By The Star Staff
The Certified Public Accountants Association of Puerto Rico (CCPA by its Spanish initials) will hold the Municipal Affairs Forum this Friday, where specific issues related to the operations of the 78 municipalities in Puerto Rico will be presented and discussed, with the purpose of promoting healthy public administration and financial planning tempered to current challenges.
“The economy of Puerto Rico and the entire world is going through great challenges, as well as opportunities. Having strategies based on accounting principles and good financial planning can make a difference in the daily operation and services offered to citizens by municipal administrations on the island,” CCPA President Edmy Rivera Colón said in a written statement. “Through this forum, in addition to presenting a view of what is happening in the towns, experts will present financial and accounting tools to improve administrative processes and decisions for better fiscal health.”
During the forum, the audience will also have the opportunity to interact with a panel of experts who will be in charge of presenting financial strategies for the sustainability of municipalities. Also, court cases will be presented on issues related to construction taxes and municipal business taxes, or “patentes.”
Among the topics to be discussed in depth are the new accounting pronouncements in the preparation of the financial statements of the municipalities, general procedures for municipal purchases and bidding processes, the current regulations for municipal administration and the updating of the CRIM 360 Project.
Panelists and guest speakers include the mayors of Loíza and Gurabo, Julia M. Nazario Fuentes and Rosachely Rivera Santana, respectively; Municipal Revenue Collections Center the Executive Director Reinaldo J. Paniagua Látimer; the associate director of the City Directorate Office at the Office of Management and Budget, Pedro de Jesús Román; and the former director of the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration (PRFAA) in Washington, Carlos Mercader.
The forum will be held at CCPA headquarters in the Capital Center I Building, PH-2 in Hato Rey, from 8:45 a.m. to 5 p.m. Those interested in participating can register by accessing www.colegiocpa.com.