
-
BlogCounty finance managers and elected officials do their best to oversee programs that serve their citizens. While recent government funding sources have provided much-needed relief, they also have generated increased reporting as to how and when those dollars were used.Extinction Alert: County Financial Operations without Digitization
- Even the strongest manual auditing programs can’t catch fraud or accidental reporting errors at the same consistency and granularity that tools supported by artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can
- To stay agile, county leaders can mitigate financial risk with tools that provide real-time analysis and optimized workflows in a way that protects financial information from being hacked or misused
-
Blog
Extinction Alert: County Financial Operations without Digitization
County finance managers and elected officials do their best to oversee programs that serve their citizens. While recent government funding sources have provided much-needed relief, they also have generated increased reporting as to how and when those dollars were used. Without digitized financial operations, county finance teams and programs are on the brink of burnout and obsolescence. That’s where “tools like AI drive increased productivity as well as enable rapid compliance with continuing emerging regulatory issues and so forth in a time when finance departments are not growing in size,” shared Chris Juneau of Oversight, in a recent podcast.
Robots vs Dinosaurs: Who’s Better At Fraud and Error Detection?
Even the strongest manual auditing programs can’t catch fraud or accidental reporting errors at the same consistency that tools supported by artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can. The 2022 ACFE Anti-Fraud Technology Benchmarking Report shared that “the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning in anti-fraud programs is expected to more than double over the next two years.” Once leaders have clarity around patterns of fraud or errors, they can guide county finance teams to a secure and productive financial environment. This doesn’t mean financial operations and its analysis will run on autopilot through robots!
County leaders can best support their teams with machine learning assistance by identifying key risk areas to monitor for potential fraud. Potential data sources to look for fraud analytics are:
- exception reporting
- policy violations
- predictive analytics
- geographic data mining
- transaction analysis
- sentiment analysis
An ACFE report indicated that 21% of state government agencies reported a median of $91,000 in fraud losses in 2020 an 32% of local government entities reported a media of $75,000 in fraud losses.
Once counties can identify patterns of errors or fraud, they can focus their efforts to correct these areas, rather than constantly fighting to stay on top of monitoring every single area of spending.
Constant Evolution: Risk and Compliance
Regularly assessing your county’s level of operational resilience in preparation for the next disruption has become fundamental. To stay agile, county leaders can mitigate financial risk with tools that provide real-time analysis and optimized workflows in a way that protects financial information from being hacked or misused. Hybrid and remote work environments are also becoming the norm, causing county operations to move away from on-premise platforms to managing spend in the cloud.
Without digitization, mobile applications and cloud technologies in place to support hundreds of remote workers, it’s impossible to maintain “business as usual” for residents. Now is the time to digitize your county’s financial operations!
Learn more about transforming your county’s financial operations with SAP Concur solutions today.
Resources to Leverage
- 4 Keys to Optimizing County Spend
- Four Tips to Help County Leaders Maximize Budget
- 7 Ways Digitizing Spend Management Benefits State and Local Governments and Their Constituents
- How Digitizing Spend Management Supports the Government Mission
To learn more about how to digitize your county’s financial operations, visit SAP Concur partner page at the National Association of Counties.
County finance managers and elected officials do their best to oversee programs that serve their citizens.2022-03-21Blog2022-03-21
County finance managers and elected officials do their best to oversee programs that serve their citizens. While recent government funding sources have provided much-needed relief, they also have generated increased reporting as to how and when those dollars were used. Without digitized financial operations, county finance teams and programs are on the brink of burnout and obsolescence. That’s where “tools like AI drive increased productivity as well as enable rapid compliance with continuing emerging regulatory issues and so forth in a time when finance departments are not growing in size,” shared Chris Juneau of Oversight, in a recent podcast.
Robots vs Dinosaurs: Who’s Better At Fraud and Error Detection?
Even the strongest manual auditing programs can’t catch fraud or accidental reporting errors at the same consistency that tools supported by artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can. The 2022 ACFE Anti-Fraud Technology Benchmarking Report shared that “the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning in anti-fraud programs is expected to more than double over the next two years.” Once leaders have clarity around patterns of fraud or errors, they can guide county finance teams to a secure and productive financial environment. This doesn’t mean financial operations and its analysis will run on autopilot through robots!
County leaders can best support their teams with machine learning assistance by identifying key risk areas to monitor for potential fraud. Potential data sources to look for fraud analytics are:
- exception reporting
- policy violations
- predictive analytics
- geographic data mining
- transaction analysis
- sentiment analysis
An ACFE report indicated that 21% of state government agencies reported a median of $91,000 in fraud losses in 2020 an 32% of local government entities reported a media of $75,000 in fraud losses.
Once counties can identify patterns of errors or fraud, they can focus their efforts to correct these areas, rather than constantly fighting to stay on top of monitoring every single area of spending.
Constant Evolution: Risk and Compliance
Regularly assessing your county’s level of operational resilience in preparation for the next disruption has become fundamental. To stay agile, county leaders can mitigate financial risk with tools that provide real-time analysis and optimized workflows in a way that protects financial information from being hacked or misused. Hybrid and remote work environments are also becoming the norm, causing county operations to move away from on-premise platforms to managing spend in the cloud.
Without digitization, mobile applications and cloud technologies in place to support hundreds of remote workers, it’s impossible to maintain “business as usual” for residents. Now is the time to digitize your county’s financial operations!
Learn more about transforming your county’s financial operations with SAP Concur solutions today.
Resources to Leverage
- 4 Keys to Optimizing County Spend
- Four Tips to Help County Leaders Maximize Budget
- 7 Ways Digitizing Spend Management Benefits State and Local Governments and Their Constituents
- How Digitizing Spend Management Supports the Government Mission
To learn more about how to digitize your county’s financial operations, visit SAP Concur partner page at the National Association of Counties.

-
Webinar
NACo Briefing for Newly Elected Congressional Staff on Counties & the Federal Grant Process
Jun. 8, 2023 , 3:00 pm – 4:00 pmOver the past two years, new federal laws have led to a significant increase in funding becoming available directly to counties. As a result, it is crucial for communities to understand how to navigate these opportunities and maximize these funding streams. -
Webinar
Worried about inflation? Strategies for Increasing Non-Tax Revenues.
Jun. 8, 2023 , 1:00 pm – 2:00 pmHosted by Joe Rulison, CEO, and William (Bill) Cherry- Director of Public Partnerships of three+one. This webinar will equip you with the latest knowledge and trends in liquidity management. This presentation is designed to help you optimize your cash management operations and generate new revenue streams. -
Webinar
NACo National Membership Call: Update on the Debt Ceiling Deal & County Impact
Jun. 5, 2023 , 4:00 pm – 5:00 pmJoin us for a national membership call overviewing the provisions in the bipartisan debt ceiling deal of relevance to counties. -
Webinar
National Membership Call: Unpacking Supreme Court Decisions on Waters of the U.S. and Property Tax Forfeiture Laws
Jun. 1, 2023 , 3:00 pm – 3:30 pmJoin NACo for a membership call unpacking these rulings and their implications for county governments moving forward. -
Reports & Toolkits
Legislative Analysis for Counties: The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023
The bipartisan debt ceiling deal brings certainty to counties and includes provisions relevant to local leaders, such as spending cuts, permitting reform, work requirements for federal public assistance programs, and reinstating federal student loan payments. -
Press Release
National Association of Counties Issues Statement on Bipartisan Debt Ceiling Deal
WASHINGTON – The National Association of Counties (NACo) today issued the following statement urging Congress to pass the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, a bill to provide for an increase to the debt ceiling and avoid default on the national debt. NACo Executive Director Matthew Chase said:
-
Basic page
Mental Health First Aid
Mental Health First Aid, a skills-based training administered by the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, teaches people how to identify, understand and respond to signs and symptoms of mental health and substance use challenges in their peers, friends and colleaguepagepagepage<h3><strong>WHY MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID?</strong></h3>
-
Reports & Toolkits
American Rescue Plan Resource Hub
In March of 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 authorized the $350 billion State and Local Coronavirus Fiscal Recovery Fund (Recovery Fund), which provided $65.1 billion in direct, flexible aid to every county in America.Reports & Toolkitsdocument03092:00 pmReports & Toolkits<p>In March of 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 authorized the $350 billion State and Local Coronavirus Fiscal Recovery Fund (Recovery Fund), which provided $65.1 billion in direct, flexible aid to
-
Basic page
NACo High Performance Leadership Academy
The NACo High Performance Leadership Academy is an online 12-week program that will empower frontline county government professionals with the most fundamental leadership skills to deliver results for counties and communities.pagepagepage<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width:100%" summary="medium-call-out transparent">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td> -
Basic page
cashvest
cashvest® by three+one is a cash management platform that provides new and unparalleled level of liquidity analysis and data services for local, county, school district and college governing bodiespagepagepage<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width:100%" summary="call-out">
<tbody>
<tr> -
Basic page
ClearGov
ClearGov® is the leading provider of Budget Cycle Management software, focused on helping local governments streamline the annual budgeting process by improving the collection, creation, and communication of their budgets.pagepagepage<table border="1" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="1" style="width:100%" summary="call-out transparent">
<tbody>
<tr> -
Basic page
Finance, Pensions & Intergovernmental Affairs Steering Committee
All matters pertaining to the financial resources of counties, fiscal management, federal assistance, municipal borrowing, county revenues, federal budget, federal tax reform, elections and Native American issues. Policy Platform & Resolutions 2022-2023 2022 NACo Legislative Prioritiespagepagepage<p>All matters pertaining to the financial resources of counties, fiscal management, federal assistance, municipal borrowing, county revenues, federal budget, federal tax reform, elections and Native American issues.</p>
Contact
Related Posts
Related Resources
-
Reports & ToolkitsLegislative Analysis for Counties: The Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023Jun. 1, 2023
-
Press ReleaseNational Association of Counties Issues Statement on Bipartisan Debt Ceiling DealMay. 29, 2023
-
Press ReleaseCounties Recognize Mental Health Awareness MonthMay. 1, 2023
More From
-
Strengthening Local Economies through the Recovery Fund: Executive Summary
NACo's report examines how counties are leveraging American Rescue Plan resources to support communities and rebuild the economy, even as the pandemic continues to affect jobs, public health, housing, and more.
Learn More