Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) works tirelessly to provide members with best practice information surrounding financial reporting and oversight. As long-time collaborators and supporters of each other’s professional organizations, GFOA provides this article to CSMFO members.

COVID-19 and the associated recession has presented immediate financial difficulties and has also harmed the long-term financial outlook for local governments. To help local governments deal with the many short-term and long-term challenges, the GFOA has provided a program called Fiscal First Aid. Fiscal First Aid was actually created more than ten years ago to help local governments deal with the 2008 Great Recession. We have completely updated and revised it for 2020. Fiscal First Aid is the process of recognizing, documenting, and reversing a pattern of financial decline.

At the core of Fiscal First Aid is its Three Stages of Recovery. We have summarized the three stages below and provided links to some of the most essential resources at our Fiscal First Aid website (gfoa.org/ffa)

#1 Bridge. In the Bridging Stage, the government must get through the immediate crisis and create breathing room to make more sustainable reforms. Bridge includes:

• Averting immediate crises. You can do this by following the steps below.
• Forming a team to lead the recovery. The finance officer can’t do it alone. Help will be needed.
• Slowing the flow of money out the door with basic cost-cutting techniques that can be deployed quickly.
• Implementing a Cash Flow Forecast to get forewarning of potential cash flow difficulties.

#2 Reform. The government carries out the short-term recovery plan and develops and implements long-term therapies in the Reform Stage. Reform includes:

• Balancing the budget without making things worse in the long run;
• Diagnosing your causes of financial distress. Diagnosis must come before treatment.
• Applying low-risk treatments. Some budget balancing techniques have little risk of adverse side effects. An example of an adverse side effect would be increasing your long-term costs, as would be the case with deferring maintenance on critical infrastructure. Treatments without such side effects should be your first choice.
• Considering higher risk treatments. Low-risk treatments might not be enough. Consider higher risk treatments carefully.
• Explore ideas for bigger reform.

#3 Transform. In the Transform Stage, the government institutionalizes long-term financial planning and becomes more resistant to future financial distress and adaptable to a changing environment. Transform includes:

• Increasing adaptability;
• Increasing resistant to future crises;
• Coming back better, stronger, and more resilient than before; and
• Building a strong financial foundation and thriving community for the long-run.

Where should you go from here?

Visit www.gfoa.org/ffa to access the following:

• A breakdown of the 3 stages of recovery in to a more detailed 12-step process.
• Diagnostic model. A full, ready-to-use diagnostic model is available to help find causes of financial distress that you can address.
• Catalog of budget balancing techniques. The site highlights the most and least recommended techniques for providing short-term relief for financial distress.
• Catalog of long-term treatments. A number of strategies to improve financial condition over the long term are discussed.