Webinar: Municipal Bankruptcy—Accounting, Budgeting & Financial Management

Tuesday, April 17, 1:00 pm ET (10:00 am PT)

CPE credit available—2 credits, Accounting

This webinar, third in a series, focuses on accounting and financial management tools needed to render services in municipal bankruptcies.

The presentation will be moderated by AIRA Journal Section Editor (Valuation/Finance), Kenji Mochizuki, CIRA (Akemi Capital). The Panelists will be:

Governmental Accounting & GASB Statement No. 34, Basic Financial Statements-and Management's Discussion and Analysis-for State and Local Governments

• Thomas Staskowski, CPA First Vice President, Ambac Assurance Corporation

GASB Statement No. 58, Accounting and Financial Reporting for Chapter 9 Bankruptcies

• Ken Schermann, CPA Senior Technical Advisor, Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB)

Government Budgeting and Financial Management

• Daniel L. Smith Assistant Professor of Public Budgeting and Financial Management, NYU Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service

Public Policy and Distressed Municipalities

• Stephen P. Mullin Adjunct Professor, University of Pennsylvania, Fels Institute of Government; Adjunct Professor, Drexel University; Senior Vice President & Principal of Econsult Corp., member of the Econsult/Fairmount Group

Recovery Plans, Financial Planning, and Strategic Planning

• Dan Connelly, Director, Fairmount Capital Advisors and member of the Econsult/Fairmount Group

Fiscal Stress Indicators and Accounting Based Measures

• Kenji Mochizuki, CIRA Managing Director Akemi Capital

About the Presenters

Thomas Staskowski, CPA—First Vice President, Corporate Tax of Ambac Assurance Corporation (Ambac), which prior to the 2008 financial crisis was the second largest guarantor of municipal bonds. His current responsibilities include Ambac’s holding company’s bankruptcy reorganization plan. Prior to joining Ambac Thomas was Tax Manager in KPMG’s New York Financial Services Industry practice. He is a licensed CPA in the State of New York since 1984.

Ken Schermann, CPA—Joining the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) in 1984, Ken was the project manager on several projects, including Statements 14 and 61 on the Financial Reporting Entity, Statement 34 and its related implementation guides on the reporting model, and Statement 54 on Fund Balance Reporting. Currently a senior technical advisor, Ken also serves as the GASB’s liaison to the AICPA and other professional organizations, and speaks extensively on a variety of governmental accounting and financial reporting issues. Before joining the GASB, Ken was an audit partner with a regional CPA firm in Peoria, Illinois where he was responsible for the services provided to many local governments and not-for-profit organizations.

Daniel L. Smith, Ph.D.—As an Assistant Professor of Public Budgeting and Financial Management at the New York University Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, Professor Smith focuses his research on state government budgeting and financial management. In particular, he examines two related questions: 1) What are the budgetary implications of state fiscal institutions, especially balanced budget requirements; and 2) How do states accumulate and use their major accounting funds, and what are the implications of these practices for public policy and management? Professor Smith was voted “Professor of the Year” by Wagner students in 2011, and he holds a Ph.D. in public administration from The University of Georgia.

Stephen P. Mullin— Formerly the Budget Director for the City of St. Louis, Missouri (1982-1988) and Director of Finance for the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1992-1993) during the City’s fiscal turnaround, Professor Mullin also served from 1993-2000 as Philadelphia’s Director of Commerce, chairing the Mayor’s Economic Development Cabinet and coordinating activities of the City’s various development agencies. Currently an Adjunct Professor, University of Pennsylvania, Fels Institute of Government, he is also an Adjunct Professor, Drexel University as well as Senior Vice President & Principal of Econsult Corporation, an economic consulting firm based in Philadelphia, where he concentrates on state and public finance and policy analysis, economic and real estate development and impact analyses, and business-government strategies. Professor Mullin is a magna cum laude in Economics graduate of Harvard University, and he earned an M.A. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania.

Dan Connelly—Currently the financial recovery coordinator for the City of Chester, Pennsylvania, Dan is developing and implementing a recovery plan that eliminates deficits and sets the City on a course to structural budgetary balance. He also developed five-year financial plans for other Pennsylvania municipalities, including the City of Coatesville and Municipality of Norristown. A Director of Fairmount Capital Advisors and member of the Econsult/Fairmount Group, Dan possesses ten years of consulting experience at the federal, state, and local government levels and has led engagements such as five-year financial planning and budgeting, financial feasibility studies, and strategic planning. He earned a Master of Public Administration (MPA) with a certificate in Public Finance from the University of Pennsylvania’s Fels Institute of Government.

Kenji Mochizuki, CIRA—author of a chapter and an appendix on municipal defaults and bankruptcy in a book entitled, “Investing in the High Yield Municipal Market” to be published in June 2012 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. / Bloomberg Press. Currently a managing director at Akemi Capital, Kenji currently works in both bankruptcy / restructuring / M&A advisory as well as distressed investing. He heads a team of muni credit analysts and is an advisor to a municipal bond hedge fund.

Participants will receive 2.0 CPE credits (Accounting) for this webinar - $125

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