Government Finance Review articles from August 2006

Government Finance Review archives from August 2006

Coming to grips with other post-employment benefits.(from the executive director)
August 1, 2006... Post-retirement healthcare and other post-employment benefits (OPEB) are certainly nothing new to the public sector, where they have long been an important element of employee compensation. All the same, GASB Statement No. 45, Accounting and...

Focus on financial leadership.(president's message)
August 1, 2006... As GFOA embarks on its second century of excellence to governments throughout the world, I am honored to serve as your 100th President. Our association has flourished through recessions, depressions, world wars, terrorist attacks, and natural...

A century of progress in government finance: 2006 Annual Conference recap.(News & Numbers)(Conference news)
August 1, 2006... The historic city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, served as the setting for GFOA's 100th Annual Conference. Approximately 6,000 people attended the three-day event held May 7-10 at the Palais des congres de Montreal. The conference theme, "A...

Meet your new president-elect and executive board.
August 1, 2006... 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 president-elect. At the association's annual business...

Public finance as a profession.
August 1, 2006... Amid this unique compendium of articles addressing the career development challenges, opportunities, and resources for governmental finance officers, I will attempt to provide a broader perspective on the profession and the vocation of public...

From control to collaboration ... finance shifts its focus.
August 1, 2006... Everyone would likely agree that the most successful organizations are those that see change coming and respond in ways that meet the needs and the desires of their customers. A recent example can be seen in the fast food industry. Many...

Combining leadership & management skills.
August 1, 2006... Good public sector managers need to be both good managers and good leaders. But what approach to leadership should the public finance manager take? The role of a financial manager cannot be solely the command of the finances; it also needs to...

If I pass the baton, who will grab it? Creating bench strength in Public Management.(Reprint)
August 1, 2006... Reprinted with permission from the September 2005 issue of Public Management (PM) magazine published by the International City/County Management Association, Washington, D. C. A Baby Boomer who is a city manager in Northern California was...

Increasing professional and personal productivity through managing stress.
August 1, 2006... In today's fast-paced environment, all of us, whether in our personal or professional lives, are called upon to do more than we did in the past. Couple this with the fact that we often have fewer resources to help us and it is easy to see how...

Self insuring: how one group of public institutions did it: Wisconsin's Technical College System's insurance venture, Districts Mutual Insurance, is proving that through collaboration, commitment, and communication public entities can successfully control insurance costs while enhancing coverage limits and providing specialized services.(Best Practices)
August 1, 2006... Is it possible to start your own insurance company? How about starting one with other public institutions? That's what Wisconsin's 16 technical colleges did, and they have found it to be a successful venture. BACKGROUND The Wisconsin...

Five critical factors: preparing for success in implementing performance management: GFOA has identified five key factors typically present in successful performance measurement and management initiatives.(Solutions)(Government Finance Officers Association)
August 1, 2006... While many local governments now use some form of performance measurement, far fewer have successfully completed the transition to a performance management system--integrating performance measurement into the ongoing management of the...

President signs tax bill: new regulations and burdens on state and local governments: several portions of the new Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005 significantly impact state and local governments.(Federal Focus)
August 1, 2006... On May 17, President Bush signed the $70 billion Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005 (TIPRA). The tax bill was designed to provide a short-term solution to the increasing application of the alternative minimum tax and extend...

Initial GASB position on derivatives: the GASB's recent proposal would extend the requirement for fair value reporting to all derivative transactions of the state and local governments.(The Accounting Angle)(Governmental Accounting Standards Board )
August 1, 2006... This past spring, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) published its initial position on the appropriate treatment of derivatives in the form of the preliminary views document (PV) Accounting and Financial Reporting for...

A great books list for government.(The Bookshelf)(Bibliography)
August 1, 2006... Summer and the time for "beach reads" is almost over. Perhaps now is the time to turn to the serious side and devote some time to reading, or rereading,something that might challenge you to think about your profession in public service. So...

Calendar.(Calendar)
August 1, 2006... [state association events] September New England States GFOA September 10-13 Mashantucket, CT www.nesgfoa.org Ohio GFOA September 12-14 Cincinnati, OH www.ohgfoa.com Western Canadian GFOA ...

The difficult art of improving government: governments can become more customer-focused and productive.(Commentary)
August 1, 2006... Everyone who thinks much about local government realizes sooner or later that there's a holy grail for public administration: doing more with less. That is, the secret to satisfying citizens is to provide more or better services while lowering...