GFOA Annual Conference 2002. (Annual Conference).(Brief Article)

Convened in the shadow of the towering Rocky Mountains, "Rising to New Challenges" served as an appropriate theme for GFOA's 96th Annual Conference in Denver. In the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks and the lingering effects of the recent recession, this year's conference served as an important forum for addressing the issues that have combined to make the last year a particularly challenging one for government finance officers. Despite threatening forest fires in the region, more than 7,200 members and their guests enjoyed the four-day conference held June 16-19 at the Colorado Convention Center.

General Sessions

As always, the general sessions featured noteworthy speakers of interest to government finance officers. At Monday's opening general session, PeopleSoft CEO Craig Conway spoke of how Internet enterprise applications are transforming the way governments transact business with citizens, suppliers, and employees. Conway discussed how technology can improve operational efficiency and facilitate transparency between governments and their constituents. On Tuesday, conference delegates welcomed Lynn Turner, director of Colorado State University's Center for Quality Financial Reporting and former SEC chief accountant. Turner discussed the fallout of the Enron/Andersen case on the accounting profession and outlined his recommendations for an investor's bill of rights. (See page 28 for this speech.)

Concurrent Sessions

This year's conference program featured more than 60 concurrent sessions, each of which addressed the challenges confronting today's government finance officer. Academics, consultants, economists, finance officers, and other industry leaders leveraged their knowledge and experience to provide practical solutions to these challenges. Once again, the financial reporting requirements of GASB Statement No. 34 occupied the bulk of the accounting sessions. The other concurrent sessions included such diverse topics as the new audit guide, performance benchmarking, treasury management systems, credit enhancement, sustainability, health care inflation, and information technology outsourcing. These seminars were ...