Government Finance Review articles from June 2003

Government Finance Review archives from June 2003

Proud to be a finance officer. (President's Message).(Column)
June 1, 2003... Believe it or not, I think it's a great time to be a government finance official. Yes, the economy is in the tank. And yes, the federal government seems intent on making policy decisions without regard for their effect on state and local...

Moody's: municipal credit quality deteriorating. (News & Numbers).(Moody's Investors Service)
June 1, 2003... According to a recent report by Moody's Investors Service, municipal bond market downgrades are approaching parity with upgrades for the first time in a decade. During the first quarter of 2003, there were 90 ratings upgrades and 84 ratings...

America's fastest-growing counties.
June 1, 2003... America's Fastest-Growing Counties July 1, 2001 - July 1, 2002 Percent Numerical Estimated Rank County State Increase Increase Population 1 Rockwall Texas 7.9 3,728 ...

GASB releases Technical Bulletin on derivatives disclosure. (News & Numbers).(Governmental Accounting Standards Board)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... In an effort to improve disclosures about the risks associated with derivative contracts, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board has released for public comment accounting guidance that would provide more consistent reporting by state and...

2003 tax burdens by state.
June 1, 2003... 2003 TAX BURDENS BY STATE (Taxes as a Percentage of Income) Combined State and Local Tax Burdens by Rank Tax Burden Rank Maine 12.2% 1 New York ...

NCSL report: states still facing large gaps, tough decisions. (News & Numbers).(National Conference of State Legislatures)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... According to an April report by the National Conference of State Legislatures, the states still had to close a $21.5 billion collective budget gap to comply with balanced budget requirements. Entering their third straight year of budget...

The state of state government IT. (News & Numbers).(information technology)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... A recent poll of state chief information officers and technology vendors sheds some light on what these influential leaders think about future trends in government technology. Governing magazine Editor and Publisher Peter A. Harkness conducted...

Philip Morris makes tobacco payment, market still leery. (News & Numbers).(tobacco bonds: 1998 Master Settlement)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... As of April, governments in 17 states had issued some $19 billion in tobacco bonds backed by the 1998 Master Settlement between the tobacco industry and the states. Following a judgment in Illinois that nearly forced Philip Morris into...

N.J. Supreme Court upholds appropriations-backed debt. (News & Numbers).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... The New Jersey Supreme Court voted 4-3 in April to reject a broad-based challenge to state statutes authorizing state authorities to issue appropriations-backed debt without voter approval. The decision came as a relief to the state, whose $19...

New releases. (News & Numbers).(Unaccountable: How the Accounting Profession Forfeited a Public Trust)(Book Review)
June 1, 2003... Unaccountable: How the Accounting Profession Forfeited a Public Trust By Mike Brewster (John Wiley & Sons Inc, April 2003) Enron. WorldCom. Global Crossing. Rite-Aid. Adelphia. Qwest. Waste Management. HealthSouth. Royal Ahold. The...

Xerox tops CalPERS' corporate governance focus list. (News & Numbers).(California Public Employees' Retirement System)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... The California Public Employees' Retirement System recently announced that Xerox Corporation and five others have been put on its corporate governance Focus List and will be the primary targets of its corporate governance activism in the...

Risky business? Evaluating the use of pension obligation bonds.(includes related article)
June 1, 2003... Facing a $5 billion budget deficit for fiscal year 2004, the State of Illinois recently turned to its five retirement systems for savings in its operating budget. The plan: borrow money to refinance a portion of the state's $36 billion unfunded...

Monitoring local government fiscal health: Michigan's new 10 point scale of fiscal distress.
June 1, 2003... In difficult economic times, state and local governments become increasingly cognizant of balancing their budgets and avoiding fiscal difficulties. Yet it is often difficult for states to assess the fiscal conditions of their localities and,...

The path to bond market efficiency: how increased retail distribution can lower borrowing costs.
June 1, 2003... Government entities all share one key objective when issuing municipal bonds: to receive maximum proceeds at the lowest possible interest rates and fees. This result is best assured by the deepest possible sales penetration to every interested...

The hard insurance market: how did we get here and what can we do about it?
June 1, 2003... Not too long ago, an article in The Chicago Tribune bemoaned the insurance plight of local governments in the Chicago area. (1) Officials from cities, counties, special districts, and airports lamented the fact that they were paying higher...

Guidelines for effective uses of swaps in asset-liability management.
June 1, 2003... Editor's note: This article is reprinted with the permission of Fitch Ratings. The views expressed herein are the authors' and do nat represent the official position of GEQA or its standing committees. The ongoing decline of interest rates...

Evaluating internal controls: control self-assessment in government.(includes related article)
June 1, 2003... A system of internal control is a tool for ensuring that an organization realizes its mission and objectives. While internal controls are often thought to be the domain of accountants and auditors, it is actually management that has primary...

Circumscribing debt issuance with written policies. (Best Practices).(Virginia Beach, Virginia)
June 1, 2003... The City of Virginia Beach credits its adherence to written debt policies for the city's strong financial position and credit ratings, not to mention reduced debt service costs. In February, the GFOA Executive Board approved a new...

Employee owners vs. employee renters: which do you employ? (Management & Careers).
June 1, 2003... Employee owners approach their jobs with a sense of pride and strive to maintain both the quality of their work and the quality of their relationships. Employees are a lot like cars or houses. The amount of care, attention to detail, and...

Application hosting: a strategy for outsourcing financial systems. (Solutions).
June 1, 2003... The GFOA Research and Consulting Center was recently retained by a large city to assist in the task of helping outsource its enterprise resource planning system. The city faced a dilemma that is becoming all too common in the public sector....

A nation in motion: financing America's transportation infrastructure. (Federal Focus).
June 1, 2003... The strains on the nation's surface transportation network have exceeded the funds available to address system shortcomings. Don Young, chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, said in March that America has a...

GASB changes disclosures for deposits and investments. (The Accounting Angle).(Governmental Accounting Standards Board, includes related article)
June 1, 2003... GASB Statement No. 40 both modifies and expands the note disclosure requirements for deposit and investment risks under Statement No. 3. In March, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board issued GA SB Statement No. 40, Deposit and...

Financial Accounting Foundation.
June 1, 2003... 401 Merritt 7, P.O. Box 5116, Norwalk, CT 06856-5116 _ 203-847-0700 FAX: 203-849-9714 The Role of Local Governments in Ensuring the Financial Viability of the GASB In the world of Enron, WorldCom, and other corporate scandals, the...

Does privatization promote efficiency? It depends. (The Bookshelf).(Cities and Privatization: Prospects for the New Century)(Book Review)
June 1, 2003... In Cities and Privatization, Jeffrey Greene provides a comprehensive orientation and summary of the issues and challenges relating to the ongoing debate on the privatization of government services. Compared to other attempts to tackle such a...

Calendar.(Brief Article)(Calendar)
June 1, 2003... [gfoa events] June Denver, CO 23 Evaluating Internal Controls 23-24 Capital Budgeting and Infrastructure Finance 24 Capital Asset Accounting and Reporting 24 GASB Pronouncements: A Comprehensive Survey 25 Banking...

State budget crisis: searching for the silver lining. (Commentary).(Column)
June 1, 2003... Can there really be a silver lining? Could the grave fiscal crises now gripping the states prompt something beyond mindless across-the-board cuts? Might the door actually be opened for tough but critically important reforms? A few straws...