Today I spent the day with the Finance Department. Erik Montague is the Director and Dot Caton is a Management and Budget Analyst. They both are CPA's and prepare the budget documents, many of which have won awards. The 2010 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, won the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting for the third consecutive year! Nicely done! It is an amazingly detailed document, which includes all the financial statements for the Town. This CAFR includes the Management's Discussion and Analysis (or MD&A in budget speak) which highlights the major financial achievements of the Town. Things like where large portions of the funds went to and what projects were completed. It is a great document that can be compared to the other document I saw today the Budget Plan. This document puts together all the different department's budgets and projects what the next fiscal year budget will be. The CAFR is used to compare the Plan to reality and the Town Finance Department did a great job! Both of these documents can be found on the website here Finance.
Finance is one of the areas that I am particularly interested in, and being able to see the actual financial documents used to fund the Town was a really great experience. The thing that has always attracted me to finance is the ability to see priorities based on where the funds are allocated. Depending on what percentage of the budget a specific department gets, you can see how valuable that is to the citizens. Police and Public Safety are high priorities for the Town which is reflected in the fact that these departments take up a large portion of the budget. It was really great seeing the theory turned into practice.
I had my first project assigned today, researching various brands for purchase in the next fiscal year. I was able to compare the operating costs across the board, and do a cost benefit analysis for the new purchase. Cost-benefit analysis is something that we do in everyday life. Is that cookie worth the extra weight, should I stay up and watch my favorite show and be tired for work tomorrow, or be well rested... I know that the decision will not be made today, but I do hope that the information I provided will give a better understanding of the details for the purchase and the right fiscal decision will be made for the Town.
Tomorrow I am going to Northwest Fire District and I am excited/nervous! Maybe they will let me drive the Fire Truck.......
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