Program Hotel Information Conference Rates Register
 
  • WEDNESDAY, FEB. 20
  • THURSDAY, FEB. 21
  • FRIDAY, FEB. 22

Registration Opens

8:00 a.m. Conference Foyer

Platinum Sponsor Exhibit Set-Up

8:00 a.m. Flagstaff Room

Pre-Conference Session: True Colors*
*Advance Registration required

9:00 – 11:30 a.m. Grand Ballroom

2.5 CPEs

TRUE COLORS is an easy, entertaining way to identify your character spectrum to better understand yourself and others. It is a simple model of personality identification for people of all ages that improves communication through recognition of a person’s true character. Using the colors of orange, green, blue and gold to differentiate our basic personality types, TRUE COLORS becomes an uncomplicated language for every individual to convey complex ideas very simply.

Please register in advance if you plan to participate in this session. Program costs will be covered by the association; however, advance registration is required to account for materials needed.

Lunch on Your Own

11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Education Committee Meeting

11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Executive Board Room

If you are interested in participating in the GFOAz Education Committee meeting to plan the upcoming trainings and conferences, please e-mail info@gfoaz.org.

GAAP – Now and Later

1:00 – 1:50 p.m. Grand Ballroom

1 CPE

Speaker: Michael Stelpstra, CPA, Arizona Auditor General’s Office

This session will address changes in accounting standards Arizona governments will implement for fiscal years 2018 and 2019, including GASB’s proposed implementation guidance on fiduciary activities. We will also look at the short- and long-term projects GASB is working on, including the proposed standard on conduit debt obligations and the reporting model reexamination, that will affect governmental financial statements in the future.

Networking with Sponsors

1:50 p.m. Flagstaff Room

Please take this time to network with the platinum sponsors at their booths in the exhibit room.

Complaint-Free Business

2:00 – 4:00 p.m. Grand Ballroom

2 CPEs

Speaker: Will Bowen, Motivational Speaker

Executives, employees and staff deal with hundreds of complaints on a daily basis from both complaining customers and complaining co-workers. In a fast-paced and funny presentation, you’ll learn:

  1. What’s wrong with complaining? (Complaining’s destructive effects on health, happiness, relationships and career).
  2. What is (and isn’t) a complaint?
  3. The five reasons people complain (as remembered by the acronym G.R.I.P.E.)
  4. How to get other people (and ourselves) to stop complaining
  5. Positive leadership in a negative world

You’ll leave inspired, mindful of our own complaints and motivated to approach complainers with new, simple and effective strategies.

Membership Committee Meeting

4:00 – 4:50 p.m. Executive Board Room

If you are interested in participating in the GFOAz Membership Committee meeting, please e-mail info@gfoaz.org.

New Member Meet & Greet

5:00 – 5:30 p.m.

All members are encouraged to attend and meet new members of GFOAz!

Welcome and Sponsor Reception

5:30 - 7:00 p.m.

GFOAz welcomes members to join us for an opening reception to thank our sponsors. The ongoing success of GFOAz is dependent on several factors, but possibly none as important as the continued financial support of our corporate partners.

Continental Breakfast

7:30 – 8:00 a.m. Flagstaff Room

Enterprise Fleet Management

8:00 – 8:50 a.m. Grand Ballroom

1 CPE

Speakers: Alex Dammen, Enterprise Fleet Management
Tim Warren, Enterprise Fleet Management


This session will provide an introduction of the Enterprise Fleet Management vehicle leasing program and how the process of leasing vehicles will help cities and towns manage maintenance and vehicle costs.

Housing in Arizona – The Past, Present and Future

9:00 – 9:50 a.m. Grand Ballroom

1 CPE

Speakers: Jim Belfiore, Founder and President, Belfiore Real Estate Consulting
Mark Reader, Managing Director, Stifel


Jim Belfiore, Founder and President of Belfiore Real Estate Consulting will present the State of the State through the eyes of Arizona’s consumers, homebuilders and residential developers. Jim’s presentation of real-time, relevant macro and micro-level data – data collected by Belfiore analysts whom regularly visit nearly every new home sales office in Arizona – will be shared, as well as the Belfiore vision of where the market is headed and how the direction may affect the business of local governing.

Mark Reader, Managing Director of Stifel, will cap the housing discussion off by providing a market update on various CFD-related matters of interest as it relates to financing public infrastructure for Master Planned Communities and Redevelopment Related infrastructure projects.

The Formation and Utilization of an Internal Audit Department

10:00 – 11:30 a.m. Grand Ballroom

1.5 CPEs

Speaker: Ross Tate, Internal Audit Director, City of Phoenix

This session will describe the formation and reporting structure of an internal audit department, the types of audits that are performed, and how the City of Phoenix utilizes its internal audit department.

Break and Networking with Sponsors

11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Flagstaff Room

Lunch, Annual Business Meeting and Sponsor Recognition

12:00 – 1:00 p.m. Grand Ballroom

Speakers: Bonny Lynn, GFOAz 2018 President; Finance Director/CFO, Coconino County
Sean Kindell, GFOAz 2019 President; Deputy Finance Director, Peoria


All attendees are welcome to attend the annual business meeting in the Grand Ballroom during lunch. President Sean Kindell will recognize GFOAz’s current sponsors and recognize new GFOAz board members.

Break and Networking with Sponsors

1:00 – 1:30 p.m. Grand Ballroom

Contract Management and Compliance

1:40 – 2:30 p.m. Grand Ballroom

1 CPE

Speaker: Elizabeth Fernandez, Assistant City Attorney, City of Glendale

Efficient contract management is critical as cities and companies spend millions of dollars a year procuring goods and services through various contracts. This presentation will cover the basic information of how to successfully manage contracts and ensure compliance to scope of work and performance. It will outline the responsibilities that are involved once a contract is in place including: tracking responsibilities and milestones, monitoring contract limits, planning for expiration dates, and how to effectively manage the relationship with the vendor or service provider.

Financial & Legal Implications of Arizona Revitalization Districts

2:40 – 3:30 p.m. Grand Ballroom

1 CPE

Speakers: William C. Davis, Managing Director, Piper Jaffray
Nick Dodd, Managing Director, Piper Jaffray
Zach Sakas, Attorney, Gust Rosenfeld, P.L.C.


This session will cover the various financial and legal implications that organizations must take into consideration when working with revitalization districts within the state of Arizona.

Post-Issuance Bond Compliance

3:40 – 5:10 p.m. Grand Ballroom

1.5 CPEs

Speakers: Greg Cross, Trustee, Zions Bank
Lee Davis, Bond Holder, Zions Bank
Nick Dodd, Managing Director, Piper Jaffray
Celina Morris, Finance Director, City of Casa Grande
Tim Stratton, Bond Attorney, Gust Rosenfeld


GFOAz Board Meeting

5:15 – 6:00 p.m. Executive Board Room

Reception

6:00 – 7:00 p.m. Flagstaff Room



Breakfast

8:00 – 8:50 a.m. Flagstaff Room

Economic Update

9:00 – 9:50 a.m. Grand Ballroom

1 CPE

This session will provide an update on current economic outlook nationally and in Arizona and some issues of interest regarding Arizona's current and near-term economic circumstances.

Arizona Property Tax Forecasting

10:00 – 10:50 a.m. Grand Ballroom

1 CPE

Speakers: Mark Reader, Managing Director, Stifel
Randie Stein, Director, Stifel

This session will provide an overview of the property valuation and taxation system in Arizona. Property taxes are a key source of revenue for multiple types of government jurisdictions in the state and provide funding for a variety of governmental expenditures. Arguably one of the most complex structures in the country – there is always something to learn! Additionally, the session will include an update on general obligation bond elections and types of projects repaid through secondary property tax levy, a capacity analysis update and credit rating criteria components of general obligation bonds.

Legislative Update

11:00 – 11:50 a.m. Grand Ballroom

1 CPE

Speakers: Tom Belshe, Deputy Director, League of Arizona Cities and Towns
Craig Sullivan, Executive Director, County Supervisors Association of Arizona


This session will update members on a variety of timely legislative issues. League legislative staff will provide an overview of the 2019 legislative session and explain the challenges and opportunities we currently face. Attendees will also hear about the current status of legal issues that are affecting cities, towns and counties.

Conference Concludes

12:00 p.m.