CGFO Study Guide 2026

Outcome-based performance indicators directly measure whether the program is achieving its intended results and goals.

Systematic planning combined with continuous improvement ensures sustainable success and allows for proactive management of challenges.

Government-wide financial statements offer a comprehensive, entity-wide perspective of the government's financial position and activities. They consolidate all governmental and business-type activities and utilize the full accrual basis of accounting, recognizing revenues when earned and expenses when incurred. This contrasts with fund statements, which often use modified accrual and focus on individual funds, providing a different scope and accounting method.

The primary goal of treasury operations is to manage liquidity and financial obligations efficiently. This involves ensuring that the organization has sufficient cash to meet all its financial commitments as they become due, while also optimizing the return on any surplus funds. Treasury operations encompass cash forecasting, managing bank relationships, investing idle cash, and overseeing debt management.

Segregation of duties is an essential principle for strong internal control because it divides critical financial tasks among different individuals. This prevents any single person from having complete control over a transaction from start to finish, thereby reducing the opportunity for fraud or error. By requiring multiple people to authorize, record, and reconcile transactions, it creates a system of checks and balances that enhances accuracy and accountability.

Proactive hazard identification and assessment allows professionals to identify and mitigate risks before incidents occur, which is far more effective than reactive approaches that only address problems after they happen.