IGFOA

About the Islands' Government Finance Officers Association

Since 2000, PITI-VITI has supported the efforts of the Island Government Finance Officers Association (IGFOA), a professional organization comprised of the Chief Financial Officers and key permanent financial staff of each U.S.-affiliated insular government. The IGFOA provides insular government finance officers opportunities to discuss common challenges and share successful best practices. In addition, the IGFOA fosters peer accountability, whereby each government self-reports on the status of their audits and progress against key finance office performance measures.

The focus of the IGFOA has evolved through the years. While early conferences focused on traditional, accounting-focused training, in recent years, GSUSA program managers, DOI-OIA officials, and IGFOA members have identified three priority areas:

• improving the quality and timeliness of single audits in the insular areas;
• tracking the performance of finance offices through performance measures; and
• measuring the ‘fiscal health’ of each government through the Performeter.

The IGFOA has consistently addressed emerging financial issues likely to impact the insular areas. The meetings provide a forum for discussion ranging from single audits to FMIS systems. Recently prioritized areas included managing COVID-19 stimulus funds and tracking the evolving standards of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB), which has recently modified the accounting rules for government leases, among other areas. Other technical issues have included the procurement, installation, and management of financial management information systems; the development of Popular Annual Financial Reports (PAFRs); discussion on process improvement; and cybersecurity assessments.

Two IGFOA conferences are held annually.