Leading Government Financial Managers Share Best-Practices
By: Brian Coy

The 2007 Federal Financial Management Conference provided a forum for discussion between federal financial managers on a host of topics pertinent to government finance. In this presentation Chief Financial Officer of the Small Business Administration Jennifer Main shares her perspective on some of the most pressing challenges facing federal financial managers today.

Jennifer’s presentation focuses on approaching financial management as an important aspect of any government program. As she says it, the goal should be to “get program managers to view themselves as financial managers,” or in other words to make it clear to program officers that sound financial management practices are a key component of a successful program.

Jennifer’s explains that financial management should be regarded as a “stewardship” activity by both financial and program managers. This perspective can facilitate cooperation between the two offices, assisting the financial officer in performing more thorough work and giving the program manager a better understanding of what benefits can be added with financial management tools such as OMB Circular A-123.

The Performance Institute, located in Arlington, VA., is a private, non-partisan think tank seeking to improve government performance through the principles of competition, accountability performance, and transparency. PI serves as the nation’s leading authority and repository on performance based management practices for government. The mission of the Institute is to identify, study, and disseminate the leading management innovations pioneered by “best in class” organizations.