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MRSC Insight Blog


Posts for Mike Bailey

Goodbye from Finance Consultant Mike Bailey

Goodbye from Finance Consultant Mike Bailey

Finance Consultant Mike Bailey is retiring. In this blog post, he reflects on his many years working with and for local governments in Washington State.

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Locating Good Data for Your Revenue Forecasting

Locating Good Data for Your Revenue Forecasting

Traditional approaches to revenue forecasting will not be sufficient during the COVID-19 pandemic. This blog post explores where to find good data and get more accurate ways to predict future revenues. 

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Choosing the Right Annual Financial Report for Your Entity

Choosing the Right Annual Financial Report for Your Entity

In the final installment of this four-part series, this blog post compares cash-basis and GAAP-reporting options for filing the required annual financial report.

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Annual Financial Reporting Options: GAAP-Basis

Annual Financial Reporting Options: GAAP-Basis

This blog post describes the GAAP-reporting option for annual financial reporting for local governments.

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Annual Financial Reporting Options for Washington Local Governments

Annual Financial Reporting Options for Washington Local Governments

This blog article describes the annual financial reporting options available to local governments in Washington State. 

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Finding Success in Using Community Resources to Deliver Value as a Newly Elected Official

Finding Success in Using Community Resources to Deliver Value as a Newly Elected Official

This blog article looks at the role of an elected official as policymaker, one who brings value to the community by overseeing use of its financial resources. 

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New Guidance in Accounting for and Reporting Leases

New Guidance in Accounting for and Reporting Leases

This blog post looks at the new standards the Governmental Accounting Standards Board has released regarding accounting for and reporting leases. 

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Key Takeaways from the AWC Budget and Finance Management Workshop

Key Takeaways from the AWC Budget and Finance Management Workshop

This blog covers some key financial management takeaways from the 2019 Association of Washington Cities (AWC) Budgeting and Financial Management Workshop.

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

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

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.

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Time To Set The Policy Framework For Your Next Budget

Time To Set The Policy Framework For Your Next Budget

Developing sound policy goals as a preface to budget planning is one of the most important ways an elected official can make a real difference in their community. 

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Financial Management: The “Big Picture,” Part 2

Financial Management: The “Big Picture,” Part 2

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.

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Financial Management: The “Big Picture,” Part 1

Financial Management: The “Big Picture,” Part 1

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.

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

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

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.

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Trust: The Secret Ingredient in Your Budget Deliberations

Trust: The Secret Ingredient in Your Budget Deliberations

Can trust building be a part of a local government's budget process? In this post Finance Consultant Mike Bailey argues that trust is a critical component to creating a high-functioning team that can then make the best possible decisions in how to serve their constituents. 

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Reported, Remote Sales Taxes Likely to Increase

Reported, Remote Sales Taxes Likely to Increase

Washington local governments should see an increase in reported, remote sales taxes thanks to a recent landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in South Dakota v. Wayfair. This post provides an overview of the case and its potential impact locally. 

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Having Great Budget Discussions

Having Great Budget Discussions

Budget discussions offer local governments the opportunity to identify concerns, priorities, and goals. It's also a great opportunity to get and provide updates on key issues, challenges, and accomplishments across the organization. Finance Advisor Mike Bailey offers suggestions on how to make your budget conversations work more efficiently.

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Which Financial Policies Work Best? 'It Depends.'

Which Financial Policies Work Best? 'It Depends.'

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. 

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It’s Time to Sharpen those Budget Skills

It’s Time to Sharpen those Budget Skills

In a recent AWC survey, public officials identified budget topics as their second most important area of interest (after economic development). This article explores the survey results more deeply and sees how they align ewith the efforts of organizations like MRSC and AWC to help you create your best budget.

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It’s Not Too Early to Think about Laying the Foundation for Your Next Budget

It’s Not Too Early to Think about Laying the Foundation for Your Next Budget

If you want to have a great budget experience next fall (and who doesn't?), then it is never too early to think about how to lay the best foundation. Building a budget starts with a strong policy discussion and early policy guidance.

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Building the Budget around the Community it Serves

Building the Budget around the Community it Serves

Redmond Finance Director Mike Bailey explains how Redmond shifted its budgeting process to better focus on citizen priorities.
 

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