Wow; what a great conference! We unveiled our new logo and website, and had national speakers representing GFOA, GASB, and AICPA. We received a great and fairly optimistic overview of both the Texas and national economy, and of course, we heard in detail about the upcoming legislative session in Austin. I also received very positive feedback regarding the session “What Every Finance Officer Needs to Understand About IT,” and we will be planning more technical but practical sessions to help us deal with this rapidly changing and increasing technology world we operate in.
Perhaps the most important aspect of the conference, however, was something that most attendees never saw: the GFOAT Board’s strategic planning retreat. Our world, our skill sets, citizen expectations, technology, and our membership are all changing, and we, the Board, realize how vital it is for GFOAT to evolve just as quickly. Accordingly, we held a planning retreat prior to the conference that identified certain recurring themes with related goals. These are:
- Reinforce Professionalism and Integrity
- Strengthen Member Knowledge and Skills
- Grow an Active Membership
- Develop Future Leaders
I would do each of these goals an injustice if I were to try to describe them in this short piece, so if you would like to learn more about the retreat you can review this PDF. The Board plans to finalize these goals at the January Board meeting, but they need your help. Please fill out this short survey by December 31.
In addition, we have already begun several initiatives, including:
- Updates on TMRS by GFOAT’s liaison Casey Srader, with the first installment posted on GFOAT’s new blog. Be sure to visit regularly for news and updates.
- I am willing to present “Developing Effective Controls for the 21st Century” at any regional roundtable. Please email if you are interested in scheduling a presentation.
- The second Governmental Accounting Academy is being offered in Austin on February 19-21, 2019.
Please provide us with your input, and take advantage of upcoming development opportunities.
The best is ahead!
Bob Scott
GFOAT President