Materiality Mondays: The 5-Step Framework and Case Studies

These webinars equip finance professionals to move beyond "exhaustive precision" toward "decision-useful accuracy." By following GFOA’s "Rethinking" framework, governments can significantly reduce administrative burdens—such as tracking hundreds of low-value assets or leases—while focusing resources on information that truly impacts public and auditor decisions. The course reframes materiality from a narrow compliance calculation into a governance-driven process that helps governments produce materially accurate, decision-useful financial reports with less low-value effort.

The first webinar, based on GFOA’s Materiality as a Process: What Really Counts, will introduce a systematic approach to determining what truly belongs in your financial reports. Participants will learn how to shift their mindset from compliance-only to a value-based evaluation of financial data.

The second webinar uses the City of Newport Beach and Sweet Grass County case studies to show the “Materiality as a Process” framework in action. The first case study shows how the City analyzed its lease portfolio using the Pareto Principle to eliminate the tracking of 51 immaterial leases, saving 50 staff hours during year-end close.

Further, another case study reviews how the County revised its entire capital asset policy. Using the Lorenz Curve to provide support to estimate that 20% of assets often account for 75% of reported value, proving support for allowing for much higher capitalization thresholds.