Helping Frame a Clear Window: A New Look on Financial Status Reporting
Several Central Valley Project Water Service Contractors attended financial management training on Wednesday, Sept. 12, 2007, as part of the implementation of the Managing for Excellence Team 25 action plan. Held at the Northern California Area Office (NCAO) in Redding, Calif., this was the sixth session of the pilot training on Reclamation's costing and accounting principles and practices.
Reclamation customers were guided through the tools and processes Reclamation plans to use to significantly enhance understanding and transparency of Reclamation's project accounting. Shelley Ruff, Great Plains Region Budget Officer and Mary Halverson, Upper Colorado Region Finance Officer conducted the training. The customers received detailed information on the process of assigning costs to projects, cost allocation and reporting methods and other financial management matters.
The goal of the training is to engage the customers in the process and encourages them to be part of the overall planning of Reclamation projects. Samples of graphics were used in the presentation to demonstrate highly effective methods for reporting of information.
Brian Person, NCAO Area Manager, said that transparency is an important element to the perception of Reclamation by its customers. "The vast majority of districts are responsible for a portion of costs for Reclamation activities. This learning opportunity should really help them make the link between their financial obligations to Reclamation and their own work."
The financial training sessions are one of six recommendations from Team 25 and the details which framed the improvements to financial status reporting are the result of extensive interviews with water and power users, as well as Reclamation managers.
"This is certainly worthwhile, and I appreciate the opportunity," remarked David Coxey, Bella Vista Irrigation District general manager. "This 3-hour training will help me get other staff members up-to-speed on how this 'trickles down' to district rates for irrigation and other aspects of our operations."
Managing for Excellence also recommends financial management training on a recurring basis for Area Office managers and staff in order to more effectively communicate budget and cost information to customers. The afternoon of Sept. 12 was devoted to training a number of Reclamation employees on the subject.
Reclamation will now take the feedback received at these training sessions and will fine-tune both the customer and employee training. Future sessions of the financial training are in development and will include training customized for each region, tailored to specific projects.
Last updated: 9/21/07