the municipal secretary desktop reference manual - Southwestern ...

MUNICIPAL FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT STANDARDS
FOR SMALL MUNICIPALITIES
The several areas encompassed by the municipal financial management standards are
extremely important because they address a most vital concern: a municipality's policies and
procedures impacting upon the administration of its fiscal resources.
Application of and adherence to the numerous financial management standards would enable
policy officials and program managers to review and appraise in a systematic and structured manner
a variety of critical fiscal areas:
! equitable nature -of the municipal revenue program,
! extent and nature of revenue delinquencies,
! means used to protect assets from embezzlement, loss or misuse,
! process in effect to maximize returns from money market instruments,
! responsiveness of its fiscal planning process to citizen needs and fiscal burdens,
! extent to which accounting and reporting systems facilitate full disclosure and
accountability,
! effectiveness and efficiencies of its several expenditure programs,
! adequacy of its budgeting and fiscal planning process in addressing the political question
of Awho gets what at what cost?,@ and
! extent to which the jurisdiction is using the most cost effective purchasing approach.
The fiscal management standards for small boroughs and townships cover seven major
categories:
! Municipal Budget/Fiscal Plan, Planning and Process
! Fiscal Planning for Future Expenditures and Revenues
! Revenue Collection
! Municipal Accounting
! Municipal Auditing
! Municipal Cash Management and Investment
! Municipal Purchasing
The Reference Manual for these several standards categories contains the same types of
materials as are contained in the General Governance Reference Manual: ordinances, forms and
related material, a bibliography of appropriate publications; a listing of professional associations and
an action plan to implement one or more of the financial management standards.
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