Government Finance Review articles from December 2007

Government Finance Review archives from December 2007

The finance officer's role in disaster management.(from the editor)
December 1, 2007... [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 issue after 9-11. In the NLC's pre-9-11,...

Worsening outlook for local governments.(News & Numbers)(reports on government finance, expenditure and revenues)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... 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 brief on America's cities. Seven in 10...

IT disaster and business continuity planning toolkit.(News & Numbers)(Information technology )(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... 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 released its IT Disaster Recovery and Business...

Americans prefer to spend more on mass transit.(News & Numbers)
December 1, 2007... 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, according to a recent survey, the 2007 Growth...

Missouri's plan to fix or replace state's bridges.(News & Numbers)(Brief article)
December 1, 2007... 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 maintain more than 800 of its bridges. The state...

Rebuilding a resilient nation.(Viewpoint essay)
December 1, 2007... [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 wreckage of what had been a major...

Stepping back from the edge of disaster: capital planning for resiliency.
December 1, 2007... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In recent years, disaster preparedness has become increasingly important for local government officials. Most disaster preparedness efforts have emphasized reacting to a disaster quickly and effectively in order to...

Being prepared for disaster: strategies and tactics for finance managers.
December 1, 2007... [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 funding to be prepared for disasters comes...

Working with FEMA: (I'm from the government--I'm here to help).(Federal Emergency Management Agency)
December 1, 2007... [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 Federal Emergency Management Agency. His...

Walking on water: a look back at Rita and Katrina.
December 1, 2007... [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, local governments are increasingly trying to...

Smart disaster preparedness includes purchasing cards: purchasing cards are valued for their flexibility and oversight in times of disaster.(Best Practices)
December 1, 2007... 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-worst-case scenario planning is a vital part of...

No matter how you measure performance: it's the results that count: GFOA research has identified six approaches that local governments are using in their performance management processes.([PM.sup.2] Connections: PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT & MANAGEMENT)(Government Finance Officers Association)
December 1, 2007... 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 measuring municipal activities. Today in leading...

Crisis communications: taking center stage with confidence: being prepared can prevent a crisis from compounding due to poor communications with stakeholders.(MANAGEMENT & CAREERS)
December 1, 2007... 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. People's names, Social Security numbers, federal...

The information technology role in disaster recovery and business continuity: governments, and particularly IT departments, need detailed disaster recovery plans and business continuity plans in order to ensure the continuity of government services during critical disaster times.(Solutions)
December 1, 2007... 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 technology department should be among a...

Guidelines for responding to proposed accounting and auditing standards: the GFOA Executive Board recently approved specific principles for responding to proposed accounting and financial reporting standards and to proposed auditing standards.(The Accounting Angle)(Government Finance Officers Association)
December 1, 2007... 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 documents, and invitations to comment. Over the...

What will it take to be prepared?(The Bookshelf)
December 1, 2007... [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 a Resilient Nation is that the United...

gfoa events.(Government Finance Officers Association of United States and Canada)(Brief article)(Calendar)
December 1, 2007... January Long Beach, California 7 Evaluating Internal Controls 7 Effective Budget Presentation 7-8 Financial and ERP System Acquisition and Implementation 8 Enterprise Fund Accounting 9-10 ...

State association events.(Brief article)(Calendar)
December 1, 2007... 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)
December 1, 2007... 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 already scorched in 2003 by fires that...