Government Finance Review

The concept of an audit committee is hardly new. Examples can be found in both the public and private sectors going back many years. Likewise, a full decade has now passed since the GFOA first offered a recommended practice specifically devoted to the...

Information technology (IT) and its devices (email, Internet, enterprise systems, etc.) are rapidly changing the way governmental operations flow as well as its efficiency and effectiveness. One source estimated spending on IT by state and local governments...

According to the New York City Independent Budget Office, New York City has the highest tax bite among other large cities. State and local taxes account for $9.02 of every $100 in household income. The average state and local tax burden for the other...

This award-winning program dramatically increased efficiency at a low implementation cost.Editor's note: The Johnson County, Kansas,Treasurer's Office received GFOAs Award for Excellence in the E-Govemment and Technology category in 2006.The Electronic...

In late 2006, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) issued an exposure draft (ED) on Accounting and Financial Reporting for Intangible Assets. This article will briefly examine the key proposals put forward in the ED. Background. Many...

Governments conduct performance audits for many reasons. One of the most important is to improve the performance of specific operations. Performance audits can provide valuable information that managers and policy makers can use to achieve better results...

A new report from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials warns that the federal gas tax needs to be increased by at least 3 cents by 2010 and 7 cents more by 2015 just to maintain the current highway system. The 18.4 cents...

Today, all public agencies have performance measures--lots of performance measures. They have to. Their stakeholders want measures. The legislature is insisting on measures. The budget office is requiring measures. Today, if you are a public executive,...

President Bush submitted his $2.9 trillion budget request for FY08 to Congress in early February The President's budget proposal was not offered in the spirit of compromise many experts anticipated in light of the new Democratic majority in Congress....

Meetings are a prime opportunity to show off your leadership skills.Herbert Hoover once said "When the outcome of a meeting is to have another meeting, it has been a lousy meeting."Here's a question to consider: Have you ever attended a meeting that...

Corporate fraud--from Enron and WorldCom to recent instances of options backdating--has become an unfortunate part of the investment equation for public pension funds. Many institutional investors' portfolios have suffered large losses as a direct...

The Building Blocks to Governing for Results Results That Matter: Improving Communities by Engaging Citizens, Measuring Performance, and Getting Things Done Paul D. Epstein, Paul M. Coates, and LyIe EWray with David Swain. Publisher: Jossey-Bass 272...

Earlier this year, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a revised edition of Government Auditing Standards, commonly known as the "Yellow Book," to replace the 2003 edition currently in use. The new version will be mandatory for...

Governments have always included charts and graphs in their budget documents and financial reports. The Government Finance Officer Association's recommended budget practices, the issuance of the Governmental Accounting Standard Board's Statement 34,...