Government Finance Review articles from December 1995

Government Finance Review archives from December 1995

Congress eyes weakening investor protections.
December 1, 1995... As Congress continues to move its deregulatory agenda through the House and Senate, state and local government investment officers and pension fund managers are paying particular attention to legislation that would overturn or sharply limit some...

Fraud happens: a primer on lying, cheating, and stealing. (fraud detection in government organizations)
December 1, 1995... Pointers to help educate managers about the real risks in the organization and how to detect fraud. During many conversations with auditors and in training programs, the author has come to believe that the "practice" of public accountancy,...

Innovation through technology: the success of Massachusetts' telefile program.
December 1, 1995... Telefile, which allows Massachusetts residents to file their income taxes by telephone, demonstrates that technology can generate cost savings and improve customer service without sacrificing security. When the recession of the late 1980s...

The City of Glendale's budget liaison program. (Arizona)
December 1, 1995... "Budget volunteers contribute more than 2,000 hours per fiscal year to the budget process while gaining valuable new skills to enhance their careers and helping upgrade budgetary procedures in their home departments. "Do what you can, with...

Municipal bond price transparency: what it means for issuers.
December 1, 1995... New initiatives to provide information on municipal bond transactions and prices will benefit issuers as well as investors and lead to higher volume and greater liquidity in the municipal bond market. The municipal bond market is undergoing...

Circular A-87 revised. (Office of Management and Budget Circular A-87)
December 1, 1995... The federal government's revised guidelines for reimbursing administrative costs to governments that manage federal programs require greater attention to documentation and reporting. It took seven years for the Office of Management and...

Growing wiser: finding alternatives to sprawl.(Forum)
December 1, 1995... The following is adapted from an address by Richard Moe, president of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, delivered at the Brookings Institution, Washington, D.C., on March 22, 1995. What does sprawl have to do with historic...

New and emerging GASB guidance. (Governmental Accounting Standards Board)
December 1, 1995... In the past few months, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) has issued several new pronouncements and exposure drafts (EDs). Final Pronouncements The GASB has addressed securities lending transactions, the use of...

Federal income tax restructuring.(Federal Focus)
December 1, 1995... While much of the public's attention to reforms called for by the 104th Congress has focused on the "Contract With America," proposals for a major restructuring of the federal income tax system have begun to be noticed. Few people expect that a...

NIGP: enhancing the public purchasing profession. (National Institute of Governmental Purchasing Inc.)(State of the Art)
December 1, 1995... In an age of enlightened consumers, public officials entrusted with purchasing the goods and services taxpayers need are under constant scrutiny. Taxpayers are increasingly aware of and concerned about how their money is spent. They demand not...

Infrastructure financing in Hong Kong: project finance leads the way.
December 1, 1995... Over the past decade, governments throughout Asia (outside of Japan) have been faced with unprecedented levels of economic growth. Existing infrastructure in these countries has not been adequate to support economic expansion. As a result, many...

Ethics and computers: Bowling Green's computer policy. (Kentucky)
December 1, 1995... As computer usage increases in governments, It often is accompanied by concerns about procedures and security. To address those concerns, one Kentucky city developed a written employee computer ethics and procedures handbook that all computer...

New menu for public pension funds.(Pension and Benefit Report)
December 1, 1995... A public pension system orders a competitiveness study? More than one public employer competes to offer retirement benefits to the same group of workers? Unheard of? Not really. In 1994, the trustees of Colorado's Public Employee Retirement...

The Hudnut Years in Indianapolis: 1976-1991.
December 1, 1995... Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press, 1995. (321 pp) Reviewed by Jack Manahan, county administrator of Peoria County, Illinois, and member of GFOA's Committee on Governmental Budgeting and Management. It is, of course, left to the...

Benchmarking Staff Performance: How Staff Departments Can Enhance Their Value to the Customer.
December 1, 1995... San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Inc., Publishers, 1993. (218 pp) Reviewed by Craig Piotrowski, administrative services vice president of Waukesha County Technical College in Wisconsin, and member of GFOA's Committee on Accounting, Auditing and...

The Future of Fiscal Federalism.
December 1, 1995... Kingston, ON: Queen's University at Kingston, School of Public Studies, 1994. (368 pp) Reviewed by Kenneth Cousineau, executive director of the Association of Municipal Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario. Canada is renowned for its national...