Government Finance Officers Association of Texas
Abbreviation | GFOAT |
---|---|
Formation | 1955 |
Legal status | Association |
Purpose | Government Finance in Texas |
Location |
|
Affiliations | Texas Municipal League (TML) |
Website | http://www.gfoat.org |
The Government Finance Officers Association of Texas (or GFOAT) is a
The
The chief financial officer (CFO) of a public agency is the corporate officer primarily responsible for managing the financial risks of the business or agency. This officer is also responsible for budgeting, financial planning, record-keeping, cash flow management, higher management. communicating financial performance and forecasts to the community. The title may vary, such as finance director or treasurer, from agency to agency. The CFO typically reports to the city manager or other chief executive officer.
Financial reporting has multiple audiences, with a responsibility to citizens, taxpayers and voters to provide transparent accountability for use of public funds (taxes). Additionally, financial reporting must provide internal guidance to program managers to maintain budgetary control and to governing city councils and boards of directors to provide adequate financial policy guidelines.
The United States government in general has sought to improve the quality of financial reporting. The Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB) has a stated mission to "establish and improve standards of state and local governmental accounting and financial reporting that will result in useful information for users of financial reports and guide and educate the public, including issuers, auditors, and users of those financial reports."[2] Pronouncements in particular have trended to incorporate more comparable elements of business-sector.
Role of GFOAT membership
Members are finance directors and treasurers of municipalities and other local government agencies, whether elected or appointed, having responsibility for collection, receipt, reporting, custody, investment or disbursement of municipal funds. Municipal funding sources are commonly property tax, sales tax, income tax, utility users tax (UUT), transient occupancy tax (hotel occupancy), and user fees such as licensing and permit fees.
Texas has 254 counties, by far the most counties of any state. As of 2000, six Texas cities had populations greater than 500,000. The two largest are
. The Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston metropolitan areas each has about 5 million residents.Many city treasurers are elected, and are therefore directly accountable to their constituents; the remainder are appointed either by city council or city manager. Finance directors typically are appointed by the city manager.
In addition to cities and counties, Texas has numerous special districts. The most common is the independent school district, which (with one exception) has a board of trustees that is independent of any other governing authority. Other special districts include Groundwater Conservation Districts (regulatory agencies), river authorities, water supply districts (for irrigation or municipal supply), public hospitals, road districts and community colleges.
Professional standards setting
Certification is a guide for municipal finance directors and treasurers to become valued administrators in local government. GFOAT encourages
GFOAT code of ethics
All government finance officer members are enjoined to adhere to legal, moral and professional standards of conduct in the fulfillment of their professional responsibilities. Standards of professional conduct as set forth in this code are promulgated in order to enhance the performance of all persons engaged in public finance.:[4]
Training and education in Texas finance and treasury
GFOAT's annual statewide conferences provide an array of education across many topics and alternate annually between various northern and southern cities.
Standing committees
Financial Leadership is furthered by engaging in efforts to assist statewide finance officers to develop the skills and capabilities necessary to enable them to become organizational leaders as well as technical experts.
Committee | Chair |
---|---|
Ethics | Rebecca Koo, City of The Colony and Rhonda Covarrubias, Texas Municipal Retirement System (TMRS) |
Financial Reporting | Robert B. Scott, City of Carrollton and Keith Dagen, City of Richardson |
Legislative | Bret Starr, City of Irving and Antonio Puente, Jr., City of Denton |
Membership | Collin Boothe, City of Conroe and Elizabeth Dietrich, City of Bellmead |
Newsletter / Website | Janina Jewell, City of Watauga and Vicki McCarthy, City of Grapevine |
Professional Awareness | Clay Caruthers, City of Hurst and Jennifer Brown, City of Sugar Land |
Professional Development | Laurie Brewer, City of Hutto and Carl Wessels, City of Lancaster |
Program Development | Kent Pfeil, City of Richardson |
Scholarship and Foundation | Teri Roche', City of Baytown and Michael Higgins, City of Missouri City |
Resources
GFOAT seeks to facilitate interagency communication for the purposes of sharing information and best practices, cooperating with and complementing the services provided by other organizations to increase the effectiveness of all.
Like GFOA nationwide, GFOAT sponsors award programs designed to encourage good financial reporting in Texas, for financial documents including the
GFOAT provides technology information and analytical tools to help governments identify and apply appropriate, economical technologies to support efficient resource allocation, quality services, and effective decision making and to promote citizen involvement.
See also
- American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Private Sector Accounting
- Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB)
- Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA)
References
- ^ GFOAT Website, Mission Statement Archived 2011-07-26 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2009-06-04
- ^ Government Accounting Standards Board
- ^ "Table 1: Annual Estimates of the Population for Incorporated Places Over 100,000, Ranked by July 1, 2006 Population: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2006" (CSV). 2005 Population Estimates. United States Census Bureau, Population Division. 2008-06-10. Retrieved 2008-06-10. [dead link]
- ^ GFOAT Website, Code of Ethics Archived 2011-07-26 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 2009-06-04