Municipal Finance Consulting
Finance.CPA PLLC is an Illinois registered CPA firm providing specialized financial consulting to Illinois municipalities - from water & sewer rate studies to retiree benefit obligation funding strategies. It was founded by a CPA with 18 years of experience as a Finance Director, with additional firsthand experience as a Village Administrator and an elected Village Board member.
What We Do
Practical, implementable financial solutions designed for communities of 5,000-50,000 where sophisticated expertise is needed but full-time specialist staff are rarely practical.
Capital improvement planning linked to rate-setting. Rate structure design, customer impact analysis, and political support strategy so your rate increases pass.
Strategic analysis to improve pension funded ratios and confront retiree healthcare (OPEB) liabilities, using the full toolkit available to Illinois municipalities.
Objective, data-driven compensation analysis for public employees — supporting budget decisions, collective bargaining preparation, and Illinois transparency compliance.
Multi-year budgeting, capital improvement planning, revenue analysis, and targeted financial services that give elected officials the clear picture needed to make confident decisions.
Assistance upgrading your Annual Comprehensive Financial Report to GFOA Certificate of Achievement standards.
Experienced leadership during transitions, providing continuity and institutional knowledge when you need it most.
Documented Results
These are results from Kent's direct service as Finance Director, representing the same expertise and approach now available to your community.
Increased police pension funding from 37.45% to 50.60% funded over five years through a combination of actuarial assumption changes, levy restructuring, and General Fund contributions.
Increased fire pension funding from 40.23% to 56.72% funded over five years, demonstrating that consistent, strategic action on pension underfunding produces measurable results.
Designed a new water and sewer rate model for ongoing maintenance plus $83.6 million for a new water pumping station and all lead line replacements. Passed unanimously at the Finance Committee and Village Board levels.
Developed a comprehensive strategy addressing over $100 million in retiree benefit obligations, giving the Village a structured, implementable path forward on a complex long-term liability.
About Finance.CPA
"Provide financial information that enables governments to efficiently meet their goals."
- Finance.CPA's Mission Statement
Finance.CPA PLLC was founded by Kenneth "Kent" Oliven after 18 years serving as Finance Director in Chicagoland municipalities, most recently the Village of Niles (2020-2025), the Village of Alsip (2015-2020), and the City of Park Ridge.
Kent's background spans every dimension of Illinois municipal leadership. In one Chicagoland community he ran for and served as an elected Village Commissioner, Treasurer, and Mayor Pro Tem. In another, he served as Village Administrator, the chief administrative officer. That breadth of firsthand experience across elected governance, executive management, and financial administration informs every client engagement.
That firsthand experience creates a fundamentally different consulting relationship. Kent understands the political dynamics, the council communication challenges, the staffing constraints, and the regulatory environment that Illinois Finance Directors/Treasurers, Administrators, and elected Council Members navigate every day - because he has lived each of those roles.
Finance.CPA is not a large firm with rotating staff-level accountants assigned to small communities. It is a focused, expert practice where you work directly with a senior professional who has solved the exact problems you are facing.
Why Finance.CPA
Finance.CPA offers what large firms cannot: a senior expert with direct operational experience in Illinois municipalities, fully focused on your project.
Kent has managed the same budgets, presented to the same councils, and navigated the same Illinois regulatory requirements. That peer relationship produces faster, more relevant advice.
Finance.CPA performs no financial statement audits. That independence means Kent can serve simultaneously as advisor, project consultant, and interim Finance Director without the conflicts that constrain audit firms.
Every recommendation comes with a political feasibility assessment and an implementation path. Solutions that look good on paper but can't pass a council vote aren't solutions.
A concentrated reputation and referral network in Chicagoland's 5,000-50,000 population band - Cook, DuPage, Lake, Kane, McHenry, and Will County communities.
Fixed-price and value-based pricing models, not hourly billing surprises. Engagements are designed to match your community's scale, not over-engineered for a large firm's economics.
Active participation on GFOA's national standing committee keeps Finance.CPA connected to best practices, emerging standards, and national benchmarks applied to Illinois-specific challenges.
Get In Touch
Every engagement starts with a straightforward conversation. No sales pitch, just a discussion of where your community stands and whether Finance.CPA can help.
Resources
Practical knowledge for elected officials and municipal finance professionals — podcast episodes and articles on the topics that matter most to Illinois governments.
Kent introduces Finance.CPA, his background as a Chicagoland Finance Director, and why specialized consulting fills a critical gap for Illinois municipalities.
Kent explores why governments think and act in the short-term and then explores what is needed to align efforts with long-term goals.
A deep dive into the rate study process, from assessing capital needs and modeling rate structures to building political support for increases that actually pass.
How Illinois municipalities can use actuarial assumption changes, levy restructuring, and General Fund contributions to meaningfully improve funded ratios over time.
Kent reframes the capital-vs-pension funding debate. Most infrastructure assets sit stable, then hit a tipping point where repair costs change category entirely. Secure the asset below that point — then every surplus dollar belongs in the retiree benefit trust, compounding.
Water and sewer rates are most defensible, politically and financially, when they are directly tied to specific infrastructure needs. Here is the framework Finance.CPA uses.
Read ArticleIllinois Finance Directors have more tools available to improve pension funding than most realize. This article walks through three strategies that have moved the needle in real communities.
Read ArticleOther Post-Employment Benefits represent one of the largest hidden liabilities on most municipal balance sheets. Understanding your options is the essential first step.
Read Article
