About

In 2003, NSMFC and the Association of Municipal Administrators of Nova Scotia (AMA) formed a joint committee to develop financial management best practices for municipalities in Nova Scotia. The Committee used practices developed by the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) and adapted them to fit Nova Scotia's legislation and practices. Overall, 32 best practices were created to help support the financial health of municipalities in Nova Scotia.   

The committee was re-established again in the summer of 2013 to revisit the best practices to determine which could be considered "core" or high priority. All of the best practices are listed in the categories below.

What are best practices?

Best practices are proven and reliable techniques or methodologies. They can be simple or complex, but overall they are meant to be effective and efficient strategies for accomplishing a task. 

NSMFC’s best practices are designed to support good governance by promoting accountability, transparency, value for money, and risk management.

How they apply to your municipality

A typical best practice includes background information about why it is considered important, suggested resources from other organizations, step-by-step guides for implementation, and so forth.   They are not generic templates to download, take to council and get approved. Some work must be done first to tailor them to your municipality’s needs and context. MFC can work directly with your staff to adapt the best practices into policies to suit your needs, including the research and writing involved in drafting policies as well as making presentations to council. Contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to find out how we can work with you.