Highlights
Last Week to Register Early for Environmental Fraud Audio Conference
AGA, in conjunction with the National Association of State Auditors, Comptrollers and Treasurers and the Association of Local Government Auditors, is pleased to announce a new audio conference, How Fraud Can Undermine the Integrity of Environmental Programs and Create Environmental Risks. The audio conference, worth 2 CPE hours, is set for 2 – 3:50 p.m. EST, March 5, 2008.
Criminal Investigators at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), working with auditors and investigators across the federal, state and local accountability community, have an impressive record addressing fraudulent activities that can affect human health and the environment. Prosecuting these bad actors is just the first step. To prevent future fraud, it is critical to address the systemic weaknesses that allow fraud to occur and prevent the individuals and organizations that commit fraud from continuing to do business with the government.
Speakers include Michael Daggett, Director, EPA OIG Program Integrity Directorate; Larry Valett, Director, EPA OIG Financial Fraud Directorate; and Frank Lane, Director of EPA’s Suspension and Debarment Division.
Cost is $249 per site (unlimited attendance) if you register on or before Feb. 29, and $299 thereafter. Government agencies and CPAG members who register five or more offices can receive a 20 percent discount.
Register online, or print the regular registration form, or the special promotion registration form and fax it to 703.684.6933.
View the entire audio conference schedule.
Training Opportunities
FASAB, GASB Emerging Issues Topic of Upcoming Audio Conference
AGA, in conjunction NASACT and ALGA , is pleased to announce a new audio conference, "Emerging Issues at FASAB and GASB: The Landscape is Changing." The audio conference, worth 2 CPE hours, is set for 2 – 3:50 p.m. EDT, March 26.
Hear from two key officials from the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) and the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB). The speakers will discuss the conceptual frameworks being developed at the two boards; what future standards may arise as a result of new concepts; how the new standards may affect preparers, auditors and users; the impact of international accounting standards on the two boards; and the progress being made in financial and performance reporting during the last 10 years and the goals for the next 10.
Speakers include David R. Bean, CPA, Director of Research and Technical Activities, GASB, and Wendy M. Payne, CGFM, CPA, Executive Director, FASAB.
Cost is $249 per site (unlimited attendance) if you register on or before March 21, and $299 thereafter. Government agencies and CPAG members who register five or more offices can receive a 20 percent discount.
Register online, or print the regular registration form, or the special promotion registration form and fax it to 703.684.6933.
View the entire audio conference schedule.
Coming Soon! AGA's Web Blog Starts April 1
Beginning April 1, AGA will sponsor a daily web blog where participants can post a brief essay on a government financial management or accountability issue and check back during the day to answer questions posted by readers. Have something you want to say? Looking for a forum to dialogue with your colleagues? Look no further! We're registering "guests" for April right now. Join the fun by e-mailing Marie Force, director of communications, to get on the schedule. Mark your calendars for April 1, and have your coffee with AGA every morning.
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February 25, 2008 • News from the Profession
NOTE: Please ‘whitelist’ our newsletters by sending an e-mail to postmaster@303media.net to prevent AGA newsletters from being blocked by e-mail or spam filters. Enjoy our weekly newsletters and feel free to forward them to your government financial management colleagues.
AGA Today is Brought to You by AGA Corporate Partner Clifton Gunderson
 Clifton Gunderson offices in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, MD and Harrisburg, PA are looking for experienced professionals to join our public sector practice. The ideal candidate will have 5+ yrs of Public Accounting or equivalent audit experience along with your BA/BS in Accounting and CPA or CGFM. Duties will include audits of Federal entities, State & Local audits (GASB), A-133 audits, and compliance auditing. To apply please e-mail Michael.Armstrong@cliftoncpa.com.
A Clear Picture of Where the Money Is Going
Most Americans do not believe the federal government is open and honest about its spending practices. Earmarks and pork-barrel projects are the stuff of perennial complaints. AGA hopes to turn that around, announcing Wednesday that it will push federal, state and local governments to provide the public with guides that clearly explain spending practices. There is no shortage of data on government spending—budgets, congressional studies, inspector-general reports and audited financial statements produced by agencies. But the association says the material is often hard to find and is filled with technical jargon. "The average citizen does not read and does not know how to read the audited financial statements, and those are the kinds of reports that we are giving them," said Relmond P. Van Daniker, AGA executive director. The Association urges governments to produce four-page guides that explain agency missions and performance goals, and to use charts to show where taxes come from and where they are spent. One page in the guides should deal with consequences, such as those of military base closings on communities, Van Daniker said. —Stephen Barr, The Washington Post. Read more.
Tab in Scam At Tax Office In D.C. Nears $50 Million
Federal authorities think that nearly $50 million was stolen in an embezzlement scheme run out of the D.C. tax office, more than double the amount they had previously uncovered, four sources close to the investigation said. The corruption at the D.C. Office of Tax and Revenue went undetected much longer than initially thought, the sources said, extending back almost 20 years. In addition to tracking the missing money, authorities are looking into gifts suspected of being provided to co-workers and others by the woman accused of leading the scam, former tax office manager Harriette Walters. The scheme is the largest corruption case in the city's history. Witnesses have told investigators that Walters, who is accused of issuing larger and larger bogus tax refund checks over the years, lavishly spread the wealth, the sources said. Security guards got cash, office mates got free meals and virtually anyone who made a request got something, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing. —Carol D. Leonnig, The Washington Post. Read more.
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Treasury, OMB Assemble Brief on Fiscal Challenges
The U.S. Department of the Treasury and Office of Management and Budget have produced a short document designed to explain fiscal issues that could overwhelm the government's resources, such as providing Social Security and Medicare for aging baby boomers. The eight-page “Citizens' Guide” highlights some short- and long-term financial information in the 2007 Financial Report of the United States Government. The report, released Feb. 14, is designed to help people understand the federal government’s “true financial condition and fiscal challenges,” said Comptroller General of the United States David Walker. “Unless the government makes fundamental changes in its budget, entitlement, discretionary spending and tax policies—and soon—the coming surge of spending on Social Security and Medicare will bring a fiscal tsunami of spending and debt that threatens to swamp our ship of state, damaging the U.S. economy,” Walker said. “Policy-makers must look to the future and face squarely the need for fundamental changes to a range of government programs, policies and activities,” he added. —Mary Mosquera, Federal Computer Week. Read more.
Federal Accounting Corner
Proposed New Custodial Revenue SGL Accounts
Back in October, I wrote about the Statement of Custodial Activity (SCA) and mentioned that one Standard General Ledger (SGL) account (5800 Tax Revenue Collected) is mapped to several different lines (1 through 7). On Dec. 13, the SGL Issues Resolution Committee proposed splitting out 5800 and related accounts by tax type starting in FY2009, thus relieving much of the ambiguity in this report. While this is still only a proposal, I thought I'd outline the revised accounts because they really do make more sense and I expect the proposal will pass. —Simcha Kuritzky, CGFM, CPA. Read more.
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Bond Crisis Already Crimping States
Michigan just suspended a state loan program for 8,500 students, and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is facing a four-fold jump in interest rates on one of its loans. Both are signs of a new bond-market crisis that is threatening to hurt other cities and states if left unchecked. Hopes are riding high that famed investor Warren Buffett, the administration of New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, Congress or federal agencies will avert even bigger troubles. If not, cities and states that issue tax-exempt bonds to raise money for such projects as road and bridge work or rely on investors to raise student-loan money could confront a series of new problems stemming from the subprime mortgage meltdown. Spitzer and the Empire State’s top insurance regulator, Eric Dinallo, came to Capitol Hill Feb. 14 to sound the alarm bell about repercussions for governments, investors and capital markets if a solution is not found soon. Already, states as geographically disparate as Mississippi and Montana have encountered problems in recent days in finding investors in the bond market to raise money for student loans, though neither were forced like Michigan to suspend any loan programs. —Daniel C. Vock, Stateline.org. Read more.
Late Detroit Audit Delays Funds from State
The state has withheld $26 million in funding to the city of Detroit as part of a revenue-sharing program with local governments because Detroit is more than a year late in submitting an annual audit. Terry Stanton, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Treasury, said that the state gave the city $19.7 million in December—less than half the $45.7-million payment the city usually receives every other month—so it could meet debt obligations. Once the city turns in its audit of the 2005-2006 fiscal year, which was due Dec. 31, 2006, it will receive the remainder of the funding, Stanton said. Besides the lost money, a late audit means the city has to get state approval to sell bonds. Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick accepted some blame on the 2005-2006 audit, acknowledging the audit has not been this late before in modern city history. —Zachary Gorchow, Detroit Free Press. Read more.
AGA Today is Brought to You by AGA Corporate Partner Grant Thornton
 Financial Management Consulting Career Invitational
Ideal candidates will have a Bachelor’s degree and 5+ years experience in Policies, Procedures & Internal Controls; A-123 & Readiness Requirements; Grants Management; Budget Execution; or Financial Systems & Implementation.
Apply to gpscareers@gt.com. We will contact you to arrange interviews on March 6th.
EOE
AGA's NLC a Success With More than 700 Attendees
Read our daily reports from AGA's Sixth Annual National Leadership Conference, held Thursday and Friday in Washington, D.C. Speakers included Gene Dodaro, CGFM, chief operating officer, Government Accountability Office; leadership development consultant Jeffery H. Davis, M.Ed.; Jay Carney, Washington bureau chief for TIME magazine; and Admiral Thad W. Allen, the 23rd commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard.
GASB Seeking Participants for Fund Balance Reporting Field Test
 The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) is soliciting participants for a field test it is conducting as part of its fund balance reporting and governmental fund type definitions project. In mid-February, the board approved an Exposure Draft of a Statement, Fund Balance Reporting and Governmental Fund Type Definitions, that is set for publication on the GASB website on Friday, Feb. 29. Entities interested in participating in the fund balance reporting field test should contact GASB Senior Technical Advisor Ken Schermann either by e-mail or by calling 203.956.5206.
New Audio Conference Set on Citizen-Centric Reporting
AGA is pleased to announce a new audio conference, Improving Government Transparency Through Citizen-Centric Reporting, addressing the need for governments to improve how they report financial information to taxpayers. The audio conference, worth 2 CPE hours, is set for 2 – 3:50 EDT, April 23.
AGA’s Citizen Centric Government Reporting Program encourages governments to publish an annual “state of the government” report that is no more than four pages long. The reports, designed to be visually appealing, provide understandable information to citizens about the performance and financial condition of the government, as well as demographics and future challenges.
Hear what tools are available from AGA to produce such a report and listen to three practitioners who have recently published such reports: Mary Lechner, CGFM, CPA, Chief, Internal Control Branch, U.S. Coast Guard; Lisa R. Parker, CPA, Finance Director, City of Saco, Maine; Kim Wallin, Controller, State of Nevada; and Relmond Van Daniker, DBA, CPA, AGA Executive Director.
Cost is $249 per site (UNLIMITED ATTENDANCE) if you register on or before Friday, April 18, 2008 and $299 thereafter. Government agencies and AGA Corporate Partner members who register five or more offices will receive a 20 percent discount. Also, AGA chapters can register for $200 per site.
Register online, or print the regular registration form, or the special promotion registration form and fax it to 703.684.6933.
AGA Advertising Opportunities!
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