Ask the Treasurer

September 2019

Dear Fiona,

I serve as a city council member, but I have limited experience with public finance and would like to learn more about the administration of bonds. Does your office offer any training on debt administration?

Christopher

---

Dear Christopher,

You are not alone. Many elected officials bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to their position; however, they lack the public finance expertise necessary to make well-informed decisions regarding their agency’s debt. The California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission (CDIAC) provides information, education, and technical assistance on debt issuance and public fund investments to local public agencies and other public finance professionals.

CDIAC offers educational seminars throughout California focusing on public finance matters and the debt issuance process. You can register for upcoming seminars on my website at https://www.treasurer.ca.gov/cdiac/seminars/index.asp. CDIAC also offers a monthly newsletter as well as a number of helpful publications, which are also available on my website at https://www.treasurer.ca.gov/cdiac/publications.asp.

Additionally, CDIAC recently embarked on a mission to develop a series of on-demand electronic courses focused on debt issuance and administration specifically for elected officials. The goal of the program is to provide elected officials with sufficient knowledge for them to confidently engage with advisors, lawyers, bankers, consultants, and staff, and assist them in making well-informed decisions regarding their agency’s debt. Once fully developed, the curriculum will be delivered through an online learning management system that will allow elected officials to engage each module at their own pace, track learner progress, assess learner comprehension and provide feedback, and issue a certification of completion. CDIAC has developed a pilot module. You can view the pilot video, What You Need to Know before Issuing Debt, here: http://cdiactraining.sto.ca.gov.s3-website-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/story_html5.html?lms=1.

Sincerely,
Fiona

---

Have a Question for the Treasurer?

Readers:
Send your questions for California State Treasurer Fiona Ma via email to: AskFiona@treasurer.ca.gov

Address letters to:
California State Treasurer Fiona Ma, Post Office Box 942809, Sacramento, CA 94209-0001