2023 Annual Conference Sessions
Browse by topic:
Sessions for Sunday, May 21
Opening General Session
Hear remarks from GFOA Executive Director Chris Morrill and keynote speaker Eduardo Briceño. Eduardo is one of the world’s leading experts on growth mindset and workplace learning. He will speak to GFOA conference attendees about how to foster a growth mindset—the belief that one’s abilities and qualities can be developed—and about habits and systems that foster growth.
The Importance of PCI Compliance
Are you PCI compliant? Governments that accept credit/payment cards have a responsibility to comply with credit card acceptance protocols to prevent fraudulent transactions. These “PCI Compliance” rules continue to evolve and affect every access point where cards are accepted such as online, in person, over the phone, at kiosks, and more. Governments that do not meet these standards can face fines or significant risk. Attend this session to learn about current and upcoming PCI compliance protocols and best practices to implement at your government.
Rethinking Public Engagement for Budgeting
For decades, finance officers and governments have recognized the need to improve public engagement in the budget process. Public engagement is often limited to a public hearing or two, which typically happens after important decisions have been made and often amount to little more than a chance for people to air grievances. GFOA's Rethinking Public Engagement initiative brought together top experts from across the country to take a fresh look at public engagement. In this session, you will hear about key lessons learned and how you can get involved in a cohort of local governments that will work towards better public engagement in their communities.
Next Steps on GFOA's DEI Journey
Advancing excellence in government finance is interconnected with GFOA's commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). GFOA has long incorporated principles of DEI with both employees and members and had the opportunity over the past year to formally commit to our DEI initiatives. Along with the creation of an executive board committee focused on the topic, addition of DEI to GFOA's bylaws and Code of Ethics, and taking the CEO pledge for diversity and inclusion, GFOA has been active conducting research on how DEI impacts public finance. This session will highlight GFOA's recent research into political polarization, fairness, and behavioral science; present GFOA's strategy for DEI in the future; and provide an opportunity for members to give feedback and comments on where GFOA can be most helpful with future projects.
Smarter School Spending: Navigating the Intersection of Instructional Goals and Finance
School districts are charged with providing free and appropriate education to all students and must do so with a lack of resources and a strategic plan that outlines instructional goals; however, in order to ensure that the limited funds are spent in support of these objectives, finance officers from school districts need to go beyond the strategic plan and implement a long-term financial plan and budgeting practices that promote student achievement. GFOA’s Smarter School Spending project and the Alliance for Excellence in School Budgeting provide a framework to enhance school district budgeting and prepare governments to better align strategic goals, student outcomes, and resource allocation.
Public-Private Partnerships in Action
When private investment is brought to a public project, there is an inherent tension present in both the financing and implementation, which manifests in the balance between risk and cost. The amount of risk and cost that is carried or shifted between the public and private partners yields a continuum of what projects and agreements look like for governments and their partners. What does a good deal look like? What are the criteria governments should utilize when selecting and implementing projects? What are the lessons learned by those that have done these kinds of projects? This session will help finance officers understand when and under what conditions to utilize this financial and project implementation tool.
Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Government
Artificial intelligence (AI) will someday be ubiquitous in government operations. Should workers be threatened? No. This session will focus on the benefits of AI and its limits. Speakers will discuss the evolution of AI and its potential impacts on local government. Case studies where AI has been implemented will be presented. Attendees will walk away with a better understanding of AI, why human interaction is still important, and how successful organizations in the future will manage AI to make better decisions.
Without You Here: Accounting for Compensated Absences
GASB’s new guidance on compensated absences provides a unified recognition and measurement model for all types of compensated absences. This session will explore the various types of leave that organizations provide to their employees, including the use of undifferentiated paid time off (PTO), and will discuss the proper accounting, reporting, and disclosure for all types of compensated absence obligations.
The Accountability Trap: Why Focusing Too Much on Results Can Backfire and What to Do About It
Local governments are faced with big challenges and are increasingly asked to address hard problems that may require considerable expenditure of public resources. Given the high stakes of the issues at hand, there can be a justifiable interest from elected officials and the public that the government (and its staff) be held “accountable.” This sounds fine in theory, but there are some practical problems with a focus on accountability, especially when projects involve significant complexity, uncertainty, and interdependence. In this session, speakers will explore better solutions to promote "accountability" based on work by psychologist Adam Grant and provide specific implementation strategies.
Annual Black Caucus Business Meeting
The Annual Black Caucus Business Meeting will be used to address the business of the Caucus, including the election of new officers. An update on the activity of the Caucus will also be provided to members. This year’s business meeting will feature two guest speakers. First, will be Jonathan Blasher, Director of Parks and Nature for Oregon Metro to discuss how the organization has worked to implement a $475 million bond measure to improve access to nature, water quality and fish and wildlife habitat, and the region’s climate resilience around principles of racial equity and climate justice. Second, will be Sebrina Owens-Wilson, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Director at Oregon Metro. She will discuss how the regional government strives to deliver racial equity outcomes in the Greater Portland Area, focusing on one of their current initiatives, the Construction Career Pathways Regional Framework.
ESG 360
ESG has become a common term in nearly every finance officer’s vocabulary, but it may not be clear how to differentiate buzzword from strategy. In this session, speakers will explain the environmental (E), social (S), and governmental (G) factors that play a role in project planning, labeling bonds, disclosure, procurement regulations, and more. In addition, speakers will provide the latest best practices for incorporating ESG based on successful case studies, lessons learned, and ongoing evolution of this field.
Financial Data Transparency Act Explained: What Finance Officers Need to Know
When the 117th Congress concluded in December 2022, the municipal market was quite surprised by a little-known provision riding along on the National Defense Authorization Act. And yet, the Financial Data Transparency Act will not only radically transform the technology for financial reporting, but also insert the federal government as rulemakers in state and local government financial reporting. There is no doubt that this effort will require substantial outreach to federal government over the next several years. Come to this session to understand the concepts, the processes, and the opportunities for this needed outreach.
Better Together: Practical Strategies for Integrating Finance and Procurement
While finance and procurement often provide different functions, their work is unquestionably linked. Many processes outside of finance depend on information from procurement to be effective. In this session, speakers will explore how finance and procurement can create a better and more collaborative relationship and drive improved outcomes for both departments. Speakers will explore this connection and the benefits to budgeting, long-term planning, cash flow analysis, debt management, accounting, risk management, and more.
Trust is our Most Valuable Asset: Living the GFOA Code of Ethics
People need to be able to believe what they hear about a local government’s finances. They need to be confident that local leaders have the community’s best interest at heart. If people are to contribute resources to the local government, they need to trust that those resources will be transformed into something of value. At this session, you will hear real-life stories from finance officers of how they've won (or lost) trust through their careers. You will leave with ideas for how you can build trust in your own career.
An Introduction to Affordable Housing Finance
Housing that is safe, decent, and affordable is a key component of a thriving community, and in many communities today, it is in short supply. At this session, you will be introduced to the various types of private, federal, state, and local resources that governments can use to develop affordable housing. Panelists will also outline the challenges associated with building and preserving affordable housing and how finance officers can help address some of those challenges.
Fiduciary Activities
Since the effective date of GASB Statement No. 84, Fiduciary Activities, in 2018, some governments have had difficulty in identifying fiduciary activities, including fiduciary component units, for accounting and financial reporting purposes. This session will provide a review of the GASB guidance and focus on the more than fifty-five Implementation Guide questions and answers that GASB has issued to assist governments with properly identifying, accounting, and reporting for these types of activities.
The Customer is Always Right: Applying Lean Process Improvement to Government
Lean Process Improvement focuses on identifying and removing unnecessary waste in business processes and systems. For many, this is often not easy and changing "the way we've always done it" takes focus, leadership, and effort. In this session, speakers will highlight how governments have benefited from a lean approach focusing on customers to improve outdated processes, implement new technology, work more effectively with other departments, and deliver better results for the public.
Sessions for Monday, May 22
General Session
Hear remarks from GFOA President Terri Velasquez, CPA, CPFO and Michael C. Bush. Michael is CEO of Great Place to Work®. Michael will share stories of how the best workplaces outperform their peers and how you can build a winning culture in your organization. Using an inclusive approach to leadership, attendees will learn how to maximize the potential of your team by tapping into the intelligence, skills, and passion of everyone in the organization.
Putting Assets to Work: Unlocking Value from Publicly-Owned Real Estate
An Urban Wealth Fund is a mechanism for creating ongoing revenue streams from underutilized public sector assets without privatizing the asset. The goal is to create new revenue streams to address our most persistent challenges, such as affordable housing, climate resiliency, and reinvigorating our cities’ infrastructure. Over the last year, GFOA’s “Putting Assets to Work” policy incubator, worked alongside six local governments to assess opportunities and develop policy tools to adapt the “Urban Wealth Fund” concepts common in European and Asian cities for GFOA members. Participants in the incubator will share their experiences and highlight exciting new opportunities for local governments to derive greater value from their assets. We’ll also discuss how your government can get involved in the next incubator as we build on the successes of our first participants.
Miracle Pill: Practical Solutions to Fix Your Hiring Process
Struggling to recruit qualified candidates to apply for your vacant positions? Does it seem like your burdensome hiring process makes it difficult to land your top candidates? GFOA knows the ability to hire new employees quickly is critical for all areas of government, but especially for finance. Join this session to uncover common sense strategies for streamlining your hiring process, build a better working relationship with the human resources department, and develop a strategy for avoiding errors many governments make in recruiting talent.
No Easy Answers: Risks, Uncertainty, and Reserves.
Governments are subject to financial shocks, including natural catastrophes, recessions, and more. Financial reserves (a “rainy day” fund) are essentially a form of self-insurance that governments use to buffer themselves against these risks. But what are the risks governments should be concerned about? What size of reserves is appropriate to cover risks? What opportunities are there to use commercial insurance to help cover these risks? Speakers in this session will answer these questions and more. Attendees will leave with resources and strategies to apply risk-aware and risk-savvy thinking to reserves in their own organizations.
Small Government Forum - Networking Event
GFOA's Small Government Forum provides an opportunity for members of small governments to network and exchange information on topics unique to the demands of managing a small government. In this session, a panel of speakers will discuss unique challenges that small governments face with recruiting, cross training employees, and individuals taking on multiple roles in an increasingly complex public finance environment. Created in 2015, the Forum is currently open to GFOA members in small jurisdictions from the United States and Canada with populations of 25,000 or less, or with employee counts of 500 or less.
Smarter School Spending: Using Analytical Reviews
GFOA’s Best Budgeting Practices for School Districts framework includes tools to help analyze, assess, and prioritize instructional goals. This session will provide an overview of cost savings options, initiatives inventories, and Academic Return on Investment (AROI). Attendees will learn how to use these tools to ensure that their school district's limited funds are spent to support its strategic goals.
Case Studies in Collaboration: Financial Leadership in Action
Collaboration and leadership come in many different sizes and styles. While there may not be a single best practice for leadership, numerous GFOA members have demonstrated the power of their approach in their organization, and the results they are able to achieve for their community. In this session, speakers will explain not only why their unique style to collaboration and leadership works, but will share their journey to this point including lessons learned along the way.
Accounting and Auditing Year in Review
The Accounting and Auditing Year in Review is a perennial favorite for attendees and staple for GFOA's conference program. Speakers will provide a comprehensive overview of the key developments in accounting, auditing, and financial reporting that affect state and local governments. Topics include recently promulgated standards and upcoming implementations with related practice issues, as well as developments related to current GASB projects likely to affect preparers and auditors in the near future.
Tax Issues and Arbitrage Compliance
Governments that issue debt must comply with many federal tax regulations over the lifetime of their bonds. With changing interest rate conditions, finance officers need to be especially aware of arbitrage compliance requirements that have not been a great focus in the past few years. Speakers in this session will discuss the federal tax law parameters over municipal securities, and where issuers could see IRS audit inquiries. Topics to be discussed include IRS requirements related to arbitrage compliance, yield restriction, bond proceed spending requirements, monitoring private use of bond-funded projects and record retention obligations, and how governments can develop policies and procedures to manage these requirements.
Alternative Contracting for Construction Projects
With many governments having a renewed focus on infrastructure, finance officers need to ensure that their organizations can deliver and manage the construction of these large projects. Speakers in this session will discuss the pros and cons of popular contracting and management approaches and innovative concepts for construction projects. Topics include concerns around controlling costs, avoiding delays, and dealing with inflation, supply chain shortages, and other realities of today's environment. Attendees will learn the importance of collaboration and the role that finance, procurement, and engineering can play in delivering successful projects.
3-2-1 – Liftoff: Launch of the LGBTQIA+ Caucus
Thanks to the efforts of the members of GFOA's LGBTQIA+ task force, GFOA will be launching a new affinity group for LGBTQIA+ members. This session will be the first official meeting of the group. We will discuss the process that led to the group's formation, review bylaws, elect officers, and hear from members of the task force. We encourage all members of the community and allies to attend and make themselves heard.
Addictive Revenue? Accounting for the Opioid Settlement
In 2022, most states entered into a multi-billion-dollar agreement to settle lawsuits with major manufacturers, distributors, and retailers of opioid drugs. The funding will be disbursed to participating states over the next eighteen years, and many local governments in participating states have started receiving these funds. In this session, speakers will answer frequently asked questions related to revenue recognition requirements and identifying qualifying remediation expenditures.
Communicating The Realities of Your Investment Report
Governments produce investment reports for internal and external audiences, but the story told by the investment report can be misleading if looking at the numbers alone. This session will discuss best practices in developing investment reports as well as how to convey nuances, such as realized and unrealized gains, in their proper context.
Be in the Know: The Role of HSAs, FSAs, HRAs, and OPEB
Don't know the difference between common notional accounts that governments are able to offer? In this session, speakers will explain the differences between health savings accounts (HSAs), flexible spending accounts (FSAs), and health reimbursement arrangements (HRAs) from the perspective of a finance office and what is required to administer each. In addition, speakers will cover recently-updated GFOA best practices regarding other postemployment benefit (OPEB) plans, and describe actions you can take as an OPEB plan sponsor that may affect your credit rating.
Building a Data-Driven Finance Office
At some point, it’s likely that every government has wanted to become more "data-driven." Adopting a data-driven approach to decision making can result in better outcomes for the community, improved accountability, and increased efficiency, but doing so is often easier said than done. Where do you start? How do you get people on board with the idea? What data do you use? This panel discussion will address these questions and more to help you start building a data-driven finance office and will provide case study examples of how data has improved outcomes in various areas of decision making in the finance office.
Surface Tension: Fairness and Water Billing
Water is a basic human need, and there will always be tension between ensuring that everyone in a community has access to it and that residents are paying their "fair share" for it. The tension increases when we recognize that people have different definitions of fairness. This session will explore new models for water billing that can help local governments balance the need for adequate revenue to support their water system with the need to ensure access to water for lower-income residents.
Growth of the Hispanic Finance Officer: Introduction to GFOA's Partnership with LGHN
The Local Government Hispanic Network (LGHN) and GFOA both have missions to provide leadership, education, resources, and other services to support local governments and their employees. Collaboration between the two organizations can provide opportunities to share member benefits and work together on important initiatives to develop both the technical and leadership skills of Hispanic/Latino finance officers and expand their networks. Attend this networking session to learn more about this new partnership and meet members from both LGHN and GFOA.
Leadership Workshop – Common Sense Improvements to the Budget Process
The budget process is often referred to as the most consequential in government. However, many staff in government find the steps that organizations go through to create the budget as time consuming, confusing, and outdated. Worse, many approach the process as an experience to survive missing out on great opportunities to innovate and collaborate. Fortunately, there is a better way and all finance officers can learn simple strategies for process improvement that can be applied to their budget process. In this session, join Brian Elms in an interactive workshop to break down key components of the budget process and apply proven process improvement strategies to eliminate waste, achieve better outcomes, and become a leader (and hero) in your organization.
Interactive leadership workshops are limited to 250 individuals per workshop and requires pre-registration.
Are You Losing Revenue from Inaccurate Property Tax Assessments? Unpacking Issues of Equity and Efficiency
The property tax is the most important revenue stream for local governments. However, research has shown the most significant determinant of property tax for individuals–the assessed value of property–can often have large and systematic inaccuracies. These errors can result in millions of dollars in lost revenue for local governments and shift the tax burden to low-income property owners. In this session, we will examine this problem, the solutions, and what you can do about it, even if you don't have direct responsibility for property assessments.
The Budget Officer as Decision Architect: Designing the Decision-Making Environment
Government leaders make decisions for a living. With good decision making, they can greatly improve the lives of their constituents and further their own careers. But decision making is messy. It is often done by groups, so there are conflicting points of view. It is usually time constrained, so there isn’t time to consider everything. There is always uncertainty, usually more than we realize. And it is done by humans, so it comes with the myriad of well-documented psychological biases. Finance officers can help their organization make better decisions by "architecting" the decision-making environment. In this session, we will discuss the key skills of a decision architect, how finance officers have used them, and how you can build them.
Resiliency for Capital Assets in times of Environmental Change
There are hundreds of billions of dollars of infrastructure in the ground at all levels of government that we depend on every day. The planning and resourcing that went into these assets represent years of design, implementation, and financial commitment. What actions are governments taking to ensure they are designed and maintained to be resilient? How can governments invest in existing assets so they are available for years to come? How do we balance these infrastructure needs with the realities of what our community can afford? Speakers in this session will focus on sustainability and stewardship in all aspects of the push to find resilience through investments for both existing and new assets.
Not Crying Wolf: The Latest in Cybersecurity Protections for Your Government
Each year, GFOA gathers experts within the technology industry to discuss the latest cybersecurity threat trends and potential ways to mitigate them. This year, speakers will not only address recent threats but will also discuss strategies bad actors are using to obtain technologies to implement hacks with limited technical experience. At the end of the session, participants will achieve a better understanding of their cybersecurity risk by being more aware of potential vulnerabilities, understanding potential sources of threats, and gaining insights into resources available to mitigate them.
Small and Complex: Unique Challenges for Small Issuers
Small governments and infrequent issuers entering the debt market have unique challenges, especially in a dynamic market. Governments may look to a variety of financing options to meet their capital needs, and for smaller entities these may include direct placements, bank loans, use of state pools, and other tools. Additionally, small governments have the same burdens as all other governments to manage their debt program and be in compliance with federal tax and securities laws, including disclosure standards. This session will focus on how small governments can best approach entering the debt market to be advantageous to their entity, and tools available to best manage their debt program and responsibilities.
Getting Your Money Safely to and Kept in Your Bank
When it comes to getting currency to the bank, many governments are facing obstacles with contracting for armored carriers and now encounter challenges in safely depositing these funds. This session will discuss ways to make prompt and safe cash deposits; alert attendees on FDIC account limits and changing depository banking practices; and ways to perform due diligence to ensure that your bank is in good financial standing.
Common Errors from GFOA's Certificate of Achievement Program
Do you explain fund balance correctly, prepare required supplementary information appropriately, use the term market value, or present deb t schedules consistently? GFOA's Technical Services staff reviews over 4,000 Annual Comprehensive Financial Reports (ACFR) each year and has identified common errors. This session will address those common deficiencies noted in reviews and provide recommendations for improving the quality of ACFRs in general. Speakers will also emphasize "asterisk" items on GFOA's checklist and those that most frequently result in award denials.
Emerging and Hot Topics in Debt Management
There are many federal government and market initiatives that governments should be aware of as they plan to issue debt and continue to manage their overall debt program. This session will discuss some of the hot topics in the market, including how credit agencies view the sector, the SEC's focus on issuer disclosure matters and new standards coming forward as required in the FDTA, general capital market behavior and investor interests in the municipal bond sector, and other emerging issues. Municipal bond experts will share their thoughts on these matters, and engage with attendees on topics that are important to governments today and in the months and years ahead.
Asset Management Across the Globe: International Capital Planning and Implementation
Finance officers from around the world have responsibility for managing infrastructure and leaders from across the globe have come together to develop innovative approaches for planning, budgeting, and overall management of these critical assets. In this session, speakers from Australia, New Zealand, and Sweden will provide insight into what is working and what challenges are being faced regionally and nationally. Attend this session to challenge traditional thinking patterns and inherited conditions many governments carry by listening to professionals in other countries engaging in similar work across the globe.
Bridging the Divide: Conflict Resolution in Public Finance
Public finance often involves conflict. Conflict can actually be good if it leads to discussion and participation from diverse stakeholders. However, it can also be common that when resources are scarce, tensions can run high, especially in our increasingly polarized society. Public finance officers must have a means for addressing conflict, quickly and effectively. At this session, we will discuss two very different methods of conflict resolution that GFOA has field-tested over the past year. You will come away with practical, actionable ideas for how you can address conflicts in your own organization.
Navigating Wisely Through the Changing Investment Terrain
There have been significant changes in the public investment landscape over the past year. This dynamic market will likely continue, and governments should be aware of market and Federal Reserve policy dynamics that are impacting and will continue to impact public funds investing. Experts will provide attendees with insights into market conditions, what to be aware of in the months ahead, and why robust best practices for investment policies and strategies are so important.
Forecast with Confidence: Improving Your Skills to Make Better Decisions for Your Government
Forecasting is a foundational part of budgeting and financial planning. Forecasts allow public officials to anticipate future resource availability and plan accordingly and are essential for developing budgets that are balanced and affordable. Longer-term forecasts analyze the financial sustainability of existing policies and programs and provide warning of potential imbalances. A forecast can also be used to create a shared basis for discussion of what the fiscal future might look like and what actions can be taken to change the future. In this session, we will discuss the skills you need to make the best forecasts in the time you have available. We'll also discuss how forecasting practices can be adapted to volatile and uncertain environments.
Under the Microscope: Strategies for Effective Performance Audits
Local government finance professionals know financial audits well, but performance audits may be less common at your government. During this session, leadership from the Association of Local Government Auditors (ALGA) will discuss common misconceptions with performance audits, how they really work, what finance officers can do to establish an audit function within the organization and how they can be used as an important tool for governments looking to get results, use budget funding more effectively, and build stronger organizations. Speakers will provide case studies of past audits and how information from the audit was presented and used by staff to drive improvements—not blame.
Rethinking Financial Reporting
GFOA knows government finance officers face substantial opportunity costs with their time. Time spent on general purpose external financial reports is time not spent on other forms of decision support and public engagement. With this in mind, GFOA is rethinking financial reporting. This research initiative will examine whether lengthy, technical financial reports published many months in arrears are the most effective way to build trust with constituents and if producing these reports is a good use of the finance officer’s time, particularly if they are not providing accountability to the public. Come to this session to learn more about the research and weigh in on the benefits of traditional financial reporting.
Separate but Together: The Role and Benefits from GFOA's Network of State and Provincial Associations
GFOA does not act alone in working to advance excellence in government finance. While each exists as a separate organization, the state, provincial, and regional GFOA associations support public finance issues below the national or international level and provide critical support to members and excellent opportunities for education classes, networking events, and leadership positions. In this session, speakers will discuss the role of GFOA's more than fifty association partners and what members can expect in the future as we work together to enhance member benefits.
Sessions for Tuesday, May 23
General Session & Annual Business Meeting
Hear remarks from Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, and Incoming GFOA President Laura Allen, CPFO, ICMA-CM. GFOA President Terri Velasquez, CPA, CPFO will preside over the session. Erica Dhawan will deliver the keynote address. Erica is an internationally recognized leading authority, speaker and advisor on 21st century teamwork, collaboration and innovation. Erica will share innovative strategies to unlock the collective power of teams, build a culture of trust across any distance that finance officers can use with peers, co-workers, and members of the public.
ARPA Closeout: Gearing up for December 31, 2024
December 31, 2024, the final date to obligate your ARPA funds, is quickly approaching. Yet new spending categories are still being fleshed out. What does your government need to do to prepare for spending the last of your ARPA funds? Speakers in this session will identify key dates, discuss the potential for upcoming announcements, and answer questions from attendees as we approach the end of the covered period.
Debt Market Dynamics and Your Capital Planning Needs
Will the market favor issuers in the months ahead? With the dynamics of the capital markets evolving, governments are having to think through different pricing variables, structures and products, as they consider issuing debt. Market experts will discuss observations and outlooks for the market generally, and specifically to issuers of municipal debt. This is especially true regarding dampened issuance levels and the opportunities and concerns this presents for governments. Understanding market trends and practices as well as future expectations will help governments as they plan their entities' capital plans, and options for paying for this vital infrastructure.
Politics in Budgeting: Don't Hate the Player, Don't Hate the Game, Change the Game
Budgeting is a political process. "Politics" is often considered a dirty word in our profession, but the finance officer needs to not just survive a political environment, but thrive in it. This can be done without succumbing to the worst aspects of politics. In this session we will talk about common political power plays the finance officer might encounter, the sources of the finance officer's own political power, and how to ethically exercise that power and redirect potentially destructive political impulses to more productive outcomes.
Community for Canadian Issues
As Canadian governments work to confront workforce, revenue, and expenditure challenges in today's new fiscal environment, GFOA is working to build a stronger network of Canadian finance officers to share best practices, develop relationships, trade stories and experiences, and learn from each other’s collective knowledge. In this session, leading Canadian finance officers will discuss the challenges faced by their jurisdiction and the approaches to overcome them. In addition, attend to hear about plans for GFOA's new Community for Canadian Issues and learn how you can become more involved.
Note: Immediately following this session, GFOA will be hosting a lunch discussion/networking event for Canadian GFOA members
Leadership Workshop: Leaders, We've Got This! Unlocking Belonging in Organizations
Many team members feel constant pressure to mask and curate who they are at work—to perform as someone they're not rather than be who we are. And it strikes at their ability to belong. But, as leaders, by cultivating psychological safety, trust, inclusion, and creativity in how we work, we can unlock belonging in our organizations for everyone. In this practical, research-driven session, award-winning speaker and author Ritu Bhasin will uncover the key pillars for unlocking belonging in your organization as a leader, how to leverage the Three Selves Framework™ in how you lead and manage teams and stakeholders, how to create cultures that are rooted in belonging, psychological safety, trust, inclusion, innovation, and empowerment, and leadership strategies for fostering empathy, authenticity, and trust.
This session required pre-registration.
Behind the Scenes: Practical Lessons Learned in Budgeting for Equity
Many governments are taking an interest in “budgeting for equity,” which means allocating resources to address unfair disparities between different groups of people, such as racial groups or income groups. Budgeting for equity is important because it is the ethical duty of government budget officials to develop a budget that is fair. In this session, you'll hear about the practical tensions that governments must navigate to introduce an equity lens to budgeting, including lessons learned from Results for America's City Budgeting for Equity and Recovery program.
Up in the Air: Accounting for Subscription-Based Information Technology Arrangements
GASB Statement No. 96, Subscription-Based Information Technology Arrangements (SBITAs), significantly revises the accounting and financial reporting requirements for cloud computing arrangements and other SBITA contracts. This session will assist participants in understanding the requirements of GASB Statement No. 96, building off of their current understanding of the financial reporting requirements for leases under GASB Statement No. 87, which utilizes a similar conceptual framework. This session will also review example journal entries and disclosures under GASB Statement No. 96, provide best practice recommendations regarding implementation, and discuss implementation challenges that governments have encountered thus far.
Retirement Policy Updates: What You Need to Know
The new Actuarial Standard of Practice introduces multiple new considerations and requirements for public pension plans for calculating “reasonable” actuarially determined contributions and assessing the implications of a funding policy. In this session, speakers will walk through the meaning of the most significant change to the standard, explain the introduction of a measure called the “Low-Default-Risk Obligation Measure,” and discuss how SECURE 2.0 builds on the 2019 SECURE Act and impacts nearly every aspect of retirement plan administration. Attendees will also learn how these new improvements and effective mandates enhance their governmental retirement plan and what changes are coming next.
Explaining Governmental Accounting to Non-Accountants Without Making Them Dizzy
Government financial reports are designed to meet the needs of a broad variety of users, most of whom are not accounting professionals. Unfortunately, for many non-accountants, the first reaction to encountering financial statements is likely to be confusion or worse, misunderstanding. This session is designed to equip accounting professionals with a practical and proven approach for explaining governmental financial statements to non-accountants.
Marketing Your Financials: How to Get Others Interested in Your Financial Data
Do you struggle to get others to pay attention to financial and budgetary reports? Do you want to move beyond transparency efforts that do little but take staff time to produce? How can efforts to communicate financial information actually promote accountability and work towards building trust? In this session, you will learn tips on how to get individuals–internal stakeholders, the public, and elected officials–interested in your financial story to improve understanding of your financial position, encourage engagement, and promote more effective decision making.
Removing Bias in Bid Evaluations: Best Practices in Evaluation Techniques
A core value of public procurement is the use of a fair, open, and unbiased competitive process to award contracts. However, it's impossible to eliminate all bias when we rely on humans, each with their own unique experiences, knowledge, and background, for evaluating options. In this session, speakers will discuss strategies for addressing bias, ensuring that existing "knowledge" doesn't reduce innovation, and that vendors are evaluated on the merits of their proposal. Attend this session to learn how procurement can leverage lessons learned from behavioral science to make better decisions.
Year in Washington, D.C.: Federal Updates
GFOA's Federal Liaison Center keeps a watchful eye on congressional and regulatory activity in Washington, D.C., for members. Now that the 117th Congress has come to an end, we can look back and evaluate the overall impact on government and the public finance profession. In this session, speakers will highlight major actions, what has improved, what has not, and what finance officers need to be aware of now. Also, attendees will hear what to watch for in the coming year from our federal government representatives.
Leadership Workshop: Leading With Authentic Confidence
Over-confidence is repelling and under-confidence stalls progress. Both can be toxic and difficult to address. In this session, learn how to find, coach, and communicate with Authentic Confidence. This type of confidence attracts talent, teamwork, and the results you deserve in your career. Attend this session to listen to author and coach Ben Fauske as he shares lessons learned from real-world experiences coaching thousands of leaders. You will walk away with a concrete plan for how to be more confident in every area of your career and li
This session required pre-registration.
What Does It Take to Rethink Budgeting?
The typical budget process is based on line items and historical precedent. While this does have some advantages, it also has a host of disadvantages that have long been recognized. Those disadvantages are becoming more acute as our society evolves. Many intrepid finance officers have explored new ways of doing budgeting and GFOA's Rethinking Budgeting project is providing guidance for creating a budget differently. But what does it take for a local government to change the way it budgets and plans? In this session, we'll discuss what GFOA research is finding and hear from practitioners who are challenging the long-held status quo to rethink their own budgets and discover potential for a better process that provides stronger outcomes.
Don't Let it "Slide": Moving to Proactive Asset Management
Capital Planning is a balancing act of: the maintenance of assets that are currently in place, seeing the asset needs for the future, measuring the gaps that require new facility investments, and thinking about the available revenues that are available to make these expenditures. The perceived lack of visibility for investment in current assets often yields annual budgets with unfortunate realities like deferred maintenance in the operating budget and losing the high-stakes annual capital improvement plan pageant to new projects in the capital budget. The deficit of investments in existing assets is a lack of stewardship that leaves jurisdictions vulnerable to the most expensive class of potential asset costs; emergency purchases for asset failure. This panel will explore the concepts and tools that finance departments can utilize to move thinking from Reactive to Proactive in the stewardship of assets like the master plan, consideration of levels of service, and the structure of decision making relative to the capital plan.
I Just Want You to Know Who I Am: Why I Became A Finance Officer
There is no single path to becoming a finance officer. GFOA's nearly 23,000 members have just as many different motivations, stories, and journeys for how they got to this point in their career. However, they all now share the responsibility for maintaining trust, supporting their community, and working to build sustainable organizations in spite of increasing pressure from political polarization, workforce challenges, and overall distrust of government. During this session, hear from several finance officers about their career journey, how their experience puts them in a position to deal with current challenges, and what drives their dedication to the profession.
Lessons Learned in Federal Funds Opportunities
While most finance officers are aware of major funding programs like ARPA, IIJA, and IRA, did you also know other federal funds opportunities now exist for state and local government? In this session, speakers representing federal agencies will discuss current and forthcoming notices of funding opportunities (NOFO). Attend this session to decrease your chance of missing out and learn how to best leverage available programs for your organization.
The Importance of Cash Flow Forecasting
Did you know that most local governments do not prepare appropriate cash flow forecasts? GFOA’s best practice on cash flow forecasting discusses the importance of developing forecasts to ensure your entity’s payables and liquidity needs are met. Governments can use simple tools to forecast their largest inflows and outflows to avoid liquidity risks and develop practical short-term and long-term investment strategies. This session will provide attendees with key takeaways on the importance of cash flow forecasting, show how to develop a simple forecast, provide peer examples of forecasting methods, and advise on how to get started or improve your entity’s current cash flow forecasting program.
Session Material: Grand Rapids Cash Flow Case Study
Finance on Fire: Overcoming Issues with Budgeting for Fire Services
Ever feel like you and your colleagues in the Fire Department just aren't speaking the same language? If so, you're not alone, and this session is for you. GFOA and the International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC) are working together to develop resources to promote better collaboration between finance officers and fire chiefs. This panel discussion will feature both finance officers and fire personnel talking about how to improve communication between these two departments and address the many challenges that make capital planning, budgeting, purchasing, and other areas of public finance uniquely difficult for the fire service.
From Theory to Practice: Applying Basics in Economics to Public Finance
Most government finance leaders are keenly aware of the impact regional, national, and even international economic factors have on their community. Understanding those factors and applying basic principles of economics can help finance officers make decisions related to budgeting, capital planning, economic development, investing, and more. This session will explore the skills used in government finance that draw from the economics profession and consider how deeper expertise in these areas could strengthen the government finance office.
Successful Supplier Diversity and Impact on Community
Establishing a diverse supplier pool should be a priority for governments and can highlight the strategic value that procurement can bring both to an organization and community. Supplier diversity programs often fulfill government economic and sustainability goals, and work to address inequities that can be present in traditional contracting processes. Attend this session to uncover lessons learned in establishing a supplier diversity program, identify steps necessary to get started, and hear from recognized leaders in public procurement on how to achieve the best results from supplier diversity programs. This session will follow NIGP: The Institute for Public Procurement's best practice titled, Establishing an Effective Supplier Diversity Program.
Building Understanding: How to Work with the Public Works Department
It is essential that finance officers have a good working relationship with peers in the Public Works department. In order to have an effective relationship, finance officers need to communicate with project managers, engineers, plant managers, and others to work collaboratively to solve problems and meet mutual goals. In this session, speakers will provide the Public Works perspective and discuss strategies for ensuring organizations are aligned when it comes to capital planning, infrastructure and asset management, facility maintenance, and more.
Hate this Place: Learning Not to Dread Your ERP Project
If both governments and software vendors are being honest, neither one really has a good track record at implementing ERP projects. With endless stories of failed expectations, poor planning, cost overruns, and way too many headaches, it's not surprising that many finance officers joke that ERP really stands for "early retirement program." Attend this session so you can become aware of these potential project pitfalls and what you can do to stop them from taking control of your project. In this interactive discussion, experienced ERP project stakeholders will highlight lessons learned and communicate strategies that lead to better rates of success.
Sessions for Wednesday, May 24
Stopping Fraud Before it Stops You
Unscrupulous actors are attempting to infiltrate government’s treasury operations in many ways. No organization is safe or completely protected. It is imperative to make sure your entity has both appropriate policies and procedures to prevent fraud and an action plan if it occurs. This session will provide guidance on how to implement effective policies and practices to help prevent all types of fraudulent activities and better protect your organization.
Variety is the Spice of Life: Options for Successful Capital Financing Strategies
Funding the construction of infrastructure, facilities, and other assets is not easy and at times, governments need to consider creative options to provide necessary solutions. Beyond debt financing, pay-as-you-go, and grant funding, finance officers have used a variety of ways to pay for their capital projects including use of private funds, interfund borrowing, microfinancing, and more. However, not all ideas are good ones. In this session, speakers will provide attendees with considerations for different funding options, the pros and cons of each, and how to determine what works best for your government.
Hidden Costs of Free: Accounting for Federal Grants
Preparing for a single audit can be daunting! Collecting information from various departments and tracking the federal expenditures and related revenues all weigh down the process, on top of working with the auditors. This session will review generally accepted accounting principles for grants, best practices for internal grant accounting, and how to complete the Schedule of Federal Expenditures. Attendees will also learn about single audit requirements and dive deeper into ARPA grant compliance.
Easier Said than Done: Attracting and Retaining Public Finance Talent in the New World of Work
As outlined in Meeting Demand for State and Local Public Finance Jobs, a report released in Fall 2022 by GFOA and Lightcast, demand for state and local public finance officers is outstripping the current supply of workers in our sector. To address this phenomenon, governments need to adapt and find creative ways to attract new workers and retain existing ones. At this session, hear from local government leaders about what they are doing to address this problem and get some ideas to try in your own organization.
Better Days Ahead: Strategies for Financial Sustainability
Hoping for "better days ahead" is not an effective strategy to ensure financial sustainability, but for many governments, it has become the de facto sustainability strategy. Current challenges and emergencies take up too much of our energy. Growing uncertainty makes financial forecasting feel like a guessing game, and annual budgeting means we really only have to focus on one year into the future. It's enough to discourage even the most experienced finance officer. But, while we can't guarantee better days ahead for our communities, we can promote effective planning strategies that will put our communities on the path toward financial sustainability. Hear from practitioners who have implemented such strategies and are seeing benefits in their organizations.
Position Budgeting Amid the Hiring Crisis
Nearly all local governments are having difficulty filling vacant positions these days. Hiring challenges clearly affect a government's operations and ability to meet service level expectations, but they can also complicate the development of the budget by introducing new layers of uncertainty. Will we be able to fill all of our open positions? Will we have to increase starting salaries to attract candidates? Will we have to pay more in overtime to continue meeting service demands? How do we budget salary and benefit expenses for positions that remain vacant? This session will explore these questions and more and provide tips for developing a personnel budget that fits the realities of today's compensation and recruiting environment and is consistent with budgeting best practices.
Government Technology Roundtable
One positive outcome of the pandemic was the ability of governments to leverage technology in creative ways to solve complex problems quickly. Governments are continuing this trend long after the crisis. This session highlights examples of how peer governments are using technology to improve operations. Governments will explain why the technology was implemented, the resources required for performance management, and provide an honest assessment on whether or not the intended outcome was reached. Participants will learn when and how to drive technology solutions and when not to utilize these systems.
Disclosure Update
For decades, GFOA has advocated for issuer disclosure best practices and led efforts to help members have a strong voice among all market participants. Having robust disclosure policies, procedures, and practices, as well as being aware of what regulators, investors and other market participants want to see from issuers, can help governments stand out and attract greater participation in their bond sales. This session will provide an overview of disclosure best practices and considerations for what is coming down the road, including new federal structured data for issuer disclosures standards.
Capital Assets Accounting
Capital assets are often the largest single element on a government’s statement of net position and represent an area of accounting and financial reporting that is very different for governments than the private sector. This session will focus on key topics such as which costs should be capitalized when capital assets are acquired, constructed, developed or improved, governmental fund accounting for transactions, internal control over capital assets, and other events related to capital assets.
