Showing posts with label State and Local. Show all posts
Showing posts with label State and Local. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Risky business: US states cutting financial management
Aug 16 (Reuters) - Many states, walloped by budget problems, have cut spending on financial management and put themselves at greater risk of fraud and theft while making it harder to bring in revenues, according a survey released on Tuesday.
About eight out of 10 state financial managers said that budget cuts "mean new kinds of risks for their governments' financial and operations activities," according to the Association of Government Accountants' Annual CFO Survey.
They are having a harder time rooting out fraud, waste and abuse, the financial officers told the survey, which was conducted by Grant Thorton LLP's Global Public Sector. They also do not have as many monitors in place to make sure employees do not abuse systems, such as charging the state for excessive or fraudulent travel.
The cuts might also catch states in a trap, causing them to lose more revenues. The survey of state government workers, state financial officers, and federal employees such as Inspectors General, found that states could end up losing federal funds "if they cannot comply with federal reporting and other requirements that accompany the money."
-Lisa Lambert, Reuters.com
READ MORE...
Friday, January 21, 2011
A Path Is Sought for States to Escape Their Debt Burdens
Policy makers are working behind the scenes to come up with a way to let states declare bankruptcy and get out from under crushing debts, including the pensions they have promised to retired public workers.
Unlike cities, the states are barred from seeking protection in federal bankruptcy court. Any effort to change that status would have to clear high constitutional hurdles because the states are considered sovereign.
But proponents say some states are so burdened that the only feasible way out may be bankruptcy, giving Illinois, for example, the opportunity to do what General Motors did with the federal government’s aid.
Beyond their short-term budget gaps, some states have deep structural problems, like insolvent pension funds, that are diverting money from essential public services like education and health care. Some members of Congress fear that it is just a matter of time before a state seeks a bailout, say bankruptcy lawyers who have been consulted by Congressional aides.
-Mary Williams Walsh, NYTimes.com
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Unlike cities, the states are barred from seeking protection in federal bankruptcy court. Any effort to change that status would have to clear high constitutional hurdles because the states are considered sovereign.
But proponents say some states are so burdened that the only feasible way out may be bankruptcy, giving Illinois, for example, the opportunity to do what General Motors did with the federal government’s aid.
Beyond their short-term budget gaps, some states have deep structural problems, like insolvent pension funds, that are diverting money from essential public services like education and health care. Some members of Congress fear that it is just a matter of time before a state seeks a bailout, say bankruptcy lawyers who have been consulted by Congressional aides.
-Mary Williams Walsh, NYTimes.com
READ MORE...
Miami-Dade must repay $3.6M in Housing and Urban Development funds
Miami-Dade County must repay $3.6 million in federal Community Development Block Grant money because the county can't show auditors the money was properly used.
In the latest sign of weak financial controls in Miami-Dade government, the county must pay back $3.6 million in federal grant funds received from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development after a federal audit found that county officials couldn't show the money was properly used.
The county's latest problems with HUD -- which administrators unveiled at a County Commission meeting Thursday -- come just two years after the federal agency returned control of the troubled Miami-Dade Housing Agency to county hands after 15 months under HUD supervision.
The disclosure angered several commissioners -- particularly in view of unrelated financial woes at the Miami-Dade Transit Agency, which has seen all federal grant reimbursements stop after an audit found shoddy financial management and weak internal controls.
-Martha Brannigan, MiamiHerald.com
READ MORE...
In the latest sign of weak financial controls in Miami-Dade government, the county must pay back $3.6 million in federal grant funds received from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development after a federal audit found that county officials couldn't show the money was properly used.
The county's latest problems with HUD -- which administrators unveiled at a County Commission meeting Thursday -- come just two years after the federal agency returned control of the troubled Miami-Dade Housing Agency to county hands after 15 months under HUD supervision.
The disclosure angered several commissioners -- particularly in view of unrelated financial woes at the Miami-Dade Transit Agency, which has seen all federal grant reimbursements stop after an audit found shoddy financial management and weak internal controls.
-Martha Brannigan, MiamiHerald.com
READ MORE...
Monday, May 11, 2009
GAO Issues First Bi-Monthly Review of Recovery Act
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued its first in a series of bimonthly reviews on states' and localities' uses of Recovery Act funding. The report, Recovery Act: As Initial Implementation Unfolds in States and Localities, Continued Attention to Accountability Issues Is Essential, covers actions taken under the Act through April 20, 2009.
The report and other work related to the Recovery Act can be found on its new website called Following the Money: GAO's Oversight of the Recovery Act.
The report and other work related to the Recovery Act can be found on its new website called Following the Money: GAO's Oversight of the Recovery Act.
AGA's FMSB Comments on Recovery Act Guidance
AGA's Financial Management Standards Board (FMSB) has commented on guidance on the Recovery Act that appeared recently in the Federal Register. In the board's opinion, both the states and the federal agencies will be interested in these data elements and the reporting that follows. A serious concern for the states is who pays for the work required to modify reporting systems to comply. Read the entire letter.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Today's GAO Publication
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) today released the following correspondence:
Update of State and Local Government Fiscal Pressures.
GAO-09-320R, January 26
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-320R
Update of State and Local Government Fiscal Pressures.
GAO-09-320R, January 26
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-09-320R
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
AGA Research Study Sees Bright Future for XBRL Use in State/Local Governments
Research studied the creation of XBRL-enchanced CAFR Statements in the state of Oregon
Alexandria, VA (November 19, 2008) - Using XBRL (short for eXtensible Business Reporting Language) in public sector financial reporting is the subject of a research study, released in September 2008 by the Association of Government Accountants (AGA).
This report entitled, XBRL and Public Sector Financial Reporting: Standardized Business Reporting: the Oregon CAFR Project, studied the feasibility of developing and using an XBRL taxonomy to tag data in a state's Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR). It is the first actual pilot implementation of XBRL in the governmental sector.
AGA's research team built a taxonomy that tagged two statements in the Oregon CAFR: the Statement of Activities and the Statement of Net Assets. The taxonomy was used to reproduce an instance document with tagged data. The data was then rendered (reproduced) in the form of the original statements. The taxonomy included 150 Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB)-compliant tagged data elements.
The report describes the research effort, provides a brief technical overview of XBRL, and contains graphics demonstrating the processes of converting the CAFR data into XBRL, creating the instance document and rendering the instance document into a readable conventional file format.
The significant findings of the research were that:
1) A CAFR taxonomy for all states would have to be at a relatively high level since line items (at least by title) are likely to vary considerably among the states.
2) There are good reasons for looking at XBRL to improve the handling, exchange and reporting of public sector financial information.
3) There is a tremendous opportunity for more research in this area and an even greater opportunity for improved municipal reporting.
Alexandria, VA (November 19, 2008) - Using XBRL (short for eXtensible Business Reporting Language) in public sector financial reporting is the subject of a research study, released in September 2008 by the Association of Government Accountants (AGA).
This report entitled, XBRL and Public Sector Financial Reporting: Standardized Business Reporting: the Oregon CAFR Project, studied the feasibility of developing and using an XBRL taxonomy to tag data in a state's Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR). It is the first actual pilot implementation of XBRL in the governmental sector.
AGA's research team built a taxonomy that tagged two statements in the Oregon CAFR: the Statement of Activities and the Statement of Net Assets. The taxonomy was used to reproduce an instance document with tagged data. The data was then rendered (reproduced) in the form of the original statements. The taxonomy included 150 Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB)-compliant tagged data elements.
The report describes the research effort, provides a brief technical overview of XBRL, and contains graphics demonstrating the processes of converting the CAFR data into XBRL, creating the instance document and rendering the instance document into a readable conventional file format.
The significant findings of the research were that:
1) A CAFR taxonomy for all states would have to be at a relatively high level since line items (at least by title) are likely to vary considerably among the states.
2) There are good reasons for looking at XBRL to improve the handling, exchange and reporting of public sector financial information.
3) There is a tremendous opportunity for more research in this area and an even greater opportunity for improved municipal reporting.
Friday, May 25, 2007
Today's GAO Publications
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) today released the following correspondence:
Internal Control: Improvements Needed in the Library of Congress' Capitol Preservation Fund-Related Internal Controls.
GAO-07-732R, May 25
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-732R
Managerial Cost Accounting Practices at the Department of the Interior.
GAO-07-298R, May 24
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-298R
Internal Control: Improvements Needed in the Library of Congress' Capitol Preservation Fund-Related Internal Controls.
GAO-07-732R, May 25
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-732R
Managerial Cost Accounting Practices at the Department of the Interior.
GAO-07-298R, May 24
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-298R
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
State’s ERP project inspires public value approach
Pennsylvania system used as a case study to assess impact of IT on citizen services
An enterprise resource planning project in Pennsylvania may inspire future government technology initiatives that deliver what some university researchers call a public return on investment.
The state’s Integrated Enterprise System, which spans 53 agencies, was one of five case studies highlighted as part of a research project at the State University of New York at Albany. That effort, led by the school’s Center for Technology in Government with funding and guidance from software vendor SAP, focuses on the public value of information technology as opposed to traditional ROI measures. CTG and SAP officials unveiled the case study and an accompanying white paper in October.
The paper outlines a nonproprietary methodology for assessing the impact of an IT project on public domain stakeholders. The methodology targets specific measures that document public value. Examples of public value include boosting financial management efficiency, which was the case in Pennsylvania.
The state’s project helped shape that methodology, which other agencies will soon use to guide projects, said Russ LeFevre, director of public-sector solutions marketing at SAP.
CTG interviewed Pennsylvania officials and those at the four other case study locations. The lessons learned derived from the case studies drove the development of the methodology, LeFevre said.
CTG’s Pennsylvania case study shows how public value can accrue over time.
The Integrated Enterprise System has generated public value through enhanced efficiency in agencies that perform core administrative functions, CTG’s Pennsylvania case study states. The study specifically reported that the system’s electronic paycheck distribution feature — the state previously mailed paychecks — saved the state $500,000. The report also cited other benefits, such as faster distribution of 2005 income tax forms.
Such investment returns are indirect, according to the CTG public ROI methodology, because they don’t directly affect citizens. But they do improve “the value of government itself from the perspective of citizens,” CTG said.
-John Moore, FCW.com
READ MORE...
An enterprise resource planning project in Pennsylvania may inspire future government technology initiatives that deliver what some university researchers call a public return on investment.
The state’s Integrated Enterprise System, which spans 53 agencies, was one of five case studies highlighted as part of a research project at the State University of New York at Albany. That effort, led by the school’s Center for Technology in Government with funding and guidance from software vendor SAP, focuses on the public value of information technology as opposed to traditional ROI measures. CTG and SAP officials unveiled the case study and an accompanying white paper in October.
The paper outlines a nonproprietary methodology for assessing the impact of an IT project on public domain stakeholders. The methodology targets specific measures that document public value. Examples of public value include boosting financial management efficiency, which was the case in Pennsylvania.
The state’s project helped shape that methodology, which other agencies will soon use to guide projects, said Russ LeFevre, director of public-sector solutions marketing at SAP.
CTG interviewed Pennsylvania officials and those at the four other case study locations. The lessons learned derived from the case studies drove the development of the methodology, LeFevre said.
CTG’s Pennsylvania case study shows how public value can accrue over time.
The Integrated Enterprise System has generated public value through enhanced efficiency in agencies that perform core administrative functions, CTG’s Pennsylvania case study states. The study specifically reported that the system’s electronic paycheck distribution feature — the state previously mailed paychecks — saved the state $500,000. The report also cited other benefits, such as faster distribution of 2005 income tax forms.
Such investment returns are indirect, according to the CTG public ROI methodology, because they don’t directly affect citizens. But they do improve “the value of government itself from the perspective of citizens,” CTG said.
-John Moore, FCW.com
READ MORE...
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