Survey)
Fourteen years after the concepts of the balance scorecard were introduced by Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton,' the question remains--"Is scorecarding in the public sector just a passing manage . . .

How new standards for auditors will likely affect the governments they audit.
In December 2005, the Auditing Standards Board (ASB) of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants issued Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) No. 103, Audit Documentation. Two months l . . .

Using the Web to increase transparency and accountability.
Virginia Beach is located in the southeastern portion of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The city was established in 1963 through a merger of the resort town of Virginia Beach and Princess Anne County . . .

We're all in IT together: aligning technology with business through IT governance.
Information and people are the key resources that public organizations employ in their operations. As technology has evolved over the past 20 years, so too has the public organization. Today, the mo . . .

Capital budgets: the building blocks for government infrastructure.
Capital budgets are used to allocate funds for physical assets that are to be acquired, constructed, renovated, and rehabilitated. In order to develop a capital budget, a jurisdiction must assess it . . .

Interpreting local government financial statements.(Financial report)
The published financial report of a local government provides a wealth of information to anyone with an interest in the government's economic condition. Taking advantage of this information, however . . .

Productivity gains to come from wireless.(News & Numbers)(Survey)
A new international survey reports that wireless technology will deliver the next big productivity boost. Fifty percent of the 9,000 respondents from 18 countries predicted wireless networks would h . . .

State budgets post gains in FY 2007.(News & Numbers)
A new report by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), State Budget Update. March 2007, shows that 42 states have unexpected funds to work with as they approach the end of their budge . . .

Breakthrough in state corporate tax reform efforts.(News & Numbers)
A growing number of states are giving serious consideration to a major reform in their corporate income taxes long advocated by state tax experts. A new report from the Center on Budget and Policy P . . .

Government transformation through change management.(News & Numbers)
The National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) recently released a white paper, Transforming Government through Change Management: The Role of the State CIO, emphasizing that . . .

Government finance concepts and practices.(from the editor)
Concepts provide a solid foundation upon which to base practices that can be applied to achieving an organization's mission. However, concepts and practices are not static. As the government environ . . .

Performance deficit: Why public managers need to focus on it: public executives face multiple performance deficits. By focusing
Today, all public agencies have performance measures--lots of performance measures. They have to. Their stakeholders want measures. The legislature is insisting on measures. The budget office is req . . .

Preconference seminars.(Calendar)
June 8 The Changing World of Ethics Requirements: What You Need to Know June 8 The Next Step in Disaster Recovery Planning: A Finance Officer's Checklist for Business Continuity in a Catastrophe . . .

Gfoa events.(Brief article)(Calendar)
April Cleveland, Ohio 16 Effective Budget Presentation 16-17 Capital Budgeting and Infrastructure Finance 16-17 Introduction to Performance Measurement 16-18 Intermediate Governmental Acco . . .

State association events.(Brief article)(Calendar)
April Oregon State Fiscal Association April 5 Salem, OR GFOA of Missouri April 18-20 Lake Ozark MO www.gfoa-mo.org Utah GFOA April 18-20 St. George, UT www.ugfoa.org Iowa MFOA April 18-20 De . . .

The building blocks to governing for results.(The Bookshelf)(Results That Matter: Improving Communities by Engaging Citizens, Me
Results That Matter: Improving Communities by Engaging Citizens, Measuring Performance, and Getting Things Done Paul D. Epstein, Paul M. Coates, and Lyle E. Wray with David Swain. Publisher: Jos . . .

GASB proposal on intangible assets: a new GASB exposure draft may end confusion over how to treat financial reporting of intangi
In late 2006, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) issued an exposure draft (ED) on Accounting and Financial Reporting for Intangible Assets. This article will briefly examine the key . . .

President delivers proposed FY08 budget: state and local governments to feel the pinch: President Bush's FY08 budget proposes cu
President Bush submitted his $2.9 trillion budget request for FY08 to Congress in early February The President's budget proposal was not offered in the spirit of compromise many experts anticipated . . .

Improving organizational performance through performance audits: when appropriately conducted, performance audits provide an opp
Governments conduct performance audits for many reasons. One of the most important is to improve the performance of specific operations. Performance audits can provide valuable information that mana . . .

Running an effective meeting: meetings are a prime opportunity to show off your leadership skills.(Management & Careers)
Herbert Hoover once said "When the outcome of a meeting is to have another meeting, it has been a lousy meeting" Here's a question to consider: Have you ever attended a meeting that was productive . . .

Electronic information, billing, and collection: customer service and cost savings.(Best Practices)
Editor's note: The Johnson County Kansas, Treasurer 's Office received GFOA's Award for Excellence in the E-Government and Technology category in 2006. The Electronic Information, Billing, and Col . . .

Change management: ensuring success in your ERP implementation.
Information technology (IT) and its devices (email, Internet, enterprise systems, etc.) are rapidly changing the way governmental operations flow as well as its efficiency and effectiveness. One sou . . .

Using graphical presentations in government financial reports.
Governments have always included charts and graphs in their budget documents and financial reports. The Government Finance Officer Association's recommended budget practices, the issuance of the Gov . . .

The new Yellow Book: what you need to know about 2007 revision of Government Auditing Standards.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a revised edition of Government Auditing Standards, commonly known as the "Yellow Book," to replace the 2003 edition curre . . .

A new vision for public sector audit committees.
The concept of an audit committee is hardly new. Examples can be found in both the public and private sectors going back many years. Likewise, a full decade has now passed since the GFOA first offer . . .

Comparing state and local taxes in large U.S. cities.(News & Numbers)
According to the New York City Independent Budget Office, New York City has the highest tax bite among other large cities. State and local taxes account for $9.02 of every $100 in household income. . . .

Recent release.(Brief article)(Book review)
Regional Reliance: Why Transmission Coordination Is Key Recent events have demonstrated electricity's increasingly regional nature. This new booklet from the National Conference of State Legislatu . . .

State dot-govs.(News & Numbers)(Brief article)
New research from the National Association of State Chief Information Officers (NASCIO) explores how state government Web portals have improved over the past six years. The report, Harmony Helps: A . . .

Paying for highways.(American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials wants higher gas taxes)
A new report from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials warns that the federal gas tax needs to be increased by at least 3 cents by 2010 and 7 cents more by 2015 jus . . .

The GFOA's position on the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB).(questions and answers)
Editor's note. This past December, the GFOA's Executive Board concluded that the time had come to reassess the role of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB).At its March 2007 meeting, t . . .

Securities litigation: the importance of monitoring and staying informed.
Corporate fraud--from Enron and WorldCom to recent instances of options backdating--has become an unfortunate part of the investment equation for public pension funds. Many institutional investors'' . . .

Digital leadership moves.(Commentary)
E-government presents leadership challenges much mole substantial than simply placing more transactions online. Effective leaders pay careful attention to needs for continuity. With stakeholders d . . .

Calendar.(Calendar)
[state association events] February Wyoming GFOA February 8-9 Lander, WY Alabama GFOA February 28-March 1 Montgomery, AL www.gfoaa.org GFOA of Arizona March 6-9 Tucson, AZ ww . . .

Leadership as more of an art than a science.(The Bookshelf)(The Dance of Leadership: The Art of Leading Business, Government, an
The Dance of Leadership The Art of Leading Business, Government, and Society Robert B. Denhardt and Janet V. Denhardt M.E. Sharpe Armonk New York 2006, 175pp What traits define a good leader? Perh . . .

Proposed disclosure changes for pensions.(The Accounting Angle)
The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) recently issued an exposure draft (ED) on Pension Disclosures. The proposed new guidance would modify the notes and required supplementary informat . . .

Washington watch: the new leadership's possible effect on issues important to state and local government.(Federal Focus)
Throughout 2006 the focus on the November elections affected the congressional agenda, leaving many issues on the table for the new 110th Congress to address. Congress did however approve significan . . .

Performance management and measurement in small communities: taking the first step towards implementing a balanced scorecard app
Performance management and measurement is a process that has demonstrated positive impact for smaller communities and through the effective use of community resources, the process need not be costly . . .

Ten years young and growing: GFOA's Certified Public Finance Officer (CPFO) program.(Management & Careers)(Government Finance Of
In 1997, the Government Finance Officers Association launched its Certified Public Finance Officer program. The program is designed to test a finance officer's knowledge in five areas essential to g . . .

Guidelines for expedited reviews by the Special Review Committee (SRC): new guidelines streamline the review process for GFOA's
Each year members of the Special Review Committee (SRC) review more than 3,500 comprehensive annual financial reports (CAFRs) submitted to the GFOA's Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Fin . . .

Sym*bi*o*sis. Sym*me*try. Syn*er*gy: the case for interlocal cooperation.
To understand why interlocal cooperation among governments has so much potential, one needs to take stock of the trends affecting local governments today: * Federal and state budget challenges con . . .

The need for financial leadership in IT asset management.
How often do we face a problem where the solution offers an opportunity to save more money than the cost of the solution? A ticking time bomb lies in every business and government that does not main . . .