Qualifying Experience

International Trainer and Consultant. 10/97 to present. Trainer in government finance, including capital and operating budgeting, performance measurement, and costing government services.

Training Advisor for BearingPoint's USAID-funded TAPR II Project in Egypt. (04/06 to 09/06). Charged with developing a training action plan (assessment of needs, initial training program, training trainers for line agencies, provide for ongoing training) to develop the management capacity of the Ministry oof Finance and to support the implementation of the Treasury Single Account and a new Chart of Accounts.

Government Finance Specialist to Jamaica’s Parish Infrastructure Development Programme (02/05 - 12/05) to evaluate accounting software and plan/implement financial management training.

Consultant on local government budgeting and financial management to Suriname and Jamaica (10/04 - 12/05). For Suriname, I developed a local government finance manual and trained regional finance staff in implementing it. For Jamaica, I conducted a software evaluation and then developed materials for a finance training course that I delivered to senior local government staff in all of Jamaica's parishes.

Local Government Management Director for DAI’s Governance Reform and Sustainable Partnership (GRASP) program in Romania (11/02 - 08/03). Achievement include successfully hiring and training local staff to provide technical management and finance assistance to Romanian local governments; defined and gave direction to further the development of a municipal bond market in the country. Coordinated the delivery of a well-received capital budgeting program to complement planning for municipal bond use as a financing mechanism.

Long-term USAID/Barents advisor to the UNMIK/Kosovo Central Fiscal Authority on accounting and cash management (03/00 to 04/01). Routinized the manual payments system, established regional offices, established a non-cash payments system within Kosovo, and trained local staff to operate all Treasury systems. Conceived, designed, and created the first UNMIK agency web page which served as a distribution point for instructions, procedures and forms.

Short-term advisor on operating budget reform to USAID/Barents in Montenegro (01/00 to 02/00). Advisor to USAID/IPA in Turkmenistan on capital budgeting (9/99 to 10/99). Advisor to USAID/Chemonics on tax collection devolution to smaller local governments in Romania (4/99 to 5/99). Short-term advisor on capital programming and budgeting to USAID/IPA in Turkmenistan (9/98 to 2/99). Advisor on budgeting and revenue management to USAID/Chemonics in Romania (3/98 to 7/98).

Consultant on web site design and construction to the Maryland Public Finance Officers Association (MPFOA) and the Massachusetts Government Finance Officers Association (MGFOA).
Director, Education and Marketing Center. 6/94 to 9/97. Government Finance Officers Association, Chicago, IL. Played a key role in planning and programming of the GFOA's annual
conferences as well as providing leadership for ongoing national seminars. Applied marketing principles to make GFOA's products and services more widely known in the government finance community. Developed and delivered four budget-related courses that were well received. Responsible for $1.6 million in expenditures and $2.1 million in revenue.

Accomplishments include:

  • Increased attendance at three successive annual conferences
  • Doubled the number of national seminars
  • Personally developed and delivered four budget-related courses
  • Produced and directed the GAAP Update satellite telecast to over 90 sites
  • Staffed GFOA's Strategic Training Task Force and implemented its recommendation for an examination-based certification program.

International Trainer/Consultant. 3/90 to 5/94. Consultant and writer on public finance, budgeting, accounting, and microcomputers both nationally and internationally. Clients included the U. S. Agency for International Development/Thailand, International City Management Association, the Government Finance Officers Association, the Michigan Municipal League and the Centerville-Osterville-Marstons Mills Fire District.

For the U. S. Agency for International Development/Thailand, I made three trips to Bangkok and other Thai cities and participated in an analysis of Thai local government finance. Developed and delivered two training programs on the use of debt financing for environmental projects for local government officials.

Assistant Director for Finance. 10/89 to 3/90. Harvard Institute for International Development, Cambridge, MA. Responsible for accounting and reporting for the international development consulting arm of Harvard University.

Director of Budget and Finance and Acting Treasurer. 5/86 to 10/89. City of Lawrence, MA. Responsible for budgeting, accounting, treasury, tax collections, assessing, purchasing and data processing. As the city's first-ever Finance Director, I was charged by the Mayor to build an integrated Finance Department from disparate units not accustomed to cooperative efforts or professional standards. Accomplishments include a complete reorganization of Treasury investment procedures, the elimination of three audit exceptions and the establishment of the city's first budget office.

Editor, MGFOA Newsletter. 10/86 to 05/94. Designed, developed, edited, and produced the Massachusetts Government Finance Officers Association's first-ever newsletter. The 8-page typeset publication has been well received by practitioners and academics alike.

Assistant Director. 1/81 to 2/86. The Government Finance Research Center (GFRC) of the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA), Washington, DC. Served as the key advisor on governmental budgeting and computer technology to the organization and its members. Stimulated the expansion of organizational use of computer technology and integrated telecommunications, electronic spreadsheets, data base management, graphics, word processing, and desktop publishing into office procedures.

Of particular interest are my staff support to the GFOA Committee on Governmental Budgeting and Management and contributing editorships to Government Finance Review, and Resources in Review. Played a major role in the development of GFOA's Budget Awards program, the only program of its kind devoted to improving public budgeting.

Wrote GFOA's best-seller Costing Government Services: A Guide for Decision Making. Over 10,000 copies distributed.