Professional certification, trade certification, or professional designation, often called simply certification or qualification, is a designation earned by a person to assure qualification to perform a job or task. Not all certifications that use post-nominal letters are an acknowledgement of educational achievement, or an agency appointed to safeguard the public interest.
The chief financial officer (CFO) is an officer of a company or organization that is assigned the primary responsibility for making decisions for the company for projects and its finances The CFO thus has ultimate authority over the finance unit and is the chief financial spokesperson for the organization.
Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP or U.S. GAAP or GAAP (USA), pronounced like "gap") is the accounting standard adopted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and is the default accounting standard used by companies based in the United States.
Certified Public Accountant (CPA) is the title of qualified accountants in numerous countries in the English-speaking world. It is generally equivalent to the title of chartered accountant in other English-speaking countries. In the United States, the CPA is a license to provide accounting services to the public. It is awarded by each of the 50 states for practice in that state. Additionally, all states except Hawaii have passed mobility laws to allow CPAs from other states to practice in their state. State licensing requirements vary, but the minimum standard requirements include passing the Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination, 150 semester units of college education, and one year of accounting-related experience.
The state controller of California is a constitutional office in the executive branch of the government of the U.S. state of California. Thirty-three individuals have held the office of state controller since statehood. The incumbent is Malia Cohen, a Democrat. The state controller's main office is located at 300 Capitol Mall in Sacramento.
A comptroller is a management-level position responsible for supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting of an organization. A financial comptroller is a senior-level executive who acts as the head of accounting, and oversees the preparation of financial reports, such as balance sheets and income statements.
The municipal government of Toronto is the local government responsible for administering the city of Toronto in the Canadian province of Ontario. Its structure and powers are set out in the City of Toronto Act.
The Government Finance Officers Association is a professional association of approximately 19,000 state, provincial, and local government finance officers in the United States and Canada. GFOA is headquartered in downtown Chicago.
In the state governments of the United States, 48 of the 50 states have the executive position of treasurer. New York abolished the position in 1926; duties were transferred to New York State Comptroller. Texas abolished the position of Texas State Treasurer in 1996, transferring the duties of that office to the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.
The Oklahoma State Auditor and Inspector is an elected Constitutional officer for the U.S. State of Oklahoma. The State Auditor and Inspector is responsible for auditing and prescribing bookkeeping standards of all government agencies and county treasurers within Oklahoma. The office in its current form is a consolidation of the office of State Auditor with that of the office of State Examiner and Inspector, both of which dated back to statehood in 1907. The two positions were combined in 1979 after passage of State Question 510 in 1975. Tom Daxon was the first person to hold the combined office and the first Republican as all previous occupants of either position were Democrats.
A Certified Government Financial Manager (CGFM) is a professional certification issued by the Association of Government Accountants (AGA) in the United States. It was created in 1994 to provide a professional standard of financial expertise and ethics in government and a standard by which government financial management professionals are measured. Its education, experience and ethics requirements have served to elevate the most seasoned financial professionals.
A government investment pool (GIP), or local government investment pool (LGIP), is a state or local government pool offered to public entities for the investment of public funds. These pools are important investments tools, offering safety with a competitive yield. GIP managers are vested with a public trust that the pool will maintain liquidity, diversity, and follow the investment pool’s guidelines. GIPs have a history of prudent management; however, there have been several isolated instances of fund losses. Despite these failures, GIPs are required to provide regularly reporting and disclosure to its participants, fund investors.
An Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, formerly called Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR)) is a set of U.S. government financial statements comprising the financial report of a state, municipal or other governmental entity that complies with the accounting requirements promulgated by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB). GASB provides standards for the content of a Comprehensive Annual Financial Report in its annually updated publication Codification of Governmental Accounting and Financial Reporting Standards. The U.S. Federal Government adheres to standards determined by the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB).
The Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF) is located in Norwalk, Connecticut, United States. It was organized in 1972 as a non-stock, Delaware Corporation. It is an independent organization in the private sector, operating with the goal of ensuring objectivity and integrity in financial reporting standards. FAF operates four branches in its organization: the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB), the Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Council (FASAC), and the Governmental Accounting Standards Advisory Council (GASAC).
California Municipal Treasurers Association (CMTA) is the professional society of active public treasurers of California counties, cities, and special districts. It sets ethical standards for the treasury profession in state and local government in California.
A Certified California Municipal Treasurer (CCMT) is a post-nominal professional certification awarded by the California Municipal Treasurers Association (CMTA) to California public treasurers who meet standards of education, experience, and a stated commitment to a code of ethics. It was created in 1978 to provide a professional standard of financial expertise and ethics in California government treasury.
The municipal treasurer is a position of responsibility for a municipality according to the locally prevailing laws. The treasurer of a public agency is elected by the voting public or is appointed by the municipal council or municipal manager. City treasurers are primarily responsible for managing the revenue and cash flow of the agency, banking, collection, receipt, reporting, custody, investment or disbursement of municipal funds.
The California Society of Municipal Finance Officers is a professional association of state, county, and local government finance officers in California. The California Society of Municipal Finance Officers is the statewide organization serving all California municipal finance professionals, an affiliate of the nationwide Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA). Membership is open to anyone in the State of California actively engaged in government finance in any city, county, or special district.
Association of Public Treasurers of the United States and Canada (APTUSC) is the professional society of active public treasurers of counties, provinces, cities, and special districts in the United States and Canada. It sets ethical standards for the treasury profession in state and local government.
The Municipal Technical Advisory Service (MTAS) is an agency of the University of Tennessee Institute for Public Service (IPS) that provides assistance and training to municipal officials and employees in Tennessee, among them mayors, council members, city managers, city administrators, city recorders, and department heads.
Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA)
Texas Municipal League (TML)