Fairfax County Department of Housing and Community Development Wins Award for Innovation in Government Finance

The Fairfax County Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) has been honored as a recipient of the 2008 Award for Innovation in Government Finance by the Virginia Government Finance Officers’ Association (VGFOA) for the agency’s Tenant Collection and Cash Management Program.  The award recognizes financial innovation in the areas of accounting, auditing and financial reporting; policies and procedures; cash management, investing and e-government.

In February 2008, HCD’s Financial Management Division, working with HCD’s Information Technology staff, implemented the new Tenant Collection and Cash Management Process and replaced a process that had been in place for many years.  The automated procedure dramatically improved the customer service aspect of the rent collection process for tenants, significantly increased the internal controls over the tenant collections and appreciably reduced staff time in the handling of tenant collections. The process freed staff up to analyze and address accounts receivable issues, which have contributed to a noticeable increase in collections.  By cutting the time required for collecting, organizing and posting of checks to two automated systems in half and providing reliable, easy to access imaging data, such as a scan of the written check, both HCD staff and tenants benefit from this new method.  Research time for tenant inquiries is dramatically reduced and interest income is expected to increase as the deposits now reach the bank more quickly. 

Staff from HCD’s Financial Management Division will be making a presentation on the new Tenant Collection and Cash Management Process at VGFOA’s fall conference in Roanoke on Friday, October 31.