Create a Finance Decoder
Get organized
1. Choose your local government. Think about what local government that you want to create a Finance Decoder for. Look up that local government on our active project list just to make sure it hasn’t been done.
2. Drop an email to hudsonfinancedecoder@gmail.com and introduce yourself and let us know which local government you will be working on. We will add you to the active project list and will send you a link to a Slack channel where you can ask questions and see the discussion.
3. Get the Finance Decoder - https://www.strongtowns.org/decoder-resources follow Step 1 to get the Finance Decoder
Learn about the Finance Decoder
4. Read the instructions for filling out a worksheet.
5. Download audited financial statements from the local government. Each audited financial statement will be for a year, and will be a .pdf file. We would like each Finance Decoder to contain information from 2015 to 2024, where the audited financial statements are available.
6. Watch a video explaining the process - created by Strong Towns, this video series walks through the process of creating a Finance Decoder
7. Read through an example of one person's process to create a Finance Decoder
Ready, set, go!
8. Begin with the most recent year. The instructions in #3 are solid - start with the most recent year and work backwards in time. Pay attention to whether your government has “business-like activities” which adds a small complexity.
9. Read through the first few pages of the audited financial statement to see if the auditors are expressing any concerns. For example, the auditors might use the word “Adverse”. You might find, for example, that the auditor's commented on a City’s lack of compliance with depreciation standards, or concerns about dramatic changes in the City's numbers.
10. Identify what year the local government recognized GASB 75. The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) recommended a significant change in the accounting of Postemployment Benefits in the 2016-2018 timeframe. You will likely see a comment in one of the audited statements that GASB 75 was introduced, or first utilized in a specific year. You may also note that the financial performance of your local government trends negative in that year.
11. Start looking for numbers in the audited financial statements. We typically start at the top of the numbers with Assets and move down towards depreciation.
Wrapping it up
12. Ask - if you have questions, hit an issue, can’t find a certain piece of information, or you want to validate the work that you have done so far, we are on speed dial. Drop an email, ask a question in the Slack chat, set up a Zoom call - we are here to help and we don’t want you wasting your time.
13. Declare victory when you're done, by email or in the Slack chat. We will have someone do a quick review of your work to see if there are any issues.
14. Share your results! We will make sure that your finalized Finance Decoder is posted on the Strong Towns map, we will work with you to share your Finance Decoder on a Tyche Insights data story, and you can share links to your newly created results on any social media that you want.
15. Help someone else! Now that you've created a Finance Decoder for your local government there is trendous value in helping others accomplish their goals. Use your new-found knowledge by joining the Slack channel and answering questions and encourage others!
16. Join the Strong Towns movement - If you had a great experience with creating and sharing this tool (and learning during the process), become a member of Strong Towns if you aren't already.
17. Join the Tyche Insights community - At Tyche we support anyone, anywhere creating data stories and data journalism using public data.