The role of the finance officer.

• Author: Kinney, Anne Spray
• Position: Editorial

Finance officers play a vital role in helping their jurisdictions operate efficiently and effectively. With their understanding of the big picture, they are uniquely positioned to take a leadership role, piloting the organization through good economic times, and bad. This issue of Government Finance Review showcases some of the many ways in which finance officials contribute to the success of their organizations.

One of the best ways to improve efficiency is to improve internal processes--but many governments have not had the tools to improve processes and struggle with how to make process improvement part of the organizational culture. In Getting Started with Process Improvement, David Melbye shares some of the keys to success for a process improvement program.

Most jurisdictions are struggling to meet their budgets while maintaining their core services. In Labor and Management: Teaming up to Solve Budget Challenges, Jay M. Goldstone explains how San Diego, California, was able to obtain critical concessions from its labor organizations that saved the city approximately $50 million a year.

In Leadership in the Government Finance Profession: A Texas Perspective, Randy Moravec discusses the survey he conducted on how finance directors in Texas perceive their leadership skills.

A major challenge jurisdictions face is translating...