What to Expect in Your First 100 Days with James Moore’s Municipal Finance Support Services Team

Partnering with James Moore’s Municipal Finance Support Services (MFSS) team provides municipalities access to the specialized government financial professionals they need to run their government effectively.

For many small, local governments, it’s a cost-effective approach that ensures key financial needs are met; important filing deadlines are hit, compliance remains in check, and budgets remain accurate and up to date. We often hear questions from stakeholders about what the nature of the relationship will look like — in other words, how our government finance CPAs and consultants help them evolve from their current state to a better future.

As in any major project, the first 100 days set the foundation for success. For local governments transitioning to James Moore’s municipal finance support service, this period involves establishing workflows, providing system access, answering questions and conducting a thorough financial assessment. Understanding this crucial transition period creates realistic expectations and ensures a smoother onboarding experience.

In this guide, we’ll outline what local municipalities can expect the beginning of their journey with our MFSS team to look like. While every municipality will have differing needs, there are many activities you can prepare for. By understanding what to expect, you can focus on the ultimate goal: building sustainable financial health and compliance for your municipality.

Initial Contact and Meeting

Like all great partnerships, our relationships always start with a conversation. While the format may vary, our team prioritizes making clients comfortable with their new financial partners. That typically involves a face-to-face meeting between our teams, giving you a chance to get to know the professionals you’ll be working with.

During these initial interactions, key points of contact are identified on both sides. We’ll introduce the key contacts on our team and detail their responsibilities while working to understand the role of each person in the municipality. We’ll identify primary points of contact: the engagement leader on our team, and the person on your team tasked with overseeing finance and accounting.

We’ll establish regular weekly meetings moving forward to work through a more comprehensive onboarding process. Establishing a strong relationship between key stakeholders early in the relationship creates clarity around communication pathways and sets appropriate expectations for the partnership.

Assessment Phase

The initial weeks of the engagement typically involve a thorough evaluation of your municipality’s current financial operations. Our focus is on establishing the current issues with your financial infrastructure, ensuring your data is accurate and up to date, and determining the most impactful moves moving forward.

We liken this discovery phase to bringing your car to the mechanic. While you might be able to tell us the acceleration is faltering and the engine makes a funny noise, we can only diagnose the cause of those problems once we pop the hood and get a sense of the inner workings of your municipality’s finances. Before we start fine-tuning your engine for high performance, we might need to address specific problems first, like resolving outstanding bank reconciliations or addressing significant compliance issues.

The timing of the beginning of the engagement often affects our priorities during the first 100 days. For instance, onboarding with our team as you’re preparing to undergo your annual audit means we’ll direct our energies on preparing you for that audit. On the other hand, onboarding during the annual budgeting process demands we turn our attention to that process.

Regardless of timing, the focus remains on understanding the current status of your municipality’s accounting and finance infrastructure, identifying critical areas needing immediate attention and creating a roadmap for financial improvement.

Communication Structure

Effective communication forms the backbone of the MFSS partnership. During the first few months of the engagement, you can expect recurring meetings with our team. These meetings serve multiple purposes: addressing questions that arose during the week, providing progress updates and planning upcoming work. We’ll also address any concerns about working with an outsourced government finance team you may have during this time.

The weekly touchpoints remain valuable even as the relationship matures and work becomes more routine. A regular communication cadence ensures alignment on priorities and provides opportunities to address emerging issues before they become problematic.

Software and Systems

Access to financial systems represents a critical component of the onboarding process. The MFSS team requires appropriate credentials for accounting software, banking platforms and other financial management tools to perform their responsibilities effectively. We’ll request and share documents through secure upload portals, allowing for a seamless exchange of financial information while maintaining appropriate security controls.

It’s important you’re prepared to furnish this vital information to our teams. The system access process often involves multiple steps and coordination with IT departments or third-party vendors. This has the potential to create temporary delays but establishes the infrastructure necessary for ongoing financial management.

While we typically favor using a standard accounting platform such as Quickbooks, our team can also work within existing software when appropriate. This decision depends on the municipality’s specific circumstances, current system functionality and long-term needs.

For municipalities transitioning to new accounting systems, the MFSS team provides guidance on data migration and system configuration to ensure financial information transfers completely and accurately.

Timeframe and Deliverables

Our goal in the first 100 days is to establish a foundation for regular financial reporting. By the end of this period, municipalities should begin receiving consistent monthly outputs (though reaching this milestone may take longer in complex situations).

Once financial records are current and systems are properly configured, standard deliverables typically include:

• Monthly budget reports with profit and loss statements
• Transaction summaries and general ledger details
• Completed bank reconciliations with documentation
• Progress on regulatory reports and compliance requirements

Beyond these core deliverables, the MFSS team provides support for specialized financial activities throughout the year, including budget preparation, audit support and regulatory filings. The timing of these additional services aligns with municipal deadlines and requirements.

The path to regular reporting often requires first addressing historical issues and backlogs. While you want to see immediate forward progress, establishing accurate financial foundations takes precedence and is a prerequisite for building out more advanced financial capabilities.

Start Your Journey Toward Municipal Finance Excellence with James Moore Today

The first 100 days with the MFSS team at James Moore serve to establish the foundation for a productive financial management partnership. While each municipality’s journey differs, understanding these common elements helps set realistic expectations and prepare for a successful transition.

By the end of this initial onboarding period, municipalities should see progress toward regular financial reporting and will have gained much greater clarity over their financial position. The investment made during onboarding yields significant returns as operations stabilize and improve.

The partnership works best when both parties commit to the process through active engagement and clear communication. A successful onboarding process lays the foundation for the real value that comes from the engagement: consistent reporting, strategic guidance, regulatory compliance and the peace of mind that comes from professional financial oversight. The foundation built during these initial months supports these outcomes and establishes patterns of collaboration that serve municipalities for years to come.

Interested in learning more about how James Moore’s MFSS team can support your municipality? Contact us today to start the conversation.

All content provided in this article is for informational purposes only. Matters discussed in this article are subject to change. For up-to-date information on this subject please contact a James Moore professional. James Moore will not be held responsible for any claim, loss, damage or inconvenience caused as a result of any information within these pages or any information accessed through this site.