Finance

Director of Finance – San Lorenzo Valley Water District – PublicCEO

Published

2 years ago

July 3, 2024

San Lorenzo Valley Water District

Located in the picturesque Santa Cruz Mountains in Santa Cruz County, the San Lorenzo Valley Water District (SLVWD) is a unique public agency. It provides reliable and high-quality water services to approximately 7,900 connections, playing a crucial role in managing the region’s water supply while promoting water conservation and the importance of protecting local water resources. The Valley, which is more affordable than other areas of Silicon Valley, is home to an estimated 35,000 people and contains multiple state parks, golf courses, and an active railroad attraction. It is approximately 15 miles from Santa Cruz, 18 miles from Los Gatos, 30 miles from San Jose, and 70 miles from San Francisco.

The San Lorenzo Valley Water District is seeking a leader for its Finance Department. This individual will play a pivotal role in managing the District’s financial health and resources, overseeing day-to-day financial operations, preparing the biennial budget and annual financial report, planning for long-term capital projects, and fostering a culture of transparency. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to make a significant impact on the District’s financial future and the management of the region’s water supply.

The ideal candidate possesses an array of technical public agency financial analysis and management skills and social and emotional intelligence. A typical way to meet the position’s requirements would be to obtain an education equivalent to a bachelor’s degree in finance or a related field and five years of progressively responsible experience in finance, accounting, or auditing, preferably in a governmental/municipal agency.

The District offers a competitive salary of $129,948 – $174,144 annually (salary survey in process) based on experience and qualifications, plus a robust benefits package.

To apply for this exciting career opportunity, please visit our website:

Peckham & McKenney
www.peckhamandmckenney.com

Resumes are acknowledged within two business days. Call Danielle Noble at (866) 912-1919 for more information. A detailed brochure is available at www.peckhamandmckenney.com.

The filing deadline is August 4, 2024.

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Finance

Low-income Chinese girl aces gaokao, inspires live-streamers offering help

Published

6 hours ago

July 7, 2026

Press Room

Low-income Chinese girl aces gaokao, inspires live-streamers offering help

A girl from a disadvantaged rural family in central China topped this year’s gaokao, attracting numerous live-streamers eager to finance her education, which she declined.

The home of 18-year-old secondary school graduate Han Yaping in a Henan province village was recently bustling with live-streamers.

This attention came after Han achieved an impressive score of 699 out of 750 in the gaokao, China’s national college entrance exam.

She has received offers from China’s two leading universities, Tsinghua University and Peking University.

Han’s accomplishment is particularly remarkable given her family’s impoverished circumstances.

Her mother suffers from ankylosing spondylitis, an inflammatory arthritis affecting the spine, preventing her from working. Her father, who earns a living through farming and odd jobs, serves as the family’s sole provider. Han also has a younger sister.

Finance

UK financial regulator publishes landmark AI review

Published

16 hours ago

July 7, 2026

Press Room

UK financial regulator publishes landmark AI review

The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a landmark review on Monday that proposes recommendations to regulate the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the financial decisions made by consumers.

The review, titled the Mills Review, anticipates that both consumers and firms will start delegating “more financial decision-making to AI systems,” including for agreements, initiating transactions, and executing decisions “within agreed parameters.” One of the key findings of the review outlined that while AI can help bridge advice gaps and “support growth,” there remain risks “associated with fraud, cyber security, and consumer harm.” Conducting the review, Sheldon Mills highlighted that “AI can also amplify risks: bias, discrimination, exclusion, opaque decision-making (particularly when multiple AI models interact), misleading or hallucinatory advice and erosion of consumer trust.”

The review stated that presently, one in five adults in the UK are “already open to AI making decisions for them,” particularly when decisions feel “complex or high stakes.” It found that roughly 26 percent of the population “trust general-purpose tools such as ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini for financial advice” with little awareness that such platforms provide no “formal routes to recourse” or protections.

Overall, the Mills Review identified four areas that it anticipates will be impacted by AI in the financial sector: “the transformation of firms,” “new consumer journeys,” “a reshaped competition landscape,” and “amplified financial crime and cyber risk.” The FCA projected the shift in how consumers and firms consult AI to take place by 2030.

The Mills Review put forth seven “priority” recommendations to be considered by the FCA Board. It recommended that any transitions to autonomous AI models be monitored and that regulatory frameworks and perimeters be adapted and secured. The review called for the strengthening of “system-wide coordination and oversight,” the scaling up of the FCA’s AI Lab to enable it to support AI models and innovation for agentic finance, and an “AI-enabled agentic supervisory model” to be built and adopted. Finally, it recommended that a trusted “public-interest AI-enabled financial capability service” be developed.

The FCA announced, in the press release, that it will launch an AI “good and poor practice publication” in late 2026.

Finance

Fayette County Public Schools Board of Education approves audit contract, new finance director position

Published

1 day ago

July 7, 2026

Press Room

Fayette County Public Schools Board of Education approves audit contract, new finance director position

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – The Fayette County Public Schools Board of Education approved a one-year audit contract capped at $131,750 plus $225 per hour during a virtual meeting Monday, along with a new finance director job description.

The contract is with Mauldin & Jenkins Certified Public Accountants, an Atlanta-based firm, and covers the 2025-26 fiscal year and the restatement of the 2024-25 fiscal year and ancillary services through FY 2029-2030. The work is set to be completed by Nov. 15.

The board approved the contract in a 5-0 vote.

Audit contract details

Interim Chief Financial Officer Kyna Koch said the cost is already accounted for in the district’s budget.

“And is actually less than we expected given our current situation — we were thrilled with the bid,” Koch said.

Koch said she believes this is Mauldin & Jenkins’ first school district audit in Kentucky, but that the firm works with school districts of more than 100,000 students throughout the Southeast.

“Quite frankly when I spoke to the folks at KDE they were thrilled because we’re running kind of short of auditors who want to do school district audits — so all around I think this was a win-win for everyone,” Koch said.

New finance director position

The board also approved a new job description for the position of Director of Finance. Acting Superintendent Dr. Bill Bradford said the title will replace two associate director positions.

“Which will not only save the school district money but it’s also going to streamline our work and align internal controls to make room for a more efficient unit,” Bradford said.

Koch said the position will be posted as soon as possible following the board’s approval.

Closed session

The board went into closed session for more than an hour to discuss pending investigations that could lead to employee discipline. When the board returned, it took no action and adjourned the meeting.