History

AGA Celebrates 50 Years, September 2000

Fall 2000, The Government Accountants Journal
By: Marie Sullivan Force

This summer as 1,400 AGA members gathered in San Francisco for the Association's 49th annual meeting, one couldn't help but wonder what Robert W. King would have thought of the Association he founded nearly 50 years ago.

What a remarkable journey it has been since that September day in 1950 when King gathered a small group of federal accountants and began the Federal Government Accountants Association. That charter group had high hopes that FGAA's members could work together to improve government financial management. As it turned out, a lot of other remarkable things happened along the way - things like lifelong friendships, professional growth, personal development and momentous change in government, due in no small part to the efforts of FGAA and its successor, AGA.

"Let me say that this Association has been the most satisfying and rewarding part of my professional career," said T. Jack Gary Jr., CGFM, a charter member and the Association's third National President.

As AGA celebrates its 50th Anniversary, it is clear that much has been accomplished as the membership worked together to build an Association that supports government financial managers at all levels while promoting and advocating for the profession. Apparently we have done something right.

"Without a doubt, AGA membership and participation in the organization's governance enhanced my career a great deal," said Arthur L. Litke, CGFM, 1973-1974 National President, who passed away in July.

"AGA membership 'opened the door' to many opportunities for displaying my capabilities to executives and organizations, which led to a very successful career progression to highest levels of government and professional organizations," said Nathan Cutler, CGFM, 1968-1969 National President and executive vice president from1975 to 1977.

Each and every person who has been a member of AGA during its 50 years can take pride in the Association that we have built together, rich with a history of promoting excellence in government financial management while enhancing the careers of those who choose to be public servants.

Humble Beginnings

As World War II ended, the country entered a period of unprecedented prosperity. But the federal government's finances were a mess. The stage was set for an association of professionals to bring accountability to the federal government, which had sunk some $13 billion into the funding of the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe and had opened its doors to nearly 300,000 homeless Europeans displaced by the war.

Founded on September 14, 1950, the goals of the Federal Government Accountants Association - the forerunner of the Association of Government Accountants - are not all that different from the objectives we pursue today. Some of the players are different - state and local financial managers now make up nearly half our membership, which is far more diverse than the small group of federal accountants who founded this Association. We are accountants, auditors, budget managers, systems managers, human resources managers and much more.

But within the original goals of the FGAA, is the foundation for the AGA of today. These goals were:

• to unite professional accountants for constructive endeavors;
• to encourage and provide a means for free interchange of ideas;
• to aid in the improvement of accounting and auditing; and
• to contribute to the improvement of education.

In 1975, when the organization's name was changed to the Association of Government Accountants, two additional objectives were added:

• to enhance the professional image of financial managers and management in government service; and
• to encourage expansion and improvement of service to the public.

Fifty Years Later

Today, AGA's programs and services align with the Association's founding tenets and hold true to the ideals of uniting the profession and serving the public. That spirit is reflected in AGA's commitment to education and training, professional development, networking, publications and, probably most significantly, certification that recognizes the unique skills of government financial managers. In addition to these national endeavors, more than 90 chapters across the country provide professional support, education and training to members while serving their communities through volunteer activities.

These chapters are where the lion's share of the Association's real effect is felt. They offer thousands of affordable, effective continuing professional education hours throughout the year and provide their members with an array of services that keep them tuned in locally and nationally.

"Visiting AGA chapters throughout the United States was an exceptional experience for me," said June Gibbs Brown, CGFM, 1985-1986 National President. "These chapters ranged from the very small that held their meetings in cafeterias to the biggest that were able to independently run large symposiums and contribute to the National Office. All were welcoming and enthusiastic. They made me recognize the scope of our organization and the obligations we have to all members, and the effect our policies might have on helping them to reach their full potential while serving the government."

Thomas D. Roslewicz, CGFM, 1998-1999 National President, agrees that the chapters have kept the Association going for all these years. "My best memory during my term as National President was the opportunity to visit some 32 chapters and speak to over 3,000 AGA members," he recalled. "I will always remember the many individuals and diversified talents that I met during these trips. These are the faces and the lifeblood of what AGA really is - a community of more than 18,000 professionals interested in advancing government accountability."

On the occasion of the Association's 25th Anniversary, members worked for more than two years to document the first quarter century. They wrote: "We hope that the telling of this story will be an inspiration to those who will devote their professional talents to the Association during the next 25 years, if such inspiration is needed. We hope that those of us still around to help celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Association in the year 2000, will look back on a record of its accomplishments in the second 25 years under the AGA banner that will be even more impressive than the first 25 under the FGAA banner."

They should be proud of what AGA grew up to be.

Decades of Accomplishment

Each decade brought change and growth. The Association's first 10 years were spent building its name. By 1956, FGAA was a national organization, chartering its first chapter outside Washington, D.C., in Kansas City.

"Due to fund limitations, initially the Washington Chapter and the national organization were one," said Gary. "I wore two hats: as president of the national organization and the other as president of the Washington Chapter. In its first year operating as a national organization, FGAA chartered eight local chapters."

Around this time, the organization began employing a part-time staff member and formed a National Office. The chartering of 31 chapters in the 1950s set FGAA on a course of growth in both its membership rolls and its influence in federal financial management.

As the country battled communism in Korea and the McCarthy hearings at home, AGA members were beginning their long commitment to community service. "Many FGAA members use their financial skills in voluntary community enterprises such as churches, citizens' associations, health and welfare organizations and the like, either in financial operations or in auditing the work of others," reported the December 1956 issue of Federal Financial Management TOPICS. "May others do likewise - and if you are, or have been performing work of this kind, please send us word."

At the same time, the Association was earning recognition for its role in the federal accounting profession. A finance newsletter distributed in late 1957 by the U.S. Post Office Department to its regional controllers stated: "In these changing times, it is most important that we keep abreast of the latest changes and developments in accounting and auditing. Regional controllers, and their staffs who are eligible, will find participation in local chapters of the Federal Government Accountants Association, and the National Association of Cost Accountants, highly rewarding." A year later, D. Otis Beasly, administrative assistant to the Secretary of Interior, wrote "The FGAA is to be commended for providing various means of keeping federal key financial people posted on significant developments in this area. I can assure you that our member employees, and others, who have attended the symposiums, round-table discussions and meetings, have derived many benefits and have broadened their accounting horizons as a result thereof."

In the late 1950s, the date of the annual symposium (now called the PDC) was changed from autumn to spring since members believed it was preferable to hold the symposium closer to when the fiscal and program years were ending rather than when they were just beginning. The Association ended the decade by planning its first symposium outside of Washington, DC Slated for New York in May of 1960, the symposium put the exclamation point on the Association's move to "go national" four years earlier. As 1,400 crowded into the main ballroom of New York's Statler Hilton Hotel in June of 1960, keynoter John A. Beckett, assistant director of the Bureau of the Budget, thrilled the big opening-day audience by reading a special message from President Eisenhower. The chief executive commended FGAA for staging the symposium and sent wishes for success in future activities of the Association. It was the start of a long tradition of messages from American Presidents encouraging FGAA in its mission to bring accountability to government.

Chapter Growth

As the country entered a decade marred by assassinations, civil rights conflicts and a war in Southeast Asia that nearly tore us apart, the Association was coming together through explosive chapter growth. Some months as many as three new chapters were chartered and by 1969, there were more than 60 active chapters in all corners of the country and overseas. The membership grew to nearly 7,000 by the close of the decade, quite an impressive accomplishment for an organization that had a mere 326 members at the end of its first year. FGAA had arrived.

The organization hired Past National President James A. Robbins to be its first executive director and first full-time employee in 1969. There was no looking back and nowhere to go but up.

FGAA was commended for its continuing commitment to community service and was praised for its efforts in September of 1965 by Sargent Shriver, director of the Office of Economic Opportunity. Shriver commended FGAA's decision to volunteer professional advisory services to project Head Start. Like other programs in the war against poverty, much of the project Head Start work was performed by volunteer community groups. AGA National President David Neuman urged each chapter to establish a committee to make necessary contacts and arrange for voluntary advisory services such as establishing proper accounting systems and methods of reporting activities.

In addition, AGA was on the front lines as CPAs working in government gained acceptance from their peers. In October of 1966, Congress passed a law recognizing for the first time government accounting and auditing experience necessary to quality for the CPA certificate in the nation's capital. The act was long sought by FGAA leaders, and National President W. Fletcher Lutz called it a "milestone in the professional advancement for hundreds of federal accountants and auditors."

The State-Local Boom

As the nation entered an era of staggering inflation and scandal, government finances were teetering on the edge as some cities, like New York, hovered on the brink of insolvency. After many years of waiting, FGAA was admitted in January of 1970 to full membership in the Summit Council, which was comprised of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the American Accounting Association, the Institute of Internal Auditors, the Financial Executives Institute and the National Association of Accountants. The council continues to meet periodically to address issues of mutual concern.

FGAA entered the 1970s as a federal organization but voted in September of 1971 to admit state and local government finance officials. A new era of inclusiveness had begun.

Chapters with mostly state and local members were cropping up in state capitals - Richmond, Mid-Missouri, Baton Rouge, Trenton and Albany were among the first. Before long, Nashville, Little Rock, Omaha and Central Kentucky joined the ranks. By the Association's 25th Anniversary in 1975, it was clear that FGAA was no longer a federal association and its name was changed to the Association of Government Accountants, signifying its commitment to serving all government financial managers.

"The change of name was opposed by several early leaders of the Association, including my good friend T. Jack Gary who later became one of the strongest supporters of the change," recalled John W. Cooley, CGFM, 1974-1975 National President.

Members had grappled for years to develop an effective governing structure for the Association. So it was fitting that during the Silver Anniversary year, the Association established the 12-member National Executive Committee, which continues to this day as the working policy body overseeing the Association's operations.

Riding on the successful admission of state and local members, the organization voted in 1978 to open full membership to private sector and retired practitioners and changed the names of its two flagship publications to Government Financial Management TOPICS and The Government Accountants Journal, removing the word "federal" once and for all.

The 1970s also marked the first significant move toward a certification for government accountants when several task forces were commissioned to gauge the level of interest in such a program. It would be more than 20 years before the certification program came to fruition, but these early efforts helped to lay the groundwork for the Certified Government Financial Manager (CGFM) Program of today. (See sidebar on certification.)

As the decade marked by Watergate, feminism and oil shortages came to a close, AGA's successful support of the Inspector General Act of 1978 was validated when three of its prominent members were appointed by the President to the first group of IGs. AGA was there to support expansion of the original IG Act to put independent auditors in nearly all federal agencies. And, the Association was proud when Charles Bowsher, a member and one of its endorsed candidates, was named comptroller general of the United States in 1981. An era of increased accountability in government had begun.

A Decade of Firsts

AGA entered the 1980s with 87 active chapters and more than 10,000 members. How far we had come in 30 years and how far we would go in the next 10. The "great communicator" Ronald Reagan had taken up occupancy in the White House, bringing with him an era of huge budget deficits. As the accounting profession witnessed an explosion of women among its ranks, Eleanor Clark became the first woman to hold AGA's highest elected office in 1982. Just six years later, the time was right for Meredith Williams to be the first from state government to be elected National President.

During the 1980s, AGA continued to offer the best training available to government financial managers. The Association developed new programs to appeal to its growing state and local population and established an Education and Research Foundation to support these efforts. Ironically, it was the loss of the Association's nonprofit mailing privileges that initially resulted in the need for a foundation to provide true nonprofit status to AGA, thereby qualifying the Association for nonprofit mailing rates. Long after AGA became a nonprofit in its own right, the foundation served members educational needs at many different levels before it became defunct in the 1990s.

In keeping with its rich tradition of providing outstanding training, the annual symposium became the Annual Professional Development Conference in the fall of 1981 in an effort to convey the true spirit and objectives of these annual gatherings. Members' seeking the change believed the new name of the annual meeting would help them to more easily justify their attendance to their supervisors.

An Advocate for the Profession

As the profession became more vocal about cleaning up government financial practices, AGA's Financial Management Standards Board played a major role by commenting on numerous exposure drafts on behalf of the membership.

The Association also supported legislation such as the Single Audit Act of 1984. This active involvement kept AGA on the forefront as the Financial Accounting Foundation grappled with the development of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, which was finally established in 1984.

Throughout the 1980s, AGA dealt with a growing internal financial crisis and sought new sources of revenue through always-unpopular dues increases and other avenues. While the national organization dealt with its financial crisis, chapters were urged to install proper internal controls. Executive Vice President W. Fletcher Lutz asked chapters to be mindful that an organization of professional financial managers needs to keep its own house in order.

By 1985, the certification issue was back on the Association's agenda, but while there was finally significant interest in a government-niche certification, it was not enough to go forward yet. Also in 1985, AGA members authored a proposed bill titled The Federal Controllership Act, which closely resembled the final legislation. So with the topic of a chief financial officer in government receiving ever-increasing attention by the fall of 1987, AGA had regrouped its forces to determine a course of action so that the Association could continue its leadership in this area. Among other things, President Donald Kirkendall's task force on the matter, chaired by Neil Tierney, did a side-by-side comparison of the proposed congressional bills to the draft The Federal Controllership Act developed by AGA and published in May of 1985. A second project solicited from several federal agencies their organizational charts and position descriptions of those officials having responsibilities that should be included under a "complete" chief financial officer. A third project created a "template" or ideal organization structure and job description for a federal CFO.

The 1980s ended with plans for a 40th Anniversary celebration and the start of the "Home of Our Own" campaign that led to the purchase of a National Office building in Alexandria, Virginia.

Growth and Prosperity

As war threatened in the Persian Gulf and the federal budget deficit grew larger, AGA continued its vocal and active support of improved financial management practices. The Association was front and center when the CFO Act of 1990 was signed into law, establishing a chief financial officer in 24 federal departments and agencies. AGA had supported this move for years and President-Elect Clyde Jeffcoat noted that the CFO Act did for accounting what the IG Act did for auditing.

The 1990s were marked by two extraordinary events-booming membership growth and the remarkable success of the Certified Government Financial Manager Program. Members debated for more than 20 years on the merits of a special certification for government financial managers and had decided as recently as 1992 to abandon the program. When AGA decided to "go for it " in 1993 with the vision and leadership of National President Jeffrey Steinhoff, no one could have imagined that a mere three years later, more than 13,000 individuals would be certified. The program has been, without a doubt, the most successful undertaking in AGA's history.

On the membership side, thanks to new member-get-a-member programs and the success of the CGFM Program, membership reached new highs during the 1990s. National Presidents Virginia S. Brizendine, CGFM, and Mitch Laine, CGFM, laid down the gauntlet in 1995 and 1996 by challenging each member to take responsibility for the future growth of the Association.

Members responded in droves and membership numbers soared. During this decade of unprecedented growth and prosperity for the Association, two new annual traditions were begun when the Federal Leadership Conference was founded in Washington in 1990 and the State and Local Government Leadership Conference was inaugurated in Nashville in 1992.

The addition of the Certificate of Excellence in Accountability Reporting program in 1998 once again moved AGA to the forefront of the federal financial management community and is helping to elevate the quality of these essential reports. And, AGA's Academy for Government Accountability, founded in 1999, is on target to be the clearinghouse for government financial management training.

We closed the 1990s and the 20th century with more than 18,000 active members and in excess of 13,000 CGFMs.

The AGA People

Throughout each decade of AGA's colorful history, one theme emerges as key to its success - the enormous generosity of spirit that can be found throughout the Association's membership. "AGA membership has provided me with many career opportunities," said Douglas K. Haywood, CGFM, 1997-1998 National President. "But more importantly, membership in AGA has afforded me the opportunity to establish lifelong friendships. Real friendships with people who continue to provide me with their support and encouragement. Friendships I shall cherish forever."

It is a theme that echoes throughout the Association's past and present leaders. "AGA people are a hidden treasure," said Thomas J. Sadowski, CGFM, AGA's 50th National President. "They are some of the best people in the world."

It is through these relationships that AGA manages to stay true to some of the founding tenets: to unite professional accountants for constructive endeavors and to encourage and provide a means for free interchange of ideas.

"AGA has been a constant lifeline in my professional career," said Meredith Williams, CGFM, 1988-1989 National President. "The AGA network has ensured that I always had the advantage of others' experiences in facing my professional challenges."

Frank S. Sato, 1979-1980 National President, said that AGA helped to define his career. "Through AGA activities, I have gotten to know many people at various levels of governments and other organizations that I otherwise probably would not have met," he said. "My initial appointment as the inspector general at DOT was undoubtedly influenced in a major way because of my involvement in AGA."

And, the network is always there when a member needs assistance. "It significantly assisted me in progressing from a GS-7 auditor when I first joined AGA in 1957 to the SES position I held in the Office of the Secretary of Defense when I retired in 1988," said Jack Fawsett, CGFM, 1986-1987 National President. "It did this by providing me with outstanding training, associations with competent and enlightened professionals, and provided me with a network of technical and professional experts at the highest levels of government that I could call and interact with as the need arose-and it often did."

Gerald Murphy, CGFM, 1977-1978 National President, found that his AGA experiences were directly relevant to his daily work life. "If you can lead a diverse group of federal and state accountants and auditors from all over the country in a volunteer organization, then it's a piece of cake to do the same with paid employees," Murphy said. "The similarity of challenges I faced in AGA with those I dealt with as a federal manager was almost unbelievable."

Clyde G. McShan II, CGFM, 1994-1995 National President, credits AGA with providing him with the tools he needed to succeed both in government and the private sector. "AGA played a significant role in that success because it provided me with an opportunity to meet many individuals from all organizational levels and from all areas of the country," he said. "Networking with these professionals afforded me with the ability to identify experts I could call upon to help me find solutions to any problem. It also provided me with exposure to 'best practices' that I could implement in my organization."

And, the Association has made it possible for regular folks to do great things.

"As a small-town country boy growing up in Tennessee, I never dreamed that one day I would have the opportunity of becoming National President of an 18,000-member national professional association," said Charles L. Harrison, CGFM, 1992-1993 National President. "I can truly state that my experiences, starting with small leadership positions in the Nashville Chapter, later becoming Southeastern Regional Vice President, and then a member of the National Executive Committee, were stepping stones, which under no uncertain terms provided me the opportunity to enhance my career with the State of Tennessee. I will be forever grateful to AGA for providing me these leadership opportunities."

Virginia Robinson, CGFM, who served in 1989-1990, concurs. "I consider being National President of AGA as the acme of my career. AGA contributed enormously to my professional, as well as personal, development."

Looking Forward

As we end the Association's 50th year, we are confident that those early members would be proud of all that has been accomplished in the second 25 years. AGA is moving forward with pride and confidence in its members and in the profession we all serve. But there is work to be done to continue our 50-year-long quest to advance government accountability.

"In keeping with John Kennedy's challenge when he said that we put a man on the moon not because it was easy, but because it was hard," Haywood said, "our Association should continue to take on the difficult challenges facing our profession, not because they are popular, but because it is the right thing to do."

June Gibbs Brown advises AGA to "keep up the good work (by continuing) to contribute to the profession by developing policies-like CGFM and evaluating government financial statements- which transformed AGA into the strong organization it is today. Develop and provide outstanding training opportunities and literature to benefit the wide range and diversity of our members." There is a saying in all professions, that by participating in a professional organization, we help and learn from each other, said Sidney Baurmash, 1971-1972 National President. "Exchange of ideas and knowledge helps one to grow and succeed," he said. "That was the original purpose of FGAA 50 years ago, when a handful of individuals decided to unite and form our organization. That purpose exists today and into the future. I wish AGA future success in its endeavors."

The work has been challenging and the road has been long, but together we have set a course toward unprecedented accountability in government. AGA has provided the tools needed to get the job done. As we enter our sixth decade of advancing government accountability, AGA stands ready to continue its commitment of service to its members and the profession.

As charter member and Past National President Raymond Einhorn, CGFM, said so eloquently this summer, upon receiving the Association's highest award, named for his old friend Bob King, "I am proud to be an AGA member." You should all be.

Welcoming State and Local Members - A Whole New AGA

The first time the question came before the Association's Executive Board members, they said no, we are not ready to open the doors of our Association to state and local members.

It was in 1969 that the Federal Government Accountants Association defeated a proposed bylaws amendment to admit state and local financial managers as full members. In 1962, the Association had created a special class of membership to allow members working outside of the federal government to join as affiliate members without eligibility to hold local or national office.

Throughout the 1960s, FGAA took a number of baby steps that forced the eventual negative vote by the Association Executive Board, a forerunner to today's National Board of Directors. These steps included a decision by the Association's Executive Board in 1966 to "build the foundation for active collaboration with accountants, auditors and related financial officials of state and local government." A year later, the theme of the Annual Symposium, "Partners in the Decision-Making Process-Federal, State and Local Governments," shows the Association inching toward a growing commitment to working with all levels of government.

By 1969, more than 40 FGAA members from the Austin, Baltimore, Chicago, Indianapolis, Madison and Washington Chapters decided it was time for a showdown on the matter. They advocated a bylaws change that would open active membership to qualified financial management personnel working in state and local governments.

The amendment was defeated by the Association Executive Board in a close vote of 34 against and 26 in favor. Some members of the National Policy Board, which reviewed the petition, expressed concern with the term "qualified individuals," noting that professional standards vary greatly from state to state.

Several of the chapter presidents who voted against the change commented at the time that many qualified federal employees had not yet joined FGAA and that membership recruitment efforts should be concentrated in that area before the Association widened its scope to include state and local members. It was also noted that state and local members were permitted to join and participate as affiliate members.

Ironically, the same year that this vote was taken, the Association was trying desperately to increase its membership. Struggling to reach the 8,000-member mark, FGAA had seemingly hit the wall in the area of membership growth.

Membership Declines

In the early months of 1971, membership sank to 6,141, which was significantly below the beginning of the program year on July 1 when there were 7,275 members. Perhaps these numbers helped FGAA leaders to view the notion of state and local members in a different light when the issue came up for a vote again that year, with a markedly different outcome. The Association's Executive Committee voted 51 to 21 in the fall of 1971 to admit state and local officials to active FGAA membership.

Once full membership status was opened to state and local members, the Association spent the better part of the next decade making them feel welcome. So much of the Association we know today can be traced to this momentous vote.

During the summer of 1973, the first chapter in a state capital was founded in Richmond, Virginia, and was the first to boast an even 50-50 split between federal and state-local members. The Central Missouri Chapter, now known as the Mid-Missouri Chapter, soon followed with 40 of its 50 charter members coming from state government. Within the next few years, chapters formed in other state capitals including Baton Rouge, Raleigh, Trenton, Albany and later Nashville, Central Kentucky and Greater Lansing, to name a few.

As AGA welcomed these state and local-oriented chapters, the membership number grew as well-to 8,683 by the end of the 1975-1976 program year and 9,097 by the end of the next year.

In 1975, the organization's name was changed to remove the word "federal" and the more inclusive Association of Government Accountants was founded. Similarly, the name of the Association's newsletter Federal Financial Management TOPICS was changed in 1975 to Government Financial Management TOPICS and The Federal Accountant became The Government Accountants Journal. The Association was headed in a new direction.

As the close of the 1977-1978 program year neared, the newly formed Nashville Chapter brought the Association's membership to nearly 10,500.

Roadblocks Still in Place

Seven years after the vote to open full membership to the state and local community, that sector made up 21 percent of the Association's membership, but roadblocks continued to keep these members from reaching the Association's highest elected office. Soon it became clear that further changes were needed to fully integrate state and local members into the leadership ranks.

A special task force was assigned to look into the service the Association was providing to its state and local members. In 1984 they determined that AGA needed to:

• Issue a national policy statement establishing a goal for increasing services to state and local members;
• Develop an education program aimed at the needs of this membership group;
• Include a representative number of sessions at each PDC specifically for the benefit of these members;
• Establish a policy to include a state or local national presidential nominee;
• Include incentives in the chapter recognition program to recognize the recruitment and retention of state and local members; and
• Include chapter recognition incentives for initiating or sponsoring new chapters in cities where state and local members are predominant.

The next year, the National Nominating Committee advanced its first state candidate for National President. Joseph Burris, a member of the New Orleans Chapter and the legislative auditor for the state of Louisiana, was the committee's choice. However, Jack Fawsett, a member of the Northern Virginia Chapter and the assistant inspector general at the US Department of Defense, qualified by petition as a candidate for president. This forced a mail ballot vote by the membership in the spirit of the early years of the Association's popular elections, which were held before the single-slate candidate system was adopted in 1976. The membership elected Fawsett, signaling perhaps that they were not yet ready to abandon the tradition that kept the National Presidency in the hands of federal members.

At its annual meeting in 1985, the National Board of Directors received a letter from Frank L. Greathouse, a founding member of the Nashville Chapter, expressing concern over the recent elections that saw a state candidate defeated by a federal member nominated by petition. Outgoing National President Harold Stugart assured the NBD that appropriate action would be taken.

Changing the Rules

A special task force on AGA's organizational structure reported to the NEC in 1986 that there was significant member interest in increasing the level of "field" participation in AGA's management and operations. The task force, chaired by Past National President Frederic A. Heim Jr., noted that his group envisioned greatly increased participation by non-Washington members on AGA's board and committees, as well as other areas. Finally, in April of that year, the NEC took definitive action to ensure a fair election process whereby all members could seek the Association's highest office.

The NEC, reconciling the findings of the organizational task force and another on the nominating and election process, voted that the National President cannot come from the same AGA region more than two successive years and made it more difficult to submit a nomination for national office by petition. Later in 1986, the National Nominating Committee, operating for the first time under the new rules, officially sought a candidate for National President-elect from a region other than the Capital Region.

Meredith Williams, a member of the Topeka Chapter and the legislative post auditor for the state of Kansas, was chosen as President-elect for the 1988-1989 year. Williams would be the first nonfederal official to hold the Association's highest office. Upon the confirmation of his election, Williams reached out to the membership by acknowledging his unique spot in AGA history and pledging to unite members from all levels of government.

Today, 43 percent of AGA's 18,500 members are from the state and local community and many of its programs and services are tailored to this unique population. In 1992, the State and Local Government Leadership Conference was founded in Nashville, beginning an annual tradition targeted directly at this valuable group of members. In addition, the Association has established prestigious national awards that recognize outstanding leadership in state and local government and has named several of its awards after remarkable state leaders including Frank Greathouse and William Snodgrass, both from Tennessee.

Since Williams, now a CGFM, accepted the gavel in 1988, National Presidents from the state level have included: Charles L. Harrison, CGFM, of Tennessee (1992-1993); Virginia S. Brizendine, CGFM, of Missouri (1995-1996); Douglas K. Haywood, CGFM, of Arizona (1997-1998); Thomas J. Sadowski, CGFM, of Missouri (1999-2000), and Richard V. Norment, CGFM, of Tennessee, who is currently President-elect.

While there are those who still believe that AGA must provide more programs and services specifically for its state and local members, without a doubt, the inclusion of state and local members into full, active membership was the first step in creating the AGA we know today.  —Marie Sullivan Force

AGA's Certified Government Financial Manager Program

Considered by many to be the Association's crowning achievement, a long history preceded its final success
By: Marie Sullivan Force and Christina M. Camara

Thirteen thousand, three hundred, thirty-three. So ended the grandfathering period for the Certified Government Financial Manager (CGFM) Program in June of 1996, just four years after a blue ribbon task force on certification recommended that AGA abandon its longtime effort to establish such a designation.

Fortunately for AGA and the profession, Jeffrey C. Steinhoff decided to do it anyway and made the move to develop a certification program that recognizes the unique skills needed to succeed in the government financial management arena.

"I was convinced the time was right for this program and AGA had everything to gain," Steinhoff said. "We simply could no longer afford not to boldly move forward if we wanted to grow and to be in a leadership position as we approached the new millennium."

And the success of the program proved that AGA did have "everything to gain."

The timing was right for the CGFM Program during Steinhoff's 1993-1994 term, even though the idea had been brought up and rejected time and again.

"This had been debated, discarded, resurrected, discarded again and then discussed again without anything happening except time passing," said Past National President Jack Fawsett. "But Jeff did it." He added, "In my view, the CGFM Program has been the most significant forward step by AGA since it actively pursued the integration of the state and local auditors into its membership."

Steinhoff, who is the Managing Director of the Financial Management and Assurance Team, U.S. General Accounting Office, recalled that despite the recruitment of state and local government officials into AGA, the organization was not growing. In fact, when he developed his goals for his presidential term, a certification program was not one of them. Instead, he wanted to focus on losing fewer members than previous years and laying the foundation for AGA to grow in the future. But to do that, he realized AGA would need something different.

Gathering Momentum

Steinhoff thought about the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), which had grown to more than 60,000 members after implementing the Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) program. He also recalled a particular congressional hearing in which the chairman made a special point to introduce Steinhoff as a CPA.

The fact that government financial managers did not have their own mark of distinction bothered Steinhoff, who then used his experience in pushing through federal legislation to pursue a certification program for AGA.

He discussed his vision with the National Executive Committee (NEC), visited chapters, heard feedback from members and all the while used his speeches and monthly newsletter columns to talk about bringing government financial managers out from the back room and into the spotlight. In the end, he got a broad mandate from the membership to pursue the program, which was introduced at the 1994 Professional Development Conference.

Steinhoff, who holds CGFM certificate No. 1, first started with a goal of 4,000 CGFMs. Then in a "bold moment," he said, he pushed the goal up to 6,000, then 8,000 and finally to 10,000. As it turned out, he far underestimated the interest in the program as an astounding 8,000 nonmembers alone became CGFMs. Today, more than 13,300 professionals have earned the designation, which now requires successful completion of three exams developed by the Association's Professional Certification Board during Steinhoff's tenure as its first chairman.

Membership surged. Some chapters grew by 50 percent and about 7,000 more professionals joined AGA's ranks in a few short years.

Now, AGA has a professional exam process, a prestigious certification board and a certificate that gives financial managers an edge in their profession. "Jeff Steinhoff did such a superb, professional job in developing its qualifications and guiding it through its early period that it now appears to be fairly well established as an indication of professional expertise in governmental accounting," said Past National President T. Jack Gary Jr., CGFM, who is also a charter member of the Association.

The Long and Winding Road to CGFM

Since the early 1960s, AGA members had debated the merits of a certification program for government accountants. Members aired their opinions on certification in the pages of The Federal Accountant. In 1962, one wrote: "I would propose that we would require each candidate for admission to the profession (of accounting) in the federal government to:

• Possess a college degree...with a major in accounting...
• Pass an examination...
• Appear before a local board...who would determine his capabilities...
• Have the recommendation of that board processed by a central board in Washington.
• Receive from the board in Washington a CGA, that is to say, a Certified Government Accounting certificate..."

Much of what is suggested here was included in one form or another in the final program, but it would be nearly 30 years before such a certificate existed. During the 1972-1973 program year, President-elect Harry Levine expressed deep concern about the "splintering effect" various certification programs were having on the accounting profession. At the time, the IIA had recently established the CIA program and the National Association of Accountants (NAA), forerunner to the Institute of Management Accountants, was pursuing the Certified Management Accountant (CMA).

"We begin to view ourselves as belonging to the public accounting profession, or the management accounting profession, or the internal auditing profession, or the governmental accounting profession," Levine stated at the time. "In fact, we are all members of the accounting profession...Innovative accounting and auditing theory and techniques are not the private domain of any individual sector of the profession. We can all learn from one another."

The next year, however, National President Levine established a task force to further study the matter. The recent success of the IIA's program fueled new interest in a certification for the government accounting profession since more than 8,000 internal auditors had applied for certification during the initial grandfathering period. NAA had similar success with the CMA, certifying 460 the first time it offered the qualifying examination.

Levine's task force on certification issued a survey to gauge member interest and concluded that the careers of government accountants would not be enhanced by a certification program at that time. "It was also concluded," the report stated, "that there is no significant support for such a program among the FGAA membership." The task force found that members who were CPAs opposed the proliferation of certification programs, in general. Those who were not CPAs were concerned about the exclusionary aspect of a certification program if it were too rigorous and were dubious about its potential value if it was not rigorous enough.

One of the drawbacks to moving forward with a governmental certification at that time was the lack of a common body of knowledge for governmental accountants-how was a valid certification program to be established when no one had specifically defined what a government accountant was supposed to know? President Levine discontinued the study when the task force's final report recommended that no further action be taken to establish a Certified Government Accountant program.

Trying Again

By 1980, the Association's Long-Range Planning Committee was once again studying the issue. The next year, National President Eleanor Clark, now a CGFM, established a standing committee on certification in light of the ongoing development of a common body of knowledge for governmental accountants. The committee performed an in-depth study and determined that there was not sufficient support for an all-out effort, but that the issue should be kept alive.

The matter was shelved until 1985 when National President Harold Stugart formed a new task force to update the information available on the subject since it was last studied three years earlier. By May of 1985, the task force had uncovered the first groundswell of support for a governmental accounting certification program. The group recommended that the Association proceed with further exploration.

Excited by these findings, AGA officials approached seven other government-related professional organizations seeking to build a consortium of associations to conduct a certification program together. Unfortunately there was no interest and only two replied-negatively-when asked in writing for their opinions of such a certification. In addition to this, the task force discovered a general apathy on the subject among AGA's state and local members, which task force members believed would make implementation of a certification program impractical in the short-term. Task Force Chairman Jack Moore recommended that AGA redouble its efforts to build its strength and stature in the state and local area and recommended an improved education program directed toward this segment as one vital means of achieving this objective. The National Executive Committee agreed and took action to make it happen.

In 1989, AGA and IIA took steps to formulate a certification for government auditors by forming a Board Certified Government Auditor (BCGA) program designed to promote and enhance professionalism in government auditing. But the program never made it off the ground and the NEC voted the next year to discontinue AGA's involvement in the initiative. Once again, the certification issue was tabled.

Despite the checkered history of AGA's certification efforts, there was still enough interest to form a new Blue Ribbon Task Force in 1991. A questionnaire was sent to the membership to gauge their interest level in a certification program for government accountants and financial managers.

Based on findings from the questionnaire, the task force recommended that AGA abandon its efforts to establish a certification program when more than 53 percent of AGA members surveyed said they did not feel a new professional designation should be created.

"There is not sufficient demand among the membership to ensure the success of the program or merit a long-term commitment of scarce Association resources," wrote Task Force Chairman David R. Hancox, now a CGFM.

Despite these findings, Steinhoff believed the climate had changed significantly by the beginning of 1994, when he used his column in AGA's newsletter to outline an ambitious plan for the Certified Government Financial Manager Program. He claimed the certification would "be of considerable benefit to AGA members and the governmental financial community they serve." Steinhoff submitted his proposal to the National Board of Directors, which approved the program by a 95 percent margin. The CGFM was finally a reality, but the hard work was just beginning.

The Challenges Ahead

After the NBD's momentous vote in 1994, hundreds of volunteers spent thousands of hours reviewing applications, drafting an interpretation of the continuing professional education requirements for CGFMs, refining the Association's Code of Ethics to include language to cover those certified and promoting the program. The tasks were endless. The first two years were comprised of a "grandfathering period," during which applicants were judged by their experience and education qualifications and certified accordingly.

"During the year I was President we awarded thousands of CGFM certificates," said Mitch Laine, CGFM, who was presented with weekly piles of certificates for his signature during his 1996-1997 term. "The grandfathering period had started successfully the prior year but I think we were all pleasantly surprised with the number of applications that continued to come in."

The Professional Certification Board was formed to oversee the development of the program and the examination that would eventually be required of new candidates. Carol A. Codori, Ph.D., CGFM, was hired as director of professional certification and other staff was brought on board to handle the enormous workload involved with the new program. Members in the field became coordinators, charged with promoting the program locally.

While the professional certification staff handled the deluge of applications received during the grandfathering period, the board turned its attention to the drafting of what became the three examinations now required of CGFM candidates: Governmental Environment; Governmental Accounting, Financial Reporting and Budgeting; and Governmental Financial Management and Control. Words such as "psychometrically defensible" became part of the AGA vernacular. The CGFM Exams are the first of any certification examinations in the accounting profession to be completely computerized and are often held up as a model. Later, three complementary training courses were developed.

Despite the program's early successes, many challenges remain to make the designation increasingly more valuable to employers and to the CGFMs themselves. Marketing efforts targeting both potential CGFMs and their employers are ongoing. In addition, as an organization of financial managers, AGA's members are keeping a close eye on the program's bottom line. The IIA has stated that it took 21 years for the CIA to turn a profit for the Institute, and AGA leaders realize that it will take time to make the CGFM a highly demanded, self-supporting certification.

But the foundation is in place for this to happen. The state of Tennessee, for example, offers a salary increase to CGFMs who are certified by examination. As other states take similar action, the CGFM will take its rightful place as the designation of choice for government financial managers.

Half of AGA's members are currently certified, and there remain 3,400 CGFMs who have chosen not to join AGA. So there is work to be done to promote the advantages of both the CGFM and AGA membership. On the plus side, the majority of those who were not initially members of the Association, have joined since becoming certified.

If any organization is up to meeting these challenges, it is AGA and its members, who worked for nearly three decades to bring this program to fruition. As the CGFM forges its way through the first decade, it is clear that this mark of distinction will stand the test of time and continue to elevate the stature of professional financial managers working at all levels of government.

 

 

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