GFOA of the US & Canada

Announcing

Annual Conference

There’s still time to register today for GFOA’s 107th annual conference, June 2-5, 2013, in San Francisco, California.

Click here to view details, this year’s sessions, and to register

California Lt Governor Gavin Newsom To Be Tuesday Keynote Speaker at Annual Conference

Gavin Newsom Photo California Lt. Governor, Gavin Newsom, will address delegates on Tuesday morning, June 4 during the GFOA's 107th annual conference in San Francisco. Lt. Governor Newsom is the former mayor of San Francisco, and has a long history of public service.

He will discuss his new book, Citizenville, which explores the need for citizens to become more involved in their government to transform American democracy, and how technology can help facilitate this endeavor.

Ben Stein to deliver Monday keynote address to GFOA conference delegates

The GFOA is pleased to announce that Ben Stein, celebrated economist, author, and commentator, will be the keynote speaker on Monday, June 3, at the GFOA's 107th annual conference in San Francisco, California.

Mr. Stein is a regular columnist for the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and American Spectator. He also is a commentator for FOX News and the CBS Sunday Morning program. Mr. Stein is the author or coauthor of thirty books, including the 2012 nonfiction work, How to Really Ruin Your Financial Life and Portfolio.

GFOA Executive Board Applauds Proposal for Enhanced Oversight of GASB Technical Agenda

In late February, the Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF), which oversees the operations of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB), solicited the views of GASB constituents on the possibility of changing the process used to determine which specific technical issues the board will address. The FAF acted in response to the concerns of GASB constituents, including the GFOA, that some GASB technical agenda projects appeared to exceed the scope of the GASB’s authority as an accounting and financial reporting standard-setting body. The GFOA’s Executive Board recently issued a formal response in support of the proposed changes. Also, read the joint comments of the National Governors’ Association and the National Association of State Budget Officers

President’s 2014 Budget Cuts State, Local Grants

On April 10, 2013, the White House sent to Congress a $3.78 trillion budget proposal for fiscal 2014, which included a combination of revenue raisers and spending cuts designed to reduce the federal budget deficit by $1.8 trillion by 2023. The largest revenue increase proposed in the budget would come from a reduction in the value of certain tax benefits, including tax-exempt interest on municipal bonds. Read more.

Pension Guide Book and Funding Guidance for Elected Officials

The GFOA and other leading organizations representing state and local governments and retirement systems, working together as part of a Pension Funding Task Force in Washington, D.C., released their final report, Pension Funding: A Guide for Elected Officials. The guide, which GFOA members are encouraged to share with their elected officials and other decision makers, provides an overview of defined benefit pension plans, including how such plans are funded and the new standards issued by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board.

Get Engaged – Help Protect the Muni Tax Exemption!

As Congress and the White House develop new budget deficit reduction and tax reform proposals, the tax exemption on municipal bond interest remains a target of our federally elected leaders. GFOA’s Federal Liaison Center has developed a draft letter, a draft resolution and talking points for our members to share with your elected leaders in reaching out to your congressional delegations and Senators. We urge you to work with your state and local elected leaders to contact your members of Congress and Senators today to ask them to preserve the this important financing tool. GFOA continues to be active in working with our state and local government association partners to defend the tax exemption. On March 8 GFOA, along with the National League of Cities, National Association of Counties and others, sent a letter up to the House and Senate Budget Committees urging their support for preserving the exemption.

Report Details Tax Exemption Elimination and Cap Impacts

On February 27, 2013, GFOA President-Elect Tim Firestine participated in a press conference with the leadership of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, National Association of Counties, and National League of Cities to announce a new report – a joint effort by the four groups – that details the importance of maintaining the tax-exempt status of municipal bonds.

The GFOA's Executive Board approved five new best practices. These best practices:

help governments develop policies in order to ensure a structurally balanced budget.
recommend governments that directly provide services to its citizens, develop a system to assign pricing for these services.
discuss how to establish processes and policies for effective grant management.
recommend that governments offering defined pension plans adopt a funding policy to ensure the costs of pension benefits are funded in an equitable and sustainable manner, and which commits to funding the full amount of the actuarially determined contribution each period.
help governments issuing debt understand the fees charged in a bond transaction.

For more information, click here

Congressional Efforts Underway to Reintroduce Onerous Pension Reporting Legislation

On February 25, 2013, Congressman Devin Nunes (R-CA) indicated his intention to reintroduce his proposed “Public Employee Pension Transparency Act,” and he circulated a “Dear Colleague” letter to his fellow House members, seeking their co-sponsorship. Past versions of the PEPTA legislation have challenged the validity of current state and local accounting rules and practices and would have mandated inappropriate federal reporting requirements on state and local governments regarding their pension costs. The newly introduced bill will likely be identical to the PEPTA legislation that Rep. Nunes sponsored in the last Congress. GFOA members are encouraged to contact their Congressional representatives as soon as possible to urge them not to co-sponsor this harmful and unnecessary federal regulation of public pension plans.

Click here for more information.

Check Out the GFOA’s Model for Self-Assessment of the Finance Function

How effective is your jurisdiction's financial management? The CIPFA GFOA FM Model can help you find out. This powerful tool, created by the GFOA's U.K. counterpart, the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, and customized for U.S. and Canadian governments by the GFOA, will help your organization achieve high performance in financial management.

Learn More

Redmond, Washington, Assesses Its Financial Management Capabilities