Highlights
Full Agenda Available for Federal Performance Conference
The complete agenda for AGA's Third Annual Federal Performance Conference, worth 15 CPE hours, is available online.
The conference, scheduled for April 24–25 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., includes keynote speakers and sessions on three specific areas: human capital, analytics and techniques for using measures.
Don't miss this informative conference if you are involved in any area of performance management or measurement.
Speakers include:
David Abercrombie, Program Analyst, Office of Program Analysis and Evaluation, U.S. Department of Energy
Ronald E. Crupi, CGFM, Director, Financial Management Immigration and Customs Enforcement, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Kevin Donahue, Senior Advisor, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Management, U.S. Department of Treasury
Louis M. Farrell, Director, Student and Exchange Visitor Program, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
Joseph Greenblott, Associate Director, Office of Planning, Analysis and Accountability, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Tim Gribben, Director, Office of Performance Management, U.S. Small Business Administration
Pamela Haze, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Budget, Finance Performance and Acquisition, U.S. Department of the Interior
Cheryl Steptoe-Simon, Director, Human Capital Business Integration, Defense Logistics Agency
Check the website for more information on the speakers and details on registering.
April 2012 • Volume 6, Issue 3
Honolulu Official Describes Lessons Learned, Plans for Future SEA Reports
The City and County of Honolulu’s work to report on its own performance has come a long way in a short time.
Government officials embarked on their first effort to create an annual Service Efforts and Accomplishments (SEA) Report in 2010, earning a silver award from AGA’s Certificate of Achievement in SEA Reporting Program.
Creating an SEA report from scratch is hard work, but the city and county had the benefit of learning from City Auditor Edwin Young, MBA, CGFM, CIA, CFE, who assisted in the award-winning SEA reporting efforts in his previous position in Palo Alto, CA.
“It was a major undertaking, a first for Honolulu and the state of Hawaii,” said Susan Hall, project manager and deputy city auditor. “We looked at Palo Alto, and that helped to formulate the types of performance information, and how to communicate it to first-time readers.” However, the City and County of Honolulu has more than twice as many departments as Palo Alto, covers the entire island of Oahu and about 70 percent of Hawaii’s population.
Hall said the auditor’s office welcomed the challenge. The SEA report would for the first time provide an independent, impartial assessment of performance trends, and also answer questions council members often asked, such as the actual number of filled and vacant city positions.
While some departments jumped on board and provided more detailed information than the auditor’s office even hoped for, some were initially skeptical. “What changed a lot of departments’ minds is that we were in a collaborative process with them, with drafts going back and forth, clarifying information for their chapter. During budget deliberations, department heads used the SEA report to defend their budgets and to compare their operations and costs to cities on the mainland," Hall said. "The Corporation Counsel defended its budget by citing the SEA report data that showed its attorneys were paid less than counterparts in cities comparable in size to Honolulu.” Read more.
AGA’s Louise Kapelewski Receives Performance Certificate
AGA's Louise Kapelewski has earned the Public Performance Measurement (PPM) certificate from the Public Performance Measurement and Reporting Network and the National Center for Public Performance. Kapelewski is the program coordinator for AGA’s performance and accountability programs. The PPM certificate program explores the major areas of performance in four online classes over about six months. Learn more about the certificate.
What is Citizen-Centric Reporting?
AGA is encouraging governments of all sizes to produce Citizen-Centric Reports, or CCRs, which detail government finances in a visually appealing, clear and understandable four-page document. More goverments every year are adopting CCRs as a way to communicate government finances to the people they serve.
AGA's suggested format shows community information—such as population figures, regional characteristics and government goals for the community—on the first page. The second page presents a performance report on key missions and service. The third page details cost and revenue information, and the fourth looks forward to the year ahead. Three states, Texas, Idaho and Nevada, have prepared CCRs for 2011. See all submitted CCRs.
Annual ALGA Conference Set for May in Arizona
The 2012 Association of Local Government Auditors Annual Conference, worth 15 CPE hours, is set for May 7–8 at the Tempe Mission Palms Hotel in Tempe, AZ. The theme is "The Heat is on for Local Government Auditing." Topics include risk assessment, data mining and analysis, social media, leadership, law enforcement auditing, career development, auditing standards updates and more. Learn more about the agenda, registration and travel information.
Correction: Last month, Perspectives on Performance incorrectly recognized Saco, ME, for receiving its sixth Certificate of Achievement in Service Efforts and Reporting. Saco has received the award for eight consecutive years. Congratulations! We apologize for the error.
Other AGA links
Bring AGA-Sponsored Training Courses to Your Organization
Register for AGA's Third Annual Federal Performance Conference, April 24-25, Washington, D.C.
Register for AGA's 61st Annual PDC, July 29-Aug. 1, 2012, San Diego, CA
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Copyright © 2012, Association of Government Accountants
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