The Challenge
Leadership transitions in local government rarely happen on schedule. For one public agency, the departure of a finance officer came just as budget season was ramping up, right at a time when financial reporting, compliance, and planning couldn’t afford to skip a beat.
The organization faced a dilemma familiar to many smaller governments: limited internal capacity, mounting deadlines, and no time to recruit and train a replacement. They needed stability. Not just someone to fill a chair, but a team who could keep the books balanced, the budget on track, and the board confident that everything was under control.
The Approach
ZacTax stepped in to provide interim leadership through our ZacFinance service. We began by stabilizing the fundamentals: reconciling accounts, organizing the budget development process, and reviewing prior audit findings to ensure continuity and compliance.
Once operations were steady, we shifted focus to the future. Working closely with the general manager and department heads, we prepared the upcoming fiscal year budget, developed presentation materials for finance committees and the governing board, and created a clear roadmap for the incoming finance officer.
Throughout the engagement, our role was both technical and transitional. We worked as an extension of staff, not a consultant on the sidelines, making sure institutional knowledge was preserved and the handoff would be seamless when permanent leadership arrived.
The Findings
The experience underscored a truth many organizations learn the hard way: finance isn’t just about numbers, it’s about narrative. By maintaining consistent reporting, communication, and documentation throughout the transition, we ensured the agency’s financial story didn’t skip a chapter.
In the process, we identified a handful of opportunities for improvement (streamlined reporting templates, updated budget assumptions, and new internal controls) that would outlast the interim period and strengthen the department’s long-term operations.
The Impact
By the time the new finance officer came aboard, the agency was already moving forward. Budgets were complete, audits were clean, and the board had confidence in the numbers presented to them.
The transition, in other words, was quiet. And in local government, that’s the best compliment you can get.
The Takeaway
Continuity is one of the most undervalued assets in public finance. By combining technical expertise with on-demand leadership, our interim CFO support helped a city maintain its financial footing through a period of uncertainty — and emerge stronger on the other side.