Highlights
AGA's Performance Management Conference Website is Live
The Fourth Annual National Performance Management Conference is set for Oct. 27 – 28, 2008 in Seattle. New to this year's conference is a track that deals with federal government performance issues, but the state and local government theme will continue as in the past. If you are interested in seeing a certain topic on the conference agenda, contact Eveanna Barry, as the technical committee is starting its program planning. See the website for hotel information and other details. Stay tuned for more information.
Performance Reporting Featured on AGA Blog
Michael Jacobson, performance management director for the King County, WA, Executive's Office, will be participating on the AGA blog on May 2 and June 4, 2008. King County has received the Certificate of Achievement in Service Efforts and Accomplishments Reporting.
Visit the blog and comment on his reflections about participating in the SEA program. Interested in being a blogger to "talk" about performance reporting? Contact Eveanna Barry.
Consultations Available for Governments
Is your government interested in taking the plunge into performance reporting? AGA and GASB can help. Contact Eveanna Barry if you would like someone to visit your entity for a one-on-one consultation.
Conference News
The Community Indicators Consortium has set its Sixth International Conference on Indicators for June 26 – 28, 2008, in Arlington, VA.
April 2008 • Volume 2, Issue 3
Measuring Government Performance:
Ankeny Officials Continue to Refine the Process
When it comes to producing an outstanding performance report, it’s hard to get it right the first time. Performance reports are designed to tell the real story behind the dollars and cents.
Sometimes, though, governments aren’t tracking the right things, or the information isn’t exactly what is needed to get a handle on how well government is serving its citizens.
And even though the city of Ankeny, Iowa, has earned national recognition from AGA for its performance reports three years in a row, Matt McQuillen, the assistant to the city manager who has put the last two reports together, is the first to say that performance reporting is an evolving field.
The city’s report, called a Service Efforts and Accomplishments (SEA) Report, outlines the city’s progress in public safety, transportation, utilities, parks and economic development. A consultant wrote the report the first two years, in fiscal years 2004 and 2005, with performance measures developed in part by a citizens’ committee that discussed what city services were most important to them. In 2006, the process became more integrated into the city organization, and department directors took a hard look at the data they were tracking. What they found was that in some cases, the outcomes were hard to quantify and didn’t really do justice to what the department was doing, McQuillen said. —by Christina Camara, AGA. Read more.
GASB Seeking Comments on SEA Proposal; New Project Manager Named
The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) has released a proposed amendment to Concepts Statement No. 2, Service Efforts and Accomplishments Reporting. The document is available for download from the GASB website. The deadline for submitting comments to this Exposure Draft is July 3, 2008. In addition, GASB will hold a public hearing on July 29, during AGA’s Professional Development Conference & Exposition in Atlanta. GASB proposes to modify four sections of Concepts Statement No. 2 and eliminate one section, Developing Reporting Standards for SEA Information.
GASB is also developing principles-based suggested guidelines for voluntary reporting of SEA performance information. It is important to note that GASB is not proposing that any government be required to follow these suggested guidelines or to report SEA information at all.
As a reminder, SEA is not a creation of the GASB, but an established concept that GASB is continuing to further develop as part of its mission to improve financial reporting in the government environment. This concept was adopted by GASB's predecessor organization, the National Council on Governmental Accounting (NCGA). When GASB was created, it was required to adopt NCGA's pronouncements.
In addition, one of AGA’s own, Lisa Parker, formerly the finance director from Saco, ME, (and repeat SEA award recipient for Saco) has joined the GASB staff as a project manager, replacing Wilson Campbell, who is retiring in June. Though AGA is delighted that Lisa will now be working with us, it is a sad that we have to say goodbye to Wilson!
King County, WA, and Saco, ME, Receive AGA's Certificate of Achievement in SEA Reporting
Read the reports:
King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks
Other AGA links
Bring New AGA-Sponsored Training Courses to Your Organization
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© 2008 Association of Government Accountants