Revenue Administration-Online Self-Study

About this course

Learning objectives

Lesson 1 — Structure & Policy

• Identify the external influences on local government finance.
• Recall the four trends in the revenue structures of local governments.
• Describe the four basic considerations governments should make when deciding how to pay for services.
• Explain the importance of developing and adopting a revenue policy.
• Distinguish between the essential components of a well-conceived revenue policy.

Lesson 2 — Property Taxes

• Recall the property tax cycle.
• Name the key players in the property tax process.
• Recognize how to calculate the millage rate and apply it to a digest to determine revenue collection.
• Identify how to strengthen the collection of property taxes.

Lesson 3 — Charges for Services

• Examine issues governments face when adopting charges for services or fees.
• Recognize services pricing issues.
• Identify costs for determining fee pricing. Define fee pricing methodologies.
• Describe the important components of a fee policy as it relates to an overall revenue policy.

Lesson 4 — Taxes Other than Property

• Differentiate between taxes (other than property) charged by local governments.
• Define sales and use tax.
  — Cite what can be taxed.
  — Understand the authority local governments have to levy a sales tax.
  — Identify positive and negative aspects of sales and use tax.
• Learn the different types of business taxes.
• Recognize the changing trends in taxes other than property.

Lesson 5 — Licenses, Permits, and Regulatory Fees

• Distinguish between a license and a permit.
• Define regulatory fees.
• Recognize the diversity in state laws pertaining to licenses, permits and regulatory fees.
• Define impact fees.

Lesson 6 — Intergovernmental Revenue

• Define intergovernmental revenues.
• Describe the theoretical concept of intergovernmental revenues.
• Identify types of intergovernmental revenues.
• Differentiate between the different types of intergovernmental revenues.
• Recognize current trends in intergovernmental revenues.

Lesson 7 — Other Revenue

• Define the various forms of fines and forfeiture revenues.
• Recall methods of generating revenue from investment income.
• Cite the types of revenues generated from private donations.
• Define terms associated with revenue from debt proceeds.
• Determine “other financing sources” revenues.

Lesson 8 — Improving Collections

• Cite the many different collection methods available.
• Deploy many different collection strategies.
• Recognize that collection strategies can be unique and all strategies are not applicable in every organization.

Lesson 9 — Revenue Manual

• Define “revenue manual.”
• State the purposes of a revenue manual.
• Identify the key components of a revenue manual.
• Recognize factors impacting revenues included in a revenue manual.

Lesson 10 — Revenue Forecasting

• Define “revenue forecasting.”
• State the intent of revenue forecasting.
• Identify the key components of forecasting revenues.
• Use external indicators to assist in the forecasting process.

Who should attend?

• Local government finance professionals and paraprofessionals who want to enhance their career skills and professional development opportunities.
• Local government employees who seek to meet requirements of their state’s Local Government Finance Officer Certification Program.
• Professionals with private sector experience who want to gain knowledge of governmental revenue administration.
• Accounting professionals preparing for the CPA exam or seeking continuing professional education.

Continuing Education Information

The University of Georgia awards 1.25 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) or 15 CPEs upon successful completion of this course. A University of Georgia CEU (Opens in a new window) transcript is available at any time upon written request.

Field of Study: Finance- Technical
Delivery Method: QAS Self Study
Advance Preparation: None
Program Level: Basic
Prerequisites: None