Latest news with #StevenPorter


Business Wire
6 days ago
- Business
- Business Wire
Strada Unveils Automated ACFR App to Transform Public Sector Financial Reporting
MIAMI--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Strada, the leading provider of end-to-end payroll, human capital, and financial management solutions, proudly announces its new Workday Marketplace app, Automated Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR). Scheduled for release on the Workday Marketplace in late summer 2025 and purpose-built for U.S. state and local governments, the app can replace time-consuming reporting with intelligent automation to enhance the speed, accuracy, and consistency of ACFR preparation. With increasing scrutiny on public sector finances, timely and accurate reporting is more important than ever. This new app will empower finance leaders to deliver ACFRs with less manual work, fewer errors, and more confidence in compliance. Share Preparing an ACFR is a legal requirement for most U.S. government entities and a cornerstone of transparency and compliance with Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) regulations. Yet for many public sector entities, the process remains highly manual, error-prone, and reliant on outdated systems. Strada's Automated ACFR will address these challenges directly by connecting to Workday Adaptive Planning, which will help customers automate data extraction, formatting, and version control. The app will allow customers to compile all required ACFR content, from financial statements and narrative disclosures to trend data and statistical tables, dramatically reducing manual effort while improving accuracy, consistency, and auditability. Finance teams using the Automated ACFR app will expect to see, on average: 80% reduction in the time required to produce an ACFR 50% reduction in manual effort needed to compile the report Estimated annual savings of $110,000 to $160,000 ' With increasing scrutiny on public sector finances, timely and accurate reporting is more important than ever,' said Steven Porter, Head of Public Sector Sales at Strada. ' This new app will empower finance leaders to deliver ACFRs with less manual work, fewer errors, and more confidence in compliance.' Automated ACFR will be generally available by the end of 2025. The initial release will deliver robust automation and template-driven reporting capabilities, aligned within established Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) Excellence in Financial Reporting Program standards and designed to bring immediate, high-impact value to public sector finance teams. Looking ahead, Strada is also developing embedded AI agents to further enhance the solution. Set to debut in early 2026, the agents will assist with drafting, editing, and refining complex narrative sections, helping ensure consistency, clarity and compliance year over year. By referencing both prior-year reports and current-year data, the AI agents will: Update management discussion and analysis (MD&A) sections Align commentary with updated charts, figures, and tables Maintain a consistent tone and structure year over year Suggest clearer, more concise phrasing while preserving format ' Our vision is to support public sector teams not just with automation, but with intelligent assistance that makes complex reporting faster, clearer, and more consistent,' Porter added. ' We want to help these skilled financial professionals focus on insight, not admin and free them from time consuming, repetitive tasks so they can deliver greater value for their communities.' Strada will showcase the new Automated ACFR app at the upcoming GFOA Annual Conference (June 29 – July 2) in Washington, D.C. at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Hall E, Booth #641. Attendees can book a one-on-one demo to explore how the solution simplifies ACFR preparation, reduces compliance risk, and prepares for future AI-driven innovation. To learn more or reserve a demo slot please visit our website. About Strada


Boston Globe
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Globe New Hampshire wins 6 New Hampshire Press Association editorial awards
Steven Porter and Amanda Gokee earned second place for their comprehensive reporting on the issue of transgender student athletes playing on girls sports teams. They approached this difficult topic in a way that went far beyond simply reporting the news as it happened, and ended up writing nearly a dozen stories, from explainers about complex legislation, to news as Get N.H. Morning Report A weekday newsletter delivering the N.H. news you need to know right to your inbox. Enter Email Sign Up Spot News reporting Advertisement As protests roiled college campuses, students at Dartmouth and UNH set up tents and joined the fray. Steven Porter and Amanda Gokee Advertisement Health reporting The Northeast has the second highest percentage of hospital-owned practices in the country, with nearly 46 percent of physicians employed by hospitals, according to the Physicians Advocacy Institute. But unlike other New England states, lawmakers in New Hampshire haven't taken action to curtail facility fees by enacting consumer or public notice requirements. Amanda Gokee Political reporting Steven Porter won second place for his coverage of New Hampshire's Libertarian party and how, instead of supporting their official candidate for president, the party Steven Porter and Amanda Gokee spread out across New Hampshire in 2024 to regularly explore how the state's demographics and voting patterns have changed since 2020 and evaluate whether they might affect the 2024 elections, from the presidential race to down-ballot contests. Stories that earned them a first place award in this category included: Social Media Social media manager Sadie Layher won second place for her outstanding use of The New Hampshire Press Association Excellence in Journalism Awards celebrates exceptional work by New Hampshire journalists on all platforms, including print, digital, television, and radio. Advertisement Lylah Alphonse can be reached at


Boston Globe
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
When and where to celebrate LGBTQ Pride Month 2025 in New Hampshire
Thursday, June 5: Keene Pride's Sunday, June 8: Friday, June 13: Lebanon Opera House's Pride Saturday, June 14: Advertisement Sunday, June 15: New London's Tuesday, June 17: Saturday, June 21: Saturday, June 28: Open to celebrating later this year? This article first appeared in Globe NH | Morning Report, our free newsletter focused on the news you need to know about New Hampshire, including great coverage from the Boston Globe and links to interesting articles from other places. If you'd like to receive it via e-mail Monday through Friday, Advertisement Steven Porter can be reached at

Boston Globe
28-05-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
With an eye on 2028 presidential race, N.H. leaders mark 50th anniversary of law guarding first-in-the-nation primary
Advertisement The law that Scanlan touted, which requires his office to schedule the state's presidential primary ahead of similar contests in other states, was signed on May 27, 1975, so Tuesday's celebration was a 50th anniversary bash complete with cake and speeches. Get N.H. Morning Report A weekday newsletter delivering the N.H. news you need to know right to your inbox. Enter Email Sign Up James R. Splaine, a Democrat who 'It's democracy at its best,' he said. William Gardner, who as secretary of state from 1976 to 2022 has Advertisement Political dignitaries from both major parties are gathering now at the N.H. State House for an event celebrating 50 years since state lawmakers enshrined New Hampshire's — Steven Porter (@reporterporter) While everyone who spoke at Tuesday's event struck a proud and optimistic tone, they also acknowledged that the 2028 cycle will present another opportunity for New Hampshire's coveted status to come under threat. Critics contend New Hampshire, as one of the whitest states in the country, doesn't reflect the nation's diversity. That was a major rationale the DNC cited for pushing South Carolina to the front of the calendar in 2024, to elevate the voices of Black voters (though the DNC-endorsed calendar also boosted Biden by allowing him to skip a state where he lagged in the 2020 primary, to focus instead on a state where he had excelled). Scanlan said the criticisms based on New Hampshire's demographics are 'red herring' arguments. 'There is no state that truly reflects the makeup of America, and there is no state that is more American than any other state,' he said. Scanlan framed New Hampshire's first-in-the-nation primary as a unique and indispensable opportunity where 'the little guy' can kindle a grassroots campaign by traversing a small state filled with attentive voters who participate in state-run elections that make it relatively easy for candidates to have their names listed on the ballot. 'You don't need a lot of money,' he said. 'You don't need to have a lot of name recognition to be able to run a good campaign.' This article first appeared in Globe NH | Morning Report, our free newsletter focused on the news you need to know about New Hampshire, including great coverage from the Boston Globe and links to interesting articles from other places. If you'd like to receive it via e-mail Monday through Friday, Advertisement Steven Porter can be reached at


Boston Globe
29-04-2025
- Politics
- Boston Globe
New Hampshire still ranks last in state-level share of K-12 education funding
The state's current education funding model Get N.H. Morning Report A weekday newsletter delivering the N.H. news you need to know right to your inbox. Enter Email Sign Up Megan Tuttle, president of NEA New Hampshire, said some state lawmakers 'keep failing to adequately fund public education,' and the state's overreliance on local property taxes means students receive differing opportunities based on their ZIP codes. Advertisement 'For example, students in property poor and lower-income communities often don't get to take AP courses or join extra curricular activities,' she said. 'Differences in funding levels across the state also impact educator salaries, leading to serious recruitment and retention issues that directly harm student learning.' Advertisement Whether the current model should be replaced with a system that requires the state to contribute more funding and distribute SWEPT revenues more equally is the subject of a pair of disputes While the state's share of K-12 public school spending is relatively slim, the overall amount that New Hampshire schools spend per student is higher than most other states. New Hampshire ranked seventh in the US last school year, spending $22,252 per pupil, according to the NEA data. That was slightly more than Maine schools spent per pupil and a few thousands dollars less than Massachusetts schools spent per pupil. Republican state lawmakers have advocated for caps to limit the growth of school spending at the local level. They have also proposed universal eligibility for the Education Freedom Account program, which would allow all families to take the state's share of education funding and use it for private school or other education expenses. Democrats have advocated for their own legislative proposals to increase education funding at the state level and distribute SWEPT revenues more evenly. A wide variety of factors, including In terms of Advertisement This article first appeared in Globe NH | Morning Report, our free newsletter focused on the news you need to know about New Hampshire, including great coverage from the Boston Globe and links to interesting articles from other places. If you'd like to receive it via e-mail Monday through Friday, Steven Porter can be reached at