Outgoing Government Finance Officers Association President Steven Gibson is leaving the group with a larger membership and a new code of ethics, hopefully positioning GFOA for a strong future, Gibson said. His term is up as president of the and he’s cementing a few values in his wake and leaving with a growth in membership.
Gibson, who is the deputy city manager in Rock Hill, South Carolina, reflected on his year as GFOA president in a wide-ranging interview with The Bond Buyer.
“They’ve been very generous in allowing me the time to work on the business of the association as well as the business of the city,” Gibson said of GFOA.
One of his major accomplishments during his tenure was reworking the GFOA’s code of ethics, Gibson said.
“We’re responding really from the position of strength,” he said. “We’re not responding to some ethical crisis or something that may distract from our work.”
The current code of ethics is decades old and focuses on the “do’s and don'ts” for government financial officers and Gibson wants to change that.
“We’re prepared to deliver something more powerful to our members, more meaningful,” Gibson said. “Over the years there’s been a decline in trust in government and our members deal with that on a regular basis.”
Integrity, honesty, producing results, treating people fairly, diversity and inclusion, reliability and consistency will all be reflected in the code, Gibson said.
For example, a finance officer could demonstrate reliability and consistency by providing reliable information timely, he said. On a local level, when elected officials are contemplating a project, timely and accurate information from financial officers could help those officials make an informed decision, Gibson said.
“We already know right from wrong, the real impediment to ethical behavior is pressure from the environment to do the wrong thing or to ignore someone who’s doing the wrong thing,” Gibson said. “Those social pressures are very powerful.”
GFOA reached 20,000 members in February, a longstanding goal, and Gibson said the association is now nearing 20,500 members. Finance directors account for 44% of its membership.
“The number is meaningful because it’s that milestone number, but more importantly so many new members bring so many new ideas to our organization and that’s important,” Gibson said.
GFOA will be celebrating that 20,000th member — Carol Orth, assistant controller in Alameda County, California— at the annual conference.
Throughout his tenure, Gibson said the organization has been focused on attracting and retaining the next generation of finance officers. He added that many in the younger generation are entering the workforce and have a strong sense of mission.
“They want to make a difference, but not all of them have found public service as meeting that purpose,” Gibson said. “So we have to continue to be very intentional on attracting and retaining the next generation of finance officers.”
Gibson said the GFOA is continuing to work with local universities, promote scholarships, mentorship programs, internships and student chapters.
GFOA has five scholarship opportunities for students looking to go into public finance careers. It also has a 10-week internship program with its Research and Consulting Center, providing consulting services to state and local governments.
“Our student initiative is strong and it needs our continued focus and fresh ideas so as we grow as a membership,” Gibson said. “That gives us a wider base to find those areas of excellence where members are doing this well so they can demonstrate how they’ve attracted and retained again the next generation of finance officers and leaders in their organizations.”
Terry Stone, of Hanover County Public Schools, will replace Gibson, becoming GFOA president in late May.
“I know she will continue with some of these long term initiatives and then have some of her own… these initiatives are in great hands going forward,” Gibson said.
Gibson will still serve as past president on the board, carrying out his initiatives.
“I will still be close to the initiatives and be working with the excellent GFOA staff and seeing them through,” Gibson said. “I look forward to the additional year on the board, continuing to work on these important areas.”
Rock Hill with a population of over 73,000 people, Gibson makes time to go to a variety of sporting events in his city.
