Certified Municipal Finance Officer

About the CMFO Program

The Municipal Finance Officer Certification and Education Act of 2007 (TCA 6-56-400 et al) (the Act) requires municipalities to have a chief financial officer, who is either a Certified Municipal Finance Officer (CMFO), or an individual who is exempt from the educational requirements leading to the CMFO designation. The Municipal Technical Advisory Service (MTAS) administers the educational program and testing to achieve the CMFO designation. The Act designates the Comptroller’s Office as the certification authority.

All questions you have regarding class schedules, registration, space availability, etc. should be directed to your municipality’s MTAS Management or Finance Consultant. Call MTAS at 865-974-0411 to get assistance in contacting your consultant.

If your municipality has not completed a Designee Form, or if the designee has changed, please have the mayor and city recorder (or equivalents) sign into their CARS (Contract and Reporting System) accounts and complete an on-line designation form. This on-line form should be completed and submitted as soon as possible to ensure that the municipality remains in compliance with the requirements of the Act.

If you are currently going through the Certified Municipal Finance Officer program and have questions regarding reimbursements or stipends, please visit our Expense Reimbursement Instructions page or our Expense Stipend Instructions page.

This system is used to apply for the program not to register for classes.  After the application has been submitted and accepted, you will need to contact MTAS to register for the CMFO classes, if you have not done so already. 

All questions you have regarding this site and the forms and applications should be directed to the Division of Local Government Audit at 615-401-7841 or questions may be submitted through lga.web@cot.tn.gov