MRSC Insight Blog

Posts for Financial Management

Financial Policies: Travel, Expense Reimbursement, Credit Cards, and More

July 8, 2019 by Mike Bailey
Category: Accounting , Financial Management

MRSC has partnered with the State Auditor’s Office (SAO) Center for Government Innovation to expand the Financial Policies Tool Kit we first launched two years ago. This blog post covers some of the highlights.

Financial Management: The “Big Picture,” Part 2

March 20, 2019 by Mike Bailey
Category: Financial Management

In Part 2 of this 2-part series, Finance Consultant Mike Bailey looks at tools that can help a local government monitor its fiscal progress or setbacks.

Financial Management: The “Big Picture,” Part 1

March 18, 2019 by Mike Bailey
Category: Financial Management

This 2-part series will look at how all staff can contribute to the big-picture fiscal health of an agency, from establishing an agency-wide blueprint to finding the right tools to monitor fiscal progress or setbacks.

Reading the Economic Tea Leaves: When and How to Prepare for an Eventual Downturn

January 18, 2019 by Mike Bailey
Category: Financial Management

While it's impossible to predict the economic future, this blog post pulls together insights from a variety of sources to help you try to understand when and how to prepare for a slowing economy.

Fiscal Feast or Famine: A Survival Guide

June 27, 2017 by Stan Finkelstein
Category: Budgets and Budgeting , Council-Commission Advisor , Financial Management

What can local governments do to avoid the fiscal cliff? Advisor Stan Finkelstein argues that the best defense is to develop a multiyear forecast of anticipated resources and expenditures.

MRSC Expands its Financial Policy Guidance

April 27, 2017 by Toni Nelson
Category: Debt , Investments , Asset Management , Financial Management , Fund Balance and Reserves

MRSC and the State Auditor’s Office Local Government Performance Center have launched a series of online resources to help Washington State local governments develop and adopt effective financial policies and procedures, while complying with SAO’s policy requirements.

Which Financial Policies Work Best? 'It Depends.'

April 26, 2017 by Mike Bailey
Category: Financial Management , Fund Balance and Reserves

What is the right level of fund balance for local government? For many reasons, "It depends" is the best place to start when answering that question.

Financial Management of Municipal Court Services

August 18, 2016 by Tracey Dunlap
Category: Finance Advisor , Financial Management

This Advisor column addresses how municipalities can work together with the judicial system to provide effective financial management of the municipal courts.

Does Your City have Too Many Funds?

April 14, 2016 by Randy Hinchliffe
Category: Budgets and Budgeting , Finance Advisor , Financial Management , Fund Balance and Reserves

Not too long ago, I read a short tidbit in one of the local newspapers about the adoption of a nearby city’s budget. I was struck by the fact that the city had 28 different funds in its budget. With so many funds to account for, it got me thinking about the criteria for establishing funds and when a city might have too many funds.

Reprioritizing in the Rebound

September 1, 2013 by Tracey Dunlap
Category: Finance Advisor , Financial Management , Fund Balance and Reserves

At a recent retreat, the Kirkland City Council discussed how to proactively plan what to do with increased revenues as the economy recovers; in other words, reprioritizing in the rebound. Some of the key points from that discussion are provided below and might be of use in putting recent positive economic news into context. I began the discussion of the topic with the following quote:

Be Aware and Beware of Interest Rate Risk

April 11, 2013 by Judy Cox
Category: Financial Management

Last November, the Office of the State Treasurer published a memo titled “Looking for Yield in a Low Rate Environment: Risks to Avoid.” Five months later, we still have a “low rate environment,” and the advice given in that...