News

(Chicago, Illinois – August 9, 2018) Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) will offer three separate web-stream training sessions focused on critical budgeting issues for any local government. The 3rd Annual Better Budgeting Series will feature GFOA’s best practices that help organizations allocate resources, track spending and hold staff accountable, and communicate how to leverage different staff roles to build an effective budget office (or budget function).et function). 

On July 31, GFOA submitted comments in response to proposed revisions to Actuarial Standard of Practice (ASOP) No. 4 by the Actuarial Standards Board (ASB). Click here to view the exposure draft detailing the proposed changes. While not responding to all suggested changes, GFOA’s comments focused primarily on the requirement for public pension plans to publish the Investment Risk Defeasement Measure (IRDM).

On July 24, the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary held a hearing titled “Examining the Wayfair decision and its Ramifications for Consumers and Small Business.” The hearing mostly addressed what some believe is the pending “chaos” facing businesses as states look to implement the decision. GFOA was joined by other local government associations in submitting a statement for the hearing expressing support for the court’s decision to overturn the 1992 Quill decision and to highlight the importance of sales taxes for vital public services.

On Tuesday, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Brady released a potential framework for scheduled “listening sessions” regarding a second potential round of tax reform. The document generally follows the same template of the blueprint that was released prior to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. The framework identifies three key areas:

Infrastructure Week, a non-profit organization, convenes a national week of education and advocacy that brings together American businesses, workers, elected leaders, and everyday citizens around one message in 2018: Americans are waiting. The future won’t. It’s #TimeToBuild.

(Chicago, Illinois – April 3, 2018) Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) has announced the recipients of its 2018 scholarships. GFOA’s mission is to promote excellence in state and local government financial management and the awarding of scholarships is one of the ways GFOA accomplishes its mission.

The recipients of the three awards for the Jeffrey L. Esser Career Development Scholarship are Celia King, Larissa Mendez, and Amy Miller. Each will receive $5,000.

(Chicago, Illinois – April 3, 2018) Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) has announced the recipients of its 2018 scholarships. GFOA’s mission is to promote excellence in state and local government financial management and the awarding of scholarships is one of the ways GFOA accomplishes its mission.

(Chicago, Illinois – April 3, 2018) Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) has announced the recipients of its 2018 scholarships. GFOA’s mission is to promote excellence in state and local government financial management and the awarding of scholarships is one of the ways GFOA accomplishes its mission.

The recipients of the two awards for the Frank L. Greathouse Government Accounting Scholarship are Erika Jex and Timothy Kelly. Each will receive $10,000.

Everyone knows that health-care benefits are expensive, usually an employer’s second-biggest expense after payroll. Employers are therefore looking at a number of strategies to keep these costs sustainable.

The GFOA Committee on Governmental Debt Management has recently updated GFOA White Paper: Green Bonds. The paper helps issuers understand the general characteristics, costs, risks, and benefits of entering into these types of transactions. It also provides considerations for issuers contemplating the use of green bonds, such as project eligibility, use of proceeds, securing an independent opinion affirming the “green” qualifications of such projects, reporting obligations, and pricing. 

(Chicago, Illinois January 12, 2018)

Government Finance Officers Association’s (GFOA) 112th Annual Conference will be held May 6─9, 2018, at America’s Center Convention Complex in St. Louis, Missouri. Shawn Achor will be the first of three keynote presenters at the conference. Achor will speak to all GFOA conference delegates and their guests on May 6, 3:50─5:00 pm (Welcome Reception to follow in America’s Center Convention Complex).

Michael Bryant, who is management and budget director for Mecklenburg County (North Carolina) Government and GFOA Executive Board member, was awarded the 2017 A. John “Jack” Vogt Lifetime Achievement Award for Outstanding Commitment to the Advancement of Local Government Budgeting and Evaluation. The award is presented by the North Carolina Local Government Budget Association and recognizes innovators in advancing budget and evaluation practices.