Message from Stephanie Hall – WGFOA President
Welcome to the WGFOA website. Since its inception in 1966, our Association has strived to provide quality training, educational opportunities, and timely updates on issues that are of importance to public finance officials.
As outlined in our bylaws, our goals are to:
- Stimulate the professional development and promote free interchange of information in methods of budget preparation, financial reporting, governmental accounting, financial administration and public finance.
- Further the career development goals of public finance professionals and broaden the understanding of our duties and responsibilities.
- Promote interest in and awareness of the public finance profession.
- Promote professional contacts through the meetings of the Association. Our Board continues to spend numerous hours putting together themed conferences that provide our members with information they can use in all aspects of their jobs. Due to shrinking budgets, most staff in every part of an organization has had to take on additional duties and responsibilities. To that end, the WGFOA offers a wide array of sessions including, but not limited to, topic areas such as those listed below to assist our members in their expanded roles.
| Accounting | Human Resources |
| Budgeting | Internal Controls |
| Change Management | Purchasing |
| Debt Issuance and Debt Management | Risk Management |
| Ethics | Treasury Management |
Because of our reputation for providing high quality sessions at a very modest price (registration costs typically range from $150 to $260 per conference), we consistently attract conference participants from both in-state and out-of-state areas. We search out qualified speakers to present issues with national, state, and local perspectives.
The WGFOA sponsors at least three themed conferences annually at various locations throughout the state. Please see our website under “conferences & events” for dates and locations.
The Association sponsors a hospitality room at all conferences that is great for networking and sharing ideas with your peers. In addition, we often sponsor other networking events to highlight local attractions near our conferences. I have personally met many valued connections and peers (as well as developed friendships) over the many years by being involved in this Association that I certainly would never have met otherwise.
We have expanded the number and types of scholarships available to members so that all members have a chance to attend various programs and conferences at a free or reduced cost to them or their organization.
The Board has also worked on and adopted many policies over the past several years to aid the current and future Board members in maintaining consistency in administering the Association’s operations.
If you are interested in becoming a member of the WGFOA, or know of somebody else who might be interested, please contact our current Secretary, Misty Dodge, at 608-270-4252 or Misty.Dodge@fitchburgwi.gov. You can also click here for more membership information or to apply online.