From Guess Work to Informed Judgment

The job of a local government finance officer is to help elected officials and other decision-makers make better decisions. This involves helping elected officials make sense of and navigate uncertain information and situations. This requires expressing uncertainty clearly, especially for assumptions that might underlie financial plans and budgets. In this paper, we will address why quantified estimates of uncertainty are desirable and why special training is necessary to make such estimates. We’ll then provide an overview of how the training works.

• Publication date: October 2024