While the role of federal chief financial officer (CFO) has been evolving since enactment of the CFO Act of 1990 (CFO Act), so, too, have the operational and political environments in which they operate. Looking forward, the question naturally arises as to whether the federal financial management structure in place is best-suited to handle the new initiatives and challenges that will inevitably arise. Informed by insights gained from two decades of conducting CFO surveys — and having shared those results with past and present members of the CFO community in recent months — we provide two alternative visions for future CFOs that could significantly improve federal financial management and enhance the stewardship of taxpayer dollars.

The state IT and business landscape continues to change, reflecting both emerging approaches to delivering IT products and services, and also the faster paced, more complex environment faced by state CIOs. We asked state CIOs to share their perspective on a number of topics, with a particular focus on the emerging role of the CIO as a broker of shared services, and on the use of incremental software development approaches to accelerate the delivery of value to customers.