HomeMy WebLinkAboutNorman Klein - System UpdateMONTANA
DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATION
Local Government Services Bureau-Systems Program
301 South Park Avenue Room 340
PO Box 200547
Helena, MT 59620-0547
November 19, 2001
TO: City/Town Clerks, Mayors, Councils
County Clerk and Recorders and Finance Officers
County Commissioners
FROM: Norman L. Klein, Fiscal Manager
Systems Program
RE: Update
administrative personnel.
Phone: (406) 841-2909
FAX: (406)841-2910
TDD: (406) 444-1421
RE CEC EC
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CITY OF LAUREL
Effective, July 1, 2001, the Local Government Services Bureau was, through
executive reorganization, moved to the Department of Administration, Division of
Administrative Financial Services. While our location in State government has
changed, our services have not as we are still available to provide technical
assistance in the areas of budgeting, accounting and financial reporting to local
governments. This service continues to be provided at no charge to local
government as our program is fully funded by State general fund appropriations.
Included in our services is the preparation and conduct of training seminars with
a wide variety of accounting topics of interest to local government finance and
As you probably all have heard, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board
(GASB) has issued Statement No. 34, which significantly changes the way in
which governments report their financial activity. We have had some preliminary
discussions of the statement at past seminars, but those were designed to inform
you of the general provisions of the statement and to express the importance of
planning for its implementation. We have also made a commitment to you to
provide sufficient training to assist you in implementing the provisions of the
statement within the timelines defined by the GASB. For the purposes of
implementation of the statement in counties, cities and towns in Montana, we are
treating all entities as phase 2 governments, which means that we have targeted
FYE June 30, 2003, as the first year of reporting under the new reporting model
defined in GASB #34.
Working Together to Make It Work"
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November 19, 2001
Consequently, we have made plans to conduct training seminars covering
specific GASB #34 topics over the 18-month period beginning January 1, 2002
and ending June 30, 2003.. We stress that because of the comprehensive
nature of GASB #34, it is not only a concern for finance/administrative personnel,
but for members of the governing body as well. The specific dates and locations
have not been finalized and we will notify you when they are. The topics to be
covered and the general dates are as follows:
Seminar #1 - March. 2002
Fixed Assets/Infrastructure Assets/Depreciation
Seminar #2 - June, 2002
Major Fund Determination/Revenue Classifications/Fiduciary Fund Realignment/
FYE 2003 HB #124 Budget Considerations" (*unrelated to GASB #34)
Seminar #3 - October, 2002
Modified Accrual vs. Full Accrual Accounting/Cash Flow Reporting
Seminar #4 -April, 2003
Management Discussion & Analysis (MD & A)
Seminar #5 -June. 2003
Report Preparation/Required Supplementary Information
We have selected six potential sites at which these seminars may be conducted.
These include Billings, Glasgow, Miles City, Butte, Missoula and Great Falls.
These sites are subject to change as a result of input from local governments
We have enclosed a form for you to indicate which site you would be mostly
likely to attend and how many persons from your entity would attend and to
specify any preferred alternative sites for us to consider. Return the form to us
by using the mailing address below, fax it to us at (406) 841-2910 or email your
response to mahuahes(@state.mt.us.
We respectfully request that you respond to us as soon as possible to enable us
to finalize our training schedule. We look forward to hearing from you in this
regard and remind you that our goal is to provide the best service that we can at
no charge to you.
cc: Montana Association of Counties
League of Cities and Towns
LOCAL GOVERNMENT SERVICES - SYSTEMS PROGRAM
GASB 34 Potential Seminar Sites
There will be a series of five seminars conducted over an 18-month period
beginning January 1, 2002 and ending June 30, 2003.
POTENTIAL SITES SELECTED
Number of people that would attend:
Seminar #1 Seminar #2 Seminar #3 Seminar #4 Seminar #5
Billings
Glasgow
Miles City
Butte
Missoula
Great Falls
STATE OF MONTANA
DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATION
LOCAL GOVERNMENT SERVICES BUREAU - SYSTEMS PROGRAM
PO BOX 200547
HELENA, MT 59620-0547
FAX NUMBER - (406) 841-2910
or email mahuahes0state_mtus