Government Finance Review articles from April 2007

Government Finance Review archives from April 2007

The GFOA's position on the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB).(questions and answers)
April 1, 2007... 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, the Executive Board directed staff to take...

Paying for highways.(American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials wants higher gas taxes)
April 1, 2007... 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 just to maintain the current highway system. The...

State dot-govs.(News & Numbers)(Brief article)
April 1, 2007... 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 Progress Report on State Government Internet...

Recent release.(Brief article)(Book review)
April 1, 2007... 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 Legislatures looks at nine factors indicating the...

Comparing state and local taxes in large U.S. cities.(News & Numbers)
April 1, 2007... 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. The average state and local tax burden for the...

A new vision for public sector audit committees.
April 1, 2007... 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 offered a recommended practice specifically devoted...

The new Yellow Book: what you need to know about 2007 revision of Government Auditing Standards.
April 1, 2007... 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 currently in use. The new version will be mandatory...

Using graphical presentations in government financial reports.
April 1, 2007... 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 Governmental Accounting Standard Board's...

Change management: ensuring success in your ERP implementation.
April 1, 2007... 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 source estimated spending on IT by state and...

Securities litigation: the importance of monitoring and staying informed.
April 1, 2007... 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' portfolios have suffered large losses as a...

Electronic information, billing, and collection: customer service and cost savings.(Best Practices)
April 1, 2007... 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 Collection Program developed by the...

Running an effective meeting: meetings are a prime opportunity to show off your leadership skills.(Management & Careers)
April 1, 2007... 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 from start to finish: clear agenda;...

Improving organizational performance through performance audits: when appropriately conducted, performance audits provide an opportunity for organizations to learn and improve.(Solutions)
April 1, 2007... 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 managers and policy makers can use to achieve...

President delivers proposed FY08 budget: state and local governments to feel the pinch: President Bush's FY08 budget proposes cuts to domestic discretionary spending and entitlement programs.(George W. Bush)
April 1, 2007... 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 in light of the new Democratic majority in...

GASB proposal on intangible assets: a new GASB exposure draft may end confusion over how to treat financial reporting of intangible assets.(The Accounting Angle)(Governmental Accounting Standards Board)
April 1, 2007... 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 proposals put forward in the ED. ...

The building blocks to governing for results.(The Bookshelf)(Results That Matter: Improving Communities by Engaging Citizens, Measuring Performance, and Getting Things Done)(Book review)
April 1, 2007... 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: Jossey-Bass 272 pp., 2005 Results That...

State association events.(Brief article)(Calendar)
April 1, 2007... 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 Des Moines, IA www.imfoa.org ...

Gfoa events.(Brief article)(Calendar)
April 1, 2007... April Cleveland, Ohio 16 Effective Budget Presentation 16-17 Capital Budgeting and Infrastructure Finance 16-17 Introduction to Performance Measurement 16-18 Intermediate Governmental Accounting 18-19 Financial and...

Preconference seminars.(Calendar)
April 1, 2007... 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 June 8 Getting Your Message Out: Working...

Performance deficit: Why public managers need to focus on it: public executives face multiple performance deficits. By focusing on a few key ones, they can drive their agency to do the analytic work necessary to learn their causes and the operational work necessary to eliminate them.(Commentary)
April 1, 2007... 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 requiring measures. Today, if you are a public...