Spotlight on financial performance: 2007 Annual Conference recap.

• Position: Conference news

The GFOA held its 101st Annual Conference in the City of Anaheim, California. More than 4,100 delegates were in attendance at the Anaheim Convention Center, June 10-13, making this year's conference the largest gathering of finance professionals in the GFOA's history.

The conference theme, "Spotlight on Financial Performance," provided participants with the opportunity to focus on the latest trends and technology affecting state and local government finance.

GENERAL SESSIONS

The mayor of Anaheim, Curt Pringle, welcomed delegates and expressed his appreciation to the GFOA and its members for upholding the public's trust in government. Mayor Pringle also conveyed his pride in the city for receiving the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting award for 31 years.

The GFOA's outgoing President, Tom Glaser, reflected upon his term as president, and spoke of the GFOA'S accomplishments over the past year, which included increased membership, technology-driven training programs, and participation in the GFOA's consulting services. He discussed the GFOA's position on the GASB's role as a governmental accounting standard-setting organization, and focused on the GFOA's commitment to promoting the highest quality standards, while calling upon members to remain steadfast in their roles as public servants.

Glaser thanked the GFOA staff for its dedication to the association, and congratulated Jeff Esser on his 25th year as the GFOA's CEO. The GFOA's reputation not only reflects the membership's enthusiasm for public-sector finance, but the persistent leadership of government finance practitioners as stewards of the public's trust.

Dr. Robert Reich

Dr. Robert Reich, one of the nation's leading thinkers on the economy, former U.S. Secretary of Labor, and current professor of public policy at the University of California at Berkeley, addressed delegates as the keynote speaker at Monday's general session. Dr. Reich has taught at Brandeis University and Harvard University's John E Kennedy School of Government. He is the author of 11 books and presently provides weekly commentary on issues of global and national finance on public radio.

In his speech, "The Global Economy is No Longer What it Seems," Dr. Reich focused on the three trends he believes will greatly impact state and local revenue in the next 10 years: global integration; technology and technological change; and demographics. He explained how each of these trends is affected...