Natwar M. Gandhi, PhD, is Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for the District of Columbia, and is responsible for the city's finances, including its $5.7 billion operating budget and its bond obligations. Gandhi was nominated to this position by Mayor Anthony A. Williams and appointed on June 7, 2000. On November 6, 2001, the Council of the District of Columbia unanimously approved the Mayor's nomination of Gandhi to a new five-year term as CFO.
Gandhi's first major achievement was reached on January 29, 2001, when he announced that, for the fourth year in a row, the District of Columbia received an unqualified or "clean opinion" from the city's independent auditors on its Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR). This CAFR was a milestone because the city had now met the major requirement for ending the congressionally mandated control period: four years of balanced budgets. On October 1, 2001, the DC Financial Authority was dissolved and the city's elected leaders again became solely responsible for the administration of the District.
Gandhi, after presenting evidence of the District's renewed fiscal strength to the financial community, was able to secure bond rating upgrades for the city from the three major rating agencies, including a return to an 'A -' rating from Standard and Poor's and Fitch Ratings - the first 'A' level rating for the District since 1995.
Prior to this appointment, Gandhi served as Deputy Chief Financial Officer for Tax and Revenue, leading an organization that administers the District of Columbia's tax laws and annually collects more than $3 billion in local revenues. When Gandhi joined the Office of Tax and Revenue (OTR) in 1997, the agency was in disarray. Its revenue base was shrinking, and employee morale was sinking. Under his leadership, OTR demonstrated a remarkable turnaround. Successes achieved included collecting substantially more in tax revenue than in previous years, turning projected city deficits into huge surpluses; issuing more than 150,000 tax refunds within 15 days during the 1999 and 2000 tax-filing seasons; and establishing a new one-stop, walk-in Customer Service Center to improve public outreach.
The momentum Gandhi established at OTR has continued under his leadership as the city's CFO. In 2002, OTR received the Federation of Tax Administrators "Award for Outstanding Technology Applications for State Administrations" for its Electronic Taxpayer Service Center.
Prior to his appointment to OTR, Gandhi served as Associate Director of Tax Policy and Administration for the US General Accounting Office (GAO), where he managed major research projects involving financial and tax policy analysis and testified on tax issues before congressional and state legislative committees. In 1990, Gandhi served as a special assistant to New Jersey Gov. Jim Florio, where he studied the state pension system and advised on changes in its funding.
Gandhi has received numerous awards including GAO's Distinguished Service and Meritorious Service Awards, as well as the Achievement of the Year Award from the Association of Government Accountants (National and Washington, DC chapter). He also received the year 2000 President's Award from the Greater Washington Society of CPA's. Gandhi holds a doctorate in accounting from Louisiana State University, a master's degree in business administration from Atlanta University, and an LLB and BCom in accounting from the University of Bombay.
