Government Finance Review articles from October 2003

Government Finance Review archives from October 2003

Fixing your financial planning process.(from the editors)
October 1, 2003... State and local governments continue to be mired in one of the most challenging fiscal environments in decades. For the last two or three years, policymakers and administrators have been forced to make difficult choices between painful cuts in...

California treasurer outlines deficit financing plans.(News & Numbers)(Phil Angelides)
October 1, 2003... California State Treasurer Phil Angelides briefed reporters in August on the state's plans for issuing the $18 billion in debt that is necessary to balance the recently adopted fiscal 2004 budget. In outlining his plans, Angelides admitted that...

New releases.(Performance Budgeting for State and Local Government)(Book Review)
October 1, 2003... Performance Budgeting for State and Local Government By Janet M. Kelly and William C. Rivenbark (M.E. Sharpe, Inc., July 2003) New Releases This text describes performance budgeting as the integration of the components of...

IT proficiency essential for finance professionals, survey finds.(News & Numbers)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Finance professionals hoping to compete in today's job market should be prepared to highlight their technical expertise as well as their gift for numbers. In a recent survey, chief financial officers said that besides traditional accounting...

Mayor announces drastic measures to keep Pittsburgh solvent.(News & Numbers)(Tom Murphy)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... In August, Pittsburgh Mayor Tom Murphy announced a series of drastic measures aimed at ensuring the city's solvency through the end of the year as it grapples with a $60 million deficit. The actions announced by the mayor include laying off 731...

Newly created council to coordinate property tax policy in Indianapolis area.(News & Numbers)(Indianapolis Fiscal Policy Council)(Brief Article)
October 1, 2003... Indianapolis Mayor Bart Peterson issued an executive order in August creating the Indianapolis Fiscal Policy Council, a panel that will gather budget information on all 45 taxing authorities in Indianapolis and Marion County and report to the...

NCSL: states balancing budgets without broad tax hikes.(News & Numbers)(National Conference of State Legislatures report)
October 1, 2003... The states that have balanced their budgets amid the worst fiscal crisis in decades have done so largely without broad tax hikes, according to the latest fiscal report from the National Conference of State Legislatures. Forty-three of the 49...

What's wrong with budgeting? A framework for evaluating and fixing public sector financial planning processes.
October 1, 2003... Rather than abandoning budgeting altogether or living with its defects, governments are using the National Advisory Council on State and Local Budgeting's recommended practices as an organizing framework to enhance the credibility and vitality...

Strategic planning and the budget process: a survey of municipal government.
October 1, 2003... Strategic planning is a structured and coordinated approach for developing long-term organizational goals and for developing strategies to accomplish them. It is typically used to facilitate communication, to accommodate divergent interests,...

Squeezing budgetary savings from early retirement incentives.
October 1, 2003... In today's poor fiscal climate, it seems that every state and local budget officer is being asked to miraculously part the Sea of Red Ink. The National Association of State Budget Officers projects that fiscal 2003 budgets will be even worse...

Fend-for-yourself federalism: the impact of federal and state deficits on America's cities.
October 1, 2003... The largest federal and state fiscal crisis in decades is trickling down to city governments, making it increasingly difficult for city officials to balance their own budgets. (1) Faced with $110 billion in state budget shortfalls for fiscal...

Using charts and graphs to improve management's discussion and analysis.
October 1, 2003... State and local governments are currently implementing the most significant financial reporting changes in the history of government financial reporting. Governmental Accounting Standards Board Statement No. 34, Basic Financial Statements--and...

Effective matching of maturities to cash flow requirements: by matching investment maturities to its cash flow requirements, the City of Raleigh has been able to increase investment earnings while ensuring adequate liquidity for short-term needs.(Best Practices)
October 1, 2003... Investing governmental cash assets carries the special responsibility of balancing the desire to maximize investment yields with the need to minimize risk. Government finance officers are often reminded that prudent investing encompasses three...

Networking etiquette: respecting your professional contacts: an estimated 70 to 80 percent of all jobs are filled by word-of-mouth referrals. Knowing how to effectively and respectfully use your professional contacts can make all the difference in your job search.(Management & Careers)
October 1, 2003... While it is possible to find a job day without having to rely on personal connections, it's estimated that between 70 and 80 percent of all jobs that get filled are by people who first heard about the position through word of mouth. That is why...

Aligning strategy with finance: by linking long-term financial planning with strategic planning, governments can increase the likelihood that annual spending plans will accurately reflect organizational mission and values.(Solutions)
October 1, 2003... To further its ongoing mission to promote the National Advisory Council on State and Local Budgeting's recommended budget practices, GFOA's Research and Consulting Center was recently engaged by a small California city to help improve its...

Lobbying for flexibility in tax-exempt financing: GFOA and the Public Finance Network are working to introduce a bill in Congress that will ease some of the restrictions on the use of tax-exempt municipal bonds.(Federal Focus)
October 1, 2003... The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities recently projected the nation's 10-year budget deficit, beginning in 2004, to be near $5.1 trillion. (1) This estimate includes a Medicare prescription drug benefit, the cost of the war in Iraq,...

Single audit changes: the recently revised version of OMB Circular A-133 increased the single audit threshold to $500,000 from $300,000 and the cognizant agency threshold to $50 million from $25 million.(The Accounting Angle)(Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations )
October 1, 2003... On June 27, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget published in the Federal Register a revised version of its Circular A-133, Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations (68 FR 38401). This circular governs the scope and...

The aftereffects of a balanced federal budget.(Balancing the Federal Budget: Trimming the Herds or Eating the Seed Corn?)(Book Review)
October 1, 2003... Balancing the Federal Budget: Trimming the Herds or Eating the Seed Corn? Published by Chatham House Publishers (888) 334-3327 www.chathamhouse.com 2003; 318 pages; $24.95 Balancing the Federal Budget, by Irene S. Rubin, offers a...

GFOA events.(Government Finance Officers Association)(Brief Article)(Calendar)
October 1, 2003... October Sacramento, CA 6 Effective Budget Presentation 6-7 Internal Auditing for Governments 7-8 Implementing Performance Measurement Systems (Advanced) 8-10 Advanced Governmental Accounting 9-10 Financial and ERP...

State for provincial association events.(Brief Article)(Calendar)
October 1, 2003... October GFOA of Texas Fall Conference October 15-17 Corpus Christi, Texas www.gfoat.org Maryland GFOA Fall Conference October 17 Frederick, Maryland www.mdgfoa.org GFOA of South Carolina Fall Conference October 19-22 Myrtle Beach,...

Public subsidies: going, going, Boeing?(Commentary)
October 1, 2003... Notwithstanding crippling budget crises, 19 states have risen to the bait set out by the Boeing Co. and proffered bids--some breathtakingly large--to land the assembly plant for Boeing's proposed new, fuel-conserving 7E7 jetliner....