GFOA Executive Board approves best practices, advisories.

• Position: Government Finance Officers Association

The GFOA's Executive Board approved six new best practices, one new advisory, and a policy statement at its January 2015 meeting. The board also approved updates to one other existing best practice and two existing advisories. These documents provide recommendations to government finance officers in the areas of budgeting, accounting, retirement benefits administration, debt issuance, and investment management. They are summarized below.

1. Best Practices in Community College Budgeting.

   This new best practice was a product of the GFOA Budget Committee's work with practitioners, researchers, and other education finance experts, identifying the best ways for community colleges to leverage the budget process in ways that will align their resources with student outcomes. Funding for this work was provided by a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

2. Best Practices in School District Budgeting.

   The GFOA Budget Committee worked with practitioners, researchers, and other education finance experts to identify the best ways for PK-12 institutions to leverage the budget process in ways that will align their resources with student outcomes. Funding for this work was also provided by a grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

3. Additional Supplementary Information for Departmental Reports.

   This new best practice provides guidance to government finance officers on content and format for presenting departmental financial reports that are issued separately from a government's general fund financial report. Before the GFOA Committee on Accounting, Auditing, and Financial Reporting developed this document, authoritative accounting and financial reporting standards did not specifically address the contents of separately issued financial reports of units that are not legally separate (e.g., departmental reports and reports of individual funds).

4. Establishing a Grants Administration Oversight Committee.

   In this new best practice, the Committee on Accounting, Auditing, and Financial Reporting provides guidance to help governments that receive grant funds support their programs and activities, and maintain compliance with the requirements associated with the grant, to avoid incurring a penalty or forfeiting grant funding because of compliance failures. The GFOA advises governments to create both a grant administrative oversight policy and a grant administrative oversight committee to ensure adherence to that policy.

5. Public-Private...