Lessons from High Performing Governments

Governments are under extreme pressure to deliver for the people they serve. If I can order something on Amazon and receive it the next day, why can’t my government operate more efficiently and effectively?Despite demands for improved service, many governments are constrained by tight budgets and workforces that are stretched thin by retirements and turnover. Finance professionals in particular are feeling this pressure. According to GFOA, “Public finance leaders are feeling the strain of a workforce challenge that is no longer on the horizon—it’s here. Critical roles, from accounting and IT to data analysis and project management, are sitting vacant for months. Every week those positions remain unfilled, we place more strain on already lean teams. The result is slower service delivery, greater burnout risk, and rising operational costs. These workforce challenges affect the timeliness of financial reporting and the quality of the analyses that finance departments provide to decision makers. Finance organizations that successfully attract and retain talent are better able to deliver responsive service both to internal customers—such as other departments and elected officials—as well as external customers, including the public, vendors, and bondholders