Financial Services News - Sept. 7, 2015

In mid-July, U.S. Communities unveiled a new contract for public sector consulting with Alvarez & Marsal (A&M). A&M, founded in 1983, is a global professional services firm. Its Public Sector Services consulting group was launched in 2003 and aims to serve the unique needs of government, focusing on government-wide turnaround strategies, health and human services solutions, and K-12 turnaround initiatives.

Its mission is to help counties not only face unexpected challenges but also recover from them in efficient and transformative ways. For example, A&M assisted a county with a population of 25,000 in a review of internal controls and an enterprise risk-assessment related to cash processing and the financial planning process. It developed new financial and management policies and procedures; established critical action plans to address internal con­trol inefficiencies, validated budget projections and developed new financial organizational structures.

It has worked with school districts such as the New Orleans public school system in the wake of Hurricane Katrina; the New York City schools where a restructur­ing team was able to reallocate $200 million a year from central administration into classrooms, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico where it identified $1.7 billion a year in recurring savings and non-tax revenue enhancements.

A&M also validated the fi­nancial information provided by a county’s master developer for an adaptive reuse area located in a former historic prison. It pro­vided the county with a financial roadmap outlining the strengths and potential weaknesses of the development’s financial plan. The reuse project is currently underway and has been noted as a prime example of adapting a site while preserving its historical integrity.

“U.S. Communities is optimis­tic that county users will turn to Alvarez & Marsal when conven­tional approaches are not enough to activate change and achieve results,” said David Thompson, NACo Financial Services Corp. managing director. “A&M is geared toward going beyond basic recommendations and reports.” It also has a reputation, Thompson added, for its ability to support clients’ efforts publicly, with an understanding of political and regulatory issues as well as the media.

The multi-year contract was awarded through a competitive solicitation process conducted by lead public agency Fairfax County, Va. as part of the Innovative Solu­tions, Applications, Products and Services proposal solicitation.

Alvarez & Marsal was chosen for its ability to help public entities streamline operations and reduce costs — an important and urgent imperative for counties as they face growing pressure to absorb budget cuts and “do more with less” — and also because its goals match those of U.S. Communi­ties. Both organizations seek to bring a hands-on approach that helps county officials accomplish their mission while being prudent stewards of taxpayers’ money.

U.S. Communities is a leading national government purchasing cooperative, providing solutions and savings to members by ag­gregating the purchasing power of public agencies nationwide. U.S. Communities provides county users with access to a wide variety of competitively solicited contracts with national suppliers that have committed to providing their low­est overall public agency pricing. For more information, please visit www.uscommunities.org.