2014 Annual Conference recap: the future of government finance.

• Position: Conference notes

The GFOA held its 108th annual conference, The Future of Government Finance, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Almost 5,000 delegates, exhibitors, and guests participated in the conference at the Minneapolis Convention Center on May 18-21, 2014, including nearly 400 first-time conference attendee scholarship recipients.

GENERAL SESSIONS

Betsy Hodges, Mayor of the City of Minneapolis, welcomed delegates. She was on the Minneapolis City Council for eight years before becoming mayor, and she served as the President of the League of Minnesota Cities from 2012-2013. Hodges told conference delegates that she has first-hand familiarity with spreadsheets and budgets, and is aware that "finance officers lay the foundation work for a city." She stressed the importance of long-term financial planning and asked attendees to stay strong in performing their much-needed public service.

GFOA President Timothy L. Firestine spoke next, saying it has been an honor for him to serve as president. He mentioned some highlights from the past year in which membership exceeded the 18,000 level, nearly 400 members took advantage of the first-time annual conference attendee scholarship program, and the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting Program passed the 4,000-submission mark. Firestine also updated attendees on the results from GFOA's membership survey and the changes made to the GFOA's strategic plan as a result. Firestine thanked attendees for the work they do in managing state and local finances and told the audience to remember that they are not alone in their responsibilities because "the GFOA is here to help." (You can watch the video at gfoa.org.)

Eugene Robinson, Pulitzer Prize winner, columnist with the Washington Post, and regular contributor to MSNBC, addressed GFOA delegates with his keynote speech, "Today's News: Who's Up, Who's Down and What's Really Going On," at Monday's general session. He acknowledged the important work state and local governments do every day and encouraged the audience to keep "pitching" their issues to the federal government for additional resources and action. In response to delegates' questions, Robinson provided his observations and his insights into the upcoming election as well as the future of the newspaper industry and social media.

On Tuesday, Cy Wakeman, New York Times best-selling author on workplace management, spoke to GFOA delegates about her most recent book, The Reality-Based Rules of the...