About

Business Plan

Purpose
The Transit Finance Learning Exchange (T-FLEx) began with the inaugural workshop in March 1999. The conference shaped the ideas of a few leading finance professionals into an active nation-wide working group of transit finance professionals. T-FLEx enables transit agencies to share and exchange training materials, instructors, uniform procurement scopes of work, policies and procedures and best business practices.

T-FLEx membership totals approximately twenty to twenty-five organizations and approximately 250 participants.

Vision Of T-FLEx

Advancing the training and development of transit professionals in Finance.

Mission Statement of T-FLEx

T-FLEx exists as a strategic alliance of transit agencies formed to leverage mutual strengths and continuously improve transit finance leadership, development, training practices and information sharing. The purpose of T-FLEx is to evolve the finance function into a value-added business partner within each transit authority.

Member Benefits

Members benefit by joining this consortium through a variety of exchange-developed and administered programs. These include:

Development of uniform specifications and templates

In response to member requests, the Exchange will conduct workshops for the purpose of establishing uniform guidelines and templates for transit agencies. Templates will be established for member agencies who wish to standardize such items as finance policy and procedure manuals, request for proposals, memorandums of agreements, etc. using best practices found in the private sector, finance and transit finance community.

Sourcing and administrative alliance

The Exchange will coordinate sourcing and purchasing of educational courseware, software, talent, hardware and other resources to reduce overall risk, lower costs, and enhance quality for all members. Additionally, the “alliance” will benefit from economies of scale for specific finance training programs, where several member agencies are brought together to form a viable class size. The T-FLEx courseware clearinghouse will also facilitate a single consortium price, with the best vendor, achieving best cost, and top quality. Additionally, to enhance the image of member agencies, positive media relations and coverage will be established.

Sharing of the best finance practices in transit

The Exchange will consolidate and maintain a catalogue of transit focused best practices in finance processes, training and development for the purpose of member sharing. Additionally, this alliance will share and benchmark business, financial, controls, and cost management best practices relating to the transit industry, both within and external to the transit authority.

On-demand targeted research

In response to member inquiry and requirements, the exchange will provide transit targeted research studies on the best business practices to provide up-to-date, viable information and guidance to members. Additionally, research findings will be shared in the context of the semi-annual programs.

Regularly scheduled workshops

Regularly scheduled workshops will be planned and scheduled for the winter and summer seasons. Member companies will receive complimentary registration fees for participants. However, workshop participants will be responsible for their own travel and lodging costs associated with the workshops and will also pay in advance, a modest fee (about $125) to cover costs of continental breakfast, coffee breaks, and luncheons associated with the workshops.

Peer review program and sharing of benchmarking information

The Exchange will coordinate and maintain a Peer Evaluation Team database made up of transit finance people who have been identified as experts within their field. This team would be available for the purpose of identifying those areas within member agencies that can benefit from implementing established best practices to enhance their ability to meet and exceed customer expectations.

Develop standardized procedure manuals for finance agencies in transit

The Exchange will develop a standardized format and template that can be utilized by member agencies in the development of finance department procedure manuals.