118th Annual Conference Sessions: Treasury and Investment Management
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Sessions for Sunday, June 9
Let’s Not be Petty: Getting Rid of Petty Cash
The petty cash drawer will always have a special place in our hearts—the hidden keys, the clang of the change, and a quick way to break a twenty or—but it's also an antiquated practice that is susceptible to fraud and abuse - and potentially can expose your organization to procurement policy or legal compliance issues. Petty cash can be difficult to track and presents challenges to ensuring expenses are recorded appropriately. Alternatives can provide better security and tracking of expenses and sometimes even provide cash back and other rewards. This session will discuss the risks of petty cash and how to help move not only the finance office, but all other departments to alternative forms of payment for small purchases.
The Importance of an Investment Program
Governments need a robust investment program to manage risk and provide proper structure for carrying out investment activities. The core of an investment program is an organization's investment policy, which addresses investment strategies, permissible investment products, risk profile, and reporting requirements. This session, focused on GFOA's best practice statement, will highlight ways governments can develop or enhance their investment program, including utilizing the due diligence of external parties, understanding the risks of various financial products, and analyzing their investment profile to address multiple factors, all rooted in the core principles of public investing–the safety of public funds and managing liquidity needs.
Sessions for Monday, June 10
Small Government Forum: Investing for Small Governments
This event will give GFOA members that work for small governments the opportunity to interact with their peers, exchange experiences and ideas, and make new connections. This year's session will also provide small governments with limited fiscal and/or personnel resources best practices and tools for investing public funds. Discussion of GFOA’s suite of investing best practices from practitioners will be highlighted during this session and tailored specifically for small organizations.
GFOA's Small Government Forum is free for GFOA members from small governments and exists to provide opportunities for networking and exchanging information on topics unique to the needs of managing organizations with limited staff or resources. The Small Government Forum is open to governments serving communities with less than 25,000 people or organizations with less than 500 employees.
New PCI Compliance Standards: What Governments Need to Know
Payment card industry (PCI) compliance for entities that accept payment cards is imperative for reducing the risk of fraudulent transactions and for keeping transaction costs in check. These standards are changing in 2024, and governments need to ensure their understanding and procedures are robust to address the new requirements, as well as the underlying standards. Speakers will provide an overview of the new standards and share key takeaways for governments to incorporate them into their PCI compliance program.
Cash May Not be King: The Future of Contactless Payment in Government
The number of payment options available to customers has shifted dramatically in recent years, but many governments have yet to embrace new technology that makes payments easier for customers (or for the organization itself). This session will provide an overview of contactless payment options commonly available in other industries and how governments can accept these payments securely and safely. Speakers will also provide lessons learned on how to best integrate contactless payment options with current systems and cashiering functions.
Sessions for Tuesday, June 11
Going With the Flow: The Importance of Cash Flow Forecasting
Governments should have a solid understanding of the movement of funds in and out of the organization. Cash flow analyses estimate expected inflows and disbursements during a given period to ensure sufficient liquidity, prevent the need for short-term borrowing or tapping into an entity’s reserve fund, and limit idle cash balances. This session will provide an overview of GFOA’s best practices and resources including a step-by-step guide to setting up a cash flow analysis.
Doing Your Homework: Due Diligence for Financial Services Providers
Governments hold funds, short- and long-term, in a variety of financial institutions, including, but not limited to, depository banks and investment houses. When contracting for firms to hold public funds, governments should have a process for monitoring the financial standing of these entities, both at the start of and throughout the contract of services. GFOA’s new Best Practice, Due Diligence on Banks and Financial Services Providers, provides governments with an outline of considerations that should be addressed during this diligence process. Expert speakers will discuss these matters in an effort to help governments reduce the risk of financial losses, reputational damage, and other potential issues with their financial services providers.
Sessions for Wednesday, June 12
Outsourcing AP Functions
While once believed to only be an internal function of government, many governments are looking to outsource all or sections of accounts payables (AP) functions. Streamlining the payment process with the enhanced controls that are often part of bank and other payment providers’ infrastructure can save staff time, mitigate risk, and even generate revenues. This session will explore options for outsourcing AP functions, explain how it works with existing financial systems, estimate how it changes staffing needs in finance, and discuss the considerations a government should make when determining whether outsourcing payables is the right decision.