Cash management as a public finance discipline has changed
significantly over the years. Before the 1970s, most cash management
activities involved paying bills and collecting fees, fines,
and other revenues. Excess funds sat idle in bank checking accounts
or were invested in local bank certificates of deposit. Beginning
in the 1970s, citizens began demanding more services from local
governments while concurrently rebelling against increased taxes.
The demand for more services and shrinking revenues caused
finance officials to develop ways to maximize the use of their funds.
At the same time, interest rates began to rise and eventually reached
a peak on March 30, 1980, when the federal funds rate (the rate
banks charge one another for overnight loans) rose to 20 percent.
Higher interest rates made more effective cash management practices
worthwhile because the extra effort that went into actively
managing cash balances was offset by increased investment income.
Conversely, the new millennium saw interest rates fall to historic
lows. The federal funds rate fell to 1 percent on June 30, 2003. The
need to manage funds effectively was once again highlighted
because many governments depend on investment income as an
important revenue source, and lower interest rates significantly
reduced investment earnings, causing many governments to suffer
severe budgetary constraints.