Need a Crash Course in Government Finance? Our Finance Bootcamp Is What You've Been Waiting For

Recently, I attended the Association of Washington Cities' (AWC) budget workshop and had the opportunity to visit with several elected officials and staff. While some of them were aware of MRSC’s new Municipal Finance Bootcamp, many were not. So, in the spirit of providing useful information (while tooting our own horn!), allow me to share more information about MRSC’s newest finance training opportunity. 

The Idea for Focused Training 

The idea of an extended training session specifically geared to government finance has been around for a very long time. While there was and still is excellent training available through one-day events, webinars, and conferences, each of these typically only cover a piece of a large puzzle and may only be available once a year.  

This obviously extends the time a new employee takes to understand Budgeting, Accounting and Reporting System (BARS), payroll, accounts payable, etc. It may also explain why it has been lamented for years that there was “nothing” available specifically to new government finance employees. There has always been training; it just wasn’t available in one place at one time. 

So, MRSC stepped in to fill this very large void.  

Turning the Idea into Reality  

To move any idea forward was going to require a plan and additional staff (that’s me!). A  program was then developed, redeveloped, tweaked and re-tweaked — which sounds easier than it was —and we launched our first bootcamp session at AWC’s headquarters in Olympia this past April. Because of pent up demand (over 60 on the waitlist!), a second session was quickly put together for Tumwater in May. We’ve since held a third in Yakima and just finished our fourth in Spokane.  

The bootcamp was envisioned to be an intensive, five-day session. We offered these first few sessions in different formats, including five consecutive, in-person days; three days in person and two days virtual; and three days in person with a two-week break and then an additional two-and-a-half days. We also offered different class sizes, ranging from 25 to 40 total attendees. 

Our final bootcamp this year will be September 30 to October 4 in Wenatchee. Registration launched a couple of weeks ago, but sadly for those of you who would have signed up, it was filled in only two days! 

What We Cover at the Municipal Finance Bootcamp

Now on to what attendees learn at the bootcamp.

The sessions covers the basics of what a clerk/treasurer, treasurer, finance director, accounting supervisor/assistant, and others working in governmental finance will need to know. Because it is only five days, we cannot teach participants everything. However, we provide an overview of what they may be responsible for, and (just as important) offer resources to find the information they need. 

Some of the topics we cover include:  

• Documents (minutes, ordinances/resolutions, policies & procedures);  
• BARS (funds, revenues, expenditures);  
• Fraud (tips to help prevent, checks and balances);  
• Payroll;  
• Accounts payable;  
• Cost allocation plans (why they are necessary, how to approach them);  
• Budgets (requirements, budgeting deadlines);  
• Utility billing;  
• Cash receipting;  
• Organizing electronic files; 
• Debt; and  
• A potpourri section of random matters we think attendees should know. 

How We’ve Been Doing 

At the end of each bootcamp participants were provided with evaluation forms. We encouraged (okay, begged) attendees to provide us with honest feedback and were thrilled to have received ratings ranging between 4.7 and 5 stars!  

Out of approximately 115 attendees to date, 75 have responded to our evaluations, a 65% response rate. Seventy-four of those respondents agreed or strongly agreed that the resources discussed were useful and said they were likely or very likely to recommend the Municipal Finance Bootcamp to colleagues or new finance professionals.  

More importantly, we read those reviews, we listened, and to the extent possible, continue to adjust the program. When there were suggestions about additional training, we took those to management, which has resulted in further discussions about the potential for follow-up and/or stand-alone training for the future. 

Some of our favorite comments have included:  

• “I have never looked forward to training as much as this one. It exceeded my expectations.” 
• “I now have a better understanding of what my finance clerk does.” 
• “Having the opportunity to work with people in groups was really helpful. Not only did I learn new things, bounce ideas off of the group, but also networking. 
• "Great class. Lots of information to pack into a few days. Would highly recommend this to others. Thank you." 
• “The trainers were the best! Very knowledgeable and helpful. They stayed late to answer my questions, really appreciated that.”

Sorry — I couldn't resist that last one. I think we’re on to something! 

How Can I Sign Up?  

If I’ve piqued your interest, unfortunately, you’ll have to wait. As I said earlier, the last bootcamp for this calendar year is full. There are five bootcamps tentatively scheduled for 2025, and sign-ups for those will come later in the year.

If you attended one of our sessions and would like to provide additional feedback, feel free to reach out to Eric Lowell or me. We’re always interested in making improvements!