The online course below is available online through Radford University’s Government and Nonprofit Assistance Center (GNAC). You must register through VGFOA to take this course. Once you register, an email is sent to GNAC notifying them that you are enrolled. GNAC will then send you a password so that you can log on to their website and take the course.

Due to processing time, please note that it may take 3-5 business days before receiving the follow-up email from GNAC regarding your course password.

ONLINE Debt Management for Public Finance Officers

Objective: This course will cover topics such as establishing debt policy, the determinants of municipal bond interest rates, capital financing methods, bond security, structuring and sizing a bond issue, credit quality and ratings, underwriting and selling of bonds, assessing refinancing opportunities, and continuing disclosure requirements.

This course qualifies for credit under the Virginia Government Finance Officers' Certificate Program (http://www.vgfoa.org/page/certificate-program/) and fulfills the Issuing Debt and Debt Management required class. It provides an online alternative to the live seminar class periodically offered. This is a self-paced course that has four main sections as follows:

1. Overview of Municipal Debt Market

2. Capital Financing Methods

3. The Bond Sale

4. General Debt Management

Each section has a recorded PowerPoint slide presentation. Prior to starting the exam, you can come and go from the presentation at any time. After working through the slides for a section you should take that section’s quiz. The slides can be printed in advance for reference and making notes while taking the class. You can take the quizzes as many times as you like. However, you must make 100% on one of the attempts for each section to get credit for the class.

After you have completed all four sections, you need to take the course exam. There is a two-hour time limit and you only have one attempt. Once you start the exam, the two hour period begins and does not stop if you leave the exam.

This online class offers 10 hours of CPEs.

This class makes reference to the GFOA publications, An Elected Official’s Guide to DEBT ISSUANCE, Second Edition, by J.B. Kurish and Patricia Tigue and Making Good Disclosure: The Role and Responsibilities of State and Local Officials Under the Federal Securities Laws, by Robert Dean Pope. These publications are recommended for this class, not required. To purchase these publications, go to the GFOA website: www.gfoa.org. Additional readings for the course are available for free in Publications on the GFOA website at www.gfoa.org/products-and-services/resources.