GFOA Training Seminars |
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| Note: Training seminars are listed alphabetically within category (i.e, accounting, budgeting, cash management, debt management, management & policy, pension & benefits, technology) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Who Will Benefit This one-day seminar is designed for finance professionals who have either direct or indirect responsibility for pensions and other postemployment benefits (OPEB), either in connection with a pension/OPEB plan or in connection with a governmental employer that offers such benefits. Program The seminar provides a detailed examination of the GASB's accounting and financial reporting guidance for pension and OPEB plans and participating employers. It also offers practical guidance on preparing a comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR) for public employee retirement systems (PERS). Seminar Objectives
Recommended Reading An Elected Official's Guide to Public Retirement Plans Registration Fees
Who Will Benefit The seminar is intended for mid- to senior-level government finance officers, property accountants, and others responsible for developing or maintaining capital asset records. Program The seminar will furnish participants with the basic information needed to establish and maintain a sound capital assets accounting and reporting system. Seminar Objectives
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Who Will Benefit Program Seminar Objectives
Recommended Reading Registration Fees
Who Will Benefit This two and one-half day course is intended for anyone who has experience in preparing a comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR) or who has attended GFOA’s seminar on Intermediate Governmental Accounting. Program Participants will examine in detail the format and contents of a CAFR prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and the program requirements of the Government Finance Officers Association’s Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting Program. Seminar Objectives The seminar will cover all of the following topics:
Required Reading Governmental Accounting, Auditing, and Financial Reporting: Using the GASB 34 Model (GAAFR) Attendees must bring a copy of the 2005 GAAFR with them to the seminar. Registration Fees
Who Will Benefit The program is designed for those persons who have at least two years of experience with governmental accounting or who have attended GFOA’s Intermediate Governmental Accounting seminar or an equivalent program. Program This two-and-one-half-day seminar provides a detailed examination of selected governmental accounting topics. Emphasis throughout is placed on the practical application of GAAP. Seminar Objectives The seminar will cover the specialized accounting and financial reporting guidance applicable to:
Recommended Reading Governmental Accounting, Auditing, and Financial Reporting: Using the GASB 34 Model Registration Fees
Managers, internal auditors, and others with an interest in the proper design, maintenance, and evaluation of a comprehensive internal control framework in the public sector will benefit from this one-day course. There is no prerequisite for the course, which is on the intermediate level. Program Participants will examine each of the essential elements of a comprehensive framework of internal control. The understanding gained from this review will then be applied to the study and evaluation of control-related policies and procedures from a specifically state and local government perspective. The public manager’s role in fraud prevention and detection also will be covered. Seminar Objectives
Recommended Reading An Elected Official’s Guide to Internal Controls and Fraud Prevention Registration Fees
Who Will Benefit This seminar is designed for those who wish to develop a general familiarity with all of the various authoritative guidance offered by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB). Program The seminar systematically addresses all of the authoritative pronouncements issued by the GASB since its inception in June 1984. The approach taken throughout will place a premium on key concepts and practical applications. Seminar Objectives
Recommended Reading Governmental Accounting, Auditing, and Financial Reporting: Using the GASB 34 Model Registration Fees
Who Will Benefit Mid-level finance officers, accountants, independent auditors, and other persons with a basic knowledge of private-sector accounting. Program This seminar is designed to provide participants with a solid working knowledge of the specialized accounting and financial reporting used for state and local governments. Emphasis is placed throughout on differences between private- and public-sector theory and practice. Seminar Objectives The seminar will cover all of the following topics:
Note: It is recommended that all attendees bring a copy of GFOA’s Blue Book, Governmental Accounting, Auditing, Financial Reporting: Using the GASB 34 Model, to the seminar with them. Recommended Reading An Elected Official’s Guide to the New Governmental Financial Reporting Model An Elected Official’s Guide to Fund Balance and Net Assets Registration Fees
Who Will Benefit This seminar is designed for anyone with responsibility for preparing or auditing a state or local government's comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR). Program Generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) encourage every government to prepare a CAFR. The CAFR is the focus of the Government Finance Officers Association's (GFOA) Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting Program (Certificate Program), which has been in operation since 1946, and now counts more than 3,000 participating governments. This one-day seminar is designed to help governments prepare a CAFR that meets the requirements of GFOA's Certificate Program. Seminar Objectives The course is structured around the GFOA's Certificate Program checklist. Participants are provided with explanations of the various checklist items, with special emphasis being placed on how to avoid common misunderstandings and financial reporting deficiencies. The illustrative CAFR from GFOA's "Blue Book," Governmental Accounting, Auditing, and Financial Reporting (2001 edition) serves as a source of practical examples. Note: It is recommended that all attendees bring a copy of GFOA’s Blue Book, Governmental Accounting, Auditing, Financial Reporting: Using the GASB 34 Model, to the seminar with them. Recommended Reading An Elected Official’s Guide to the New Governmental Financial Reporting Model Registration Fees
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Who Will Benefit Senior budget staff, budget directors, and other administrative officials who manage the budget and policy-making process. Program Participants will be provided with the tools and techniques to manage policy development and political decision making in the budgetary process. Participants will analyze the key elements of the strategic planning process and discover successful methods used by governments to incorporate those principles so that every budget moves its organization towards important goals and stays consistent with the mission. Participants will learn ways to more effectively communicate with and focus policymakers on long-range strategy. Seminar Objectives
Recommended Reading Priority-Setting Models for Public Budgeting Decision Tools for Budgetary Analysis Registration Fees
Who Will Benefit This seminar provides budget/finance officers and staff with state-of-the-art knowledge on important topics in modern budgeting. There is no prerequisite for this intermediate seminar. Program This seminar centers around some of the major themes from the recommendations of the National Advisory Council on State and Local Budgeting (NACSLB). To highlight these themes, best practice examples from high-performing state and local governments will be presented. By using group exercises, case studies, and lectures, participants will survey an array of techniques central to establishing broad goals to guide decision making; developing policies, plans, and strategies to achieve long-term goals; and monitoring and evaluating budgetary performance. Seminar Goals The goals of the seminar are for participants to review best practices from high performing governments for:
Recommended Reading An Elected Official’s Guide to Performance Measurement An Elected Official’s Guide to Revenue Forecasting Best Practices in Public Budgeting CD-ROM 2001 Benchmarking and Measuring Debt Capacity: GFOA Budgeting Series Volume I Registration Fees
Who Will Benefit The Budget Analyst Training Academy is a “must attend” for beginning and intermediate budget analysts that seek to Program The scarcity of resources available to local government has increased the importance of high-caliber strategic financial planning, and has placed a premium on staff that possess the skills to perform such activities. This intensive two and a half day program, developed by seasoned public finance and research professionals, will provide new and intermediate budget analysts with the necessary skills and core competencies to perform strategic financial planning, which will empower them to support their financial managers in making better decisions. Seminar Topics
Recommended Reading An Elected Official’s Guide to Performance Measurement Registration Fees
Who Will Benefit The seminar is designed for budget analysts in both operational and support departments, departmental finance staff, and others who are involved in budget development and budget control, and who conduct program analysis. This is the first seminar in GFOA’s Budgeting Series. It focuses on the fundamentals and is intended for individuals with no more than two to three years of experience in a budget environment. Program Using group exercises, discussions, case studies, and lectures, participants will survey an array of techniques and issues central to operating and capital budgeting. The general aim of the seminar is to provide budget analysts with an understanding of the political and policy context in which they work. Seminar Goals The goals of the seminar include, but are not limited to, gaining an understanding of:
Recommended Reading The Operating Budget: A Guide for Smaller Governments Capital Improvement Programming: A Guide for Smaller Governments An Elected Official’s Guide to Revenue Forecasting An Elected Official’s Guide to Performance Measurement Registration Fees
Who Will Benefit This seminar is designed for individuals who are directly involved in the capital budgeting process at the state and local government level. Finance department staff, economic development staff, and public finance professionals involved in the management and issuance of debt also will benefit from this seminar. Program This program will focus on leading-edge practices and techniques for capital budgeting and infrastructure planning. The course will examine the capital budget process from selecting and timing capital projects through the production and presentation of the capital plan. It also will discuss capital budget management during budget execution and approaches to measuring debt affordability. Seminar Objectives
Recommended Reading Priority-Setting Models for Public Budgeting Registration Fees
Who Will Benefit This seminar is designed for budget and finance staff involved in preparing state and local governmental budget documents. Those involved in communicating budgetary data to citizens also will profit from the seminar, as should individuals from legislative, rating-agency, or interest-group backgrounds. Program The one-day seminar will provide participants with the opportunity to acquire hands-on, practical advice on how to improve the effectiveness of state or local government's budget document. Special emphasis will be placed on how to make the most of technology to present data graphically. The Program is structured around the criteria used to judge the quality of budget documents submitted to the GFOA's Distinguished Budget Presentation Awards Program. Numerous examples are drawn from the GFOA's book-length publication Preparing High Quality budget Documents, which is furnished on site to all participants as part of their course materials. Seminar Objectives
Recommended Reading Recommended Budget Practices CD-ROM Note: Attendees should bring a copy of their budget document with them to the seminar. Registration Fees
Who Will Benefit This seminar is intended for financial planners and forecasters in state and local government. The instructor will describe the major elements of developing a long-term financial plan and methods to transition to multi-year budgets. The seminar will highlight major themes of the recommended budget practices of the National Advisory Council on State and Local Budgeting (NACSLB). Program Participants will be exposed to practical analytical methods for conducting long-term financial planning, expenditure and revenue forecasting, and debt affordability analysis. Additionally, participants will gain a greater understanding of how long-term financial planning, forecasting, and debt affordability analysis strengthen the budget process. Seminar Objectives
Recommended Reading An Elected Official’s Guide to Revenue Forecasting An Elected Official’s Guide to Multi-Year Budgeting Revenue Analysis and Forecasting Benchmarking and Measuring Debt Capacity Registration Fees
Seminar Objectives The first day of the seminar covers the fundamentals of revenue forecasting, including: In the second day of the seminar, instructors walk through the steps of a revenue forecast, from start to finish:
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Program Advanced Public Investing will provide participants a solid understanding of complex investment concepts that pertain to risk, reward, portfolio strategies, and structured security analysis. Participants will be expected to have a good foundation in types and characteristics of fixed income securities, investment economics, and passive and active investment strategies. It is strongly recommended that participants attend the GFOA Investing Public Funds seminar before attending this Advanced Public Investing seminar. Seminar Objectives The seminar will cover all of the following topics:
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Who Will Benefit State and local government treasurers, investment officers, and other finance officers and their staff who are involved with the investment of public funds and investment oversight. Program This course focuses on the investment of public funds. Participants will learn the tools and techniques to manage short-term investment portfolios. Attention will be given to the latest investment strategies and instruments. This intermediate-level course requires a basic knowledge of investment principles and practices. Seminar Objectives
Recommended Reading Investing Public Funds An Elected Official’s Guide to Investing Public Investor—GFOA’s monthly subscription newsletter Registration Fees
Who Will Benefit The seminar is designed for state and local government finance directors, treasurers, cash managers, and other finance officers responsible for the treasury management function. Program This seminar introduces fundamental cash management strategies and techniques for governments. It covers the important elements of cash collection, disbursement, and reporting. Participants will learn the latest in cash management procedures, policies, and technology. The seminar will also provide tips for getting the most out of your banking relationship and show how to use the RFP process to get better services from your bank and minimize the cost to the government.
Seminar Objectives
Recommended Reading An Introduction to Treasury Management Practices Technology for Treasury Management Banking Services: A Guide for GovernmentsRegistration Fees
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Who Will Benefit This two-day seminar is intended for individuals who desire either an intensive introduction to the municipal bond market or a review of current practices. State and local finance directors and staff, budget officers, internal and external auditors, elected officials, and financial advisors are encouraged to attend. Program This seminar will review recent trends in the municipal bond market and the actions state and local governments must take to issue debt. Participants will be introduced to the major steps involved in issuing tax-exempt debt as well as more in-depth instruction on conducting a bond sale. The seminar will combine lectures and exercises to provide participants with hands-on instruction. Seminar Objectives
Recommended Reading Debt Issuance and Management: A Guide for Smaller Governments An Elected Official’s Guide to Debt Issuance An Elected Official’s Guide to Rating Agency Presentations Registration Fees
Who Will Benefit Government finance officers responsible for the debt issuance and debt management functions. Program Participants will take an in-depth look at the regulations as well as receive practical guidance on implementing some of the more complex provisions of arbitrage rebate. You will gain a basic working knowledge of the regulations, learn what it takes to comply with IRS requirements, and discover the common pitfalls and problems with their implementation. Seminar Objectives
-Purpose/non-purpose investments -Government bonds -Private activity bonds -Hedge bonds -Reimbursement bonds -Temporary periods -Transferred proceeds
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Who Will Benefit This seminar is geared towards finance officers with debt issuance and management functions.. Program The purpose of this course is to educate governmental issuers on the risks and potential benefits of derivative products, providing the tools and framework to properly evaluate them as a financing tool, and identifying situations when derivatives can be used. Derivatives may take the form of interest rate swaps, options on swaps, and other hedging mechanisms such as caps, floors, collars, and rate locks. Each carries its own set of risks, and the potential for saving money. Derivative products can be an important interest rate management tool, and when used properly can increase a governmental entity’s financial flexibility, provide opportunities for interest rate savings, alter the pattern of debt service payments, create variable rate exposure, and limit or hedge variable rate payments. Key Benefits
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Who Will Benefit This two-day intermediate-level seminar is intended for finance officers and public managers involved in analyzing and implementing new ways to structure and deliver services. Program Government finance officers and public managers are increasingly pressured to find ways to improve the efficiency and quality of public services. Privatization, managed competition, and outsourcing are three terms that often are used to describe new ways of delivering services. Evaluating alternative service-delivery approaches requires sophisticated cost accounting and tracking systems that many governments do not have but are interested in developing. Cost information is integral to strategic public management. This seminar presents fundamental concepts and practices in service costing as well as leading-edge topics such as the applicability of activity based costing (ABC) and costing technology in government agencies. Seminar Objectives
Recommended Reading Cost Analysis and Activity-Based Costing for Government Registration Fees
Who Will Benefit This seminar is designed for finance directors, assistant finance directors, and other financial staff who work on or will work on economic development projects. There is no prerequisite for this seminar, which is intended to be an introduction to the various types of involvement a finance professional may have in economic development efforts. Program Given that increasing the tax base and attracting jobs are high priorities for most local governments, finance officers need to speak the language of economic development. Even though most government finance professionals are not trained in this area, they are frequently being called upon to evaluate economic development projects. This seminar will help equip finance officers with the basic knowledge and skills they need to effectively participate in economic development activities. Seminar Objectives Through lectures, discussions, case studies, practical exercises, and sample documents, participants will gain an understanding of the following:
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Who Will Benefit Budget analysts, agency staff, public managers, and those generally responsible for monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of government programs. Program This is an introductory-level course that presents the fundamentals of performance measurement. It is intended to provide basic tools, strategies, and techniques for developing and implementing an effective performance measurement system. The seminar will include discussions on designing a performance measurement process, constructing indicators, and approaches to engage stakeholders. Best practices are illustrated through case studies. Seminar Objectives
Recommended Reading An Elected Official’s Guide to Performance Measurement Implementing Performance Measurement in Government: Illustrations and Resources Registration Fees
Who Will BenefitParticipants who already have a basic understanding of performance measurement and are seeking to apply it to the larger budgeting and management context. ProgramPublic managers and finance officers are realizing the benefits of a well-designed performance measurement system. GFOA's new Implementing Performance Measurement Systems course is essential for managers seeking to systematically link performance measurement and resource allocation. For several years, GFOA has conducted research in this area and we are now teaming with leading experts from the practitioner and academic communities to share our knowledge with you. This second-tier course gets beyond the basics by presenting tools, strategies, and techniques to integrate performance measures with resource allocation, long-term financial and strategic planning, and process improvement. The course will be taught in a laboratory-type setting where participants will develop and critique various performance measures. Instructors also will present benchmarking techniques to compare service and performance levels across jurisdictions. In addition, participants will review best practice illustrations of performance measurement information in government budgets. Seminar Objectives Topics covered in Advanced Performance Measurement include:
Recommended Reading The Use of Performance Measures in City and County Budgets Implementing Performance Measurement: The Integration of Planning and Budgeting Registration Fees
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Who Will Benefit This seminar is a primer on health care benefits for both finance officers who are being called upon to find ways to balance budgets and for other budgetary officials who need to be conversant with the complex language of health care benefit. Program State and local governments are continuing to struggle with the challenge of managing the costs of health care benefits. Health care inflation is zooming down a double-digit growth path. Experts in the field will identify the major players in the industry, examine the cost drivers underlying health care inflation, offer suggestions on how to design a health care benefits plan, and discuss both traditional and cutting-edge cost management techniques.
Seminar Objectives This seminar will help participants to:
Recommended Reading Prefunding Retiree Health Benefits: Vehicles for Prefunding and Case Study Experiences Registration Fees
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Who Will Benefit The seminar is geared to new pension plan administrators and staff, finance directors, and recently appointed trustees. It also is relevant for budget analysts who have oversight over retirement plan funding. Program Participants will review the foundations of prudent practices in plan design, governance, and investment strategies. The seminar will be filled with informative presentations by experts in the public pension field. An interactive format will give participants the opportunity, through an extended question-and-answer round table, to mold the concepts into practical use.
Seminar Objectives The seminar will cover all of the following topics:
Recommended Reading A Guide for Selecting Pension Investment Consultants A Guide for Selecting Pension Actuarial Consultants A Guide for Selecting Pension Custodians An Elected Official's Guide to Defined Benefit and Defined Contribution Retirement Plans Registration Fees
Who Will Benefit The seminar is designed for pension administrators, staff, and trustees with previous experience in public pension system administration and who are interested in sharing best practices and learning the important nuances of pension administration. Program In an ever-changing world of plan design, investment strategies and financial reporting requirements, this course seeks to provide an opportunity for pension administration professionals to gain up-to-date information and exchange ideas. With discussions led by experts in the field, the seminar builds upon the fundamentals covered in the intermediate course by exploring topics related to plan design, investing, risk management, and administrative functions in greater detail. An interactive format is utilized that gives participants the opportunity to expand upon their knowledge through discussions with peers. Seminar Objectives The topics this seminar will cover include:
Recommended Reading An Elected Official's Guide to Defined Benefit and Defined Contribution Retirement Plans A Guide for Establishing A Pension Investment Policy Pension Investing: Fundamentals and Best Practices An Elected Official's Guide to Employer’s Accounting for Pensions and Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEB) State and Local Government Deferred Compensation Programs GFOA recommended practices (available at http://www.gfoa.org/services/rp/corba.shtml) including:
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Program Overview The ERP Project Management Boot Camp is a three-day course that has been designed to prepare public-sector ERP project managers with the tools, tips, and strategies that will allow them to successfully lead even the most challenging ERP implementations. The course has been developed to address the specific needs of the public-sector ERP project manager, and is taught by trained professionals with extensive experience in public-sector project management. Seminar Objectives
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Who Will Benefit This seminar is intended for public managers involved in the procurement and implementation of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) and financial management systems. The content also will be relevant to government staff that serve on implementation project teams; business process and technology consultants interested in successfully structuring public-sector systems projects; a |