Highlights
Training
Opportunities
Looking
for a Job?
Dealing with Ethical
Dilemmas Focus
of May 9
Audio Conference
AGA, in conjunction with the National Association of State
Auditors, Comptrollers and Treasurers (NASACT), and the Association of
Local Government Auditors (ALGA), is pleased to announce a new audio conference addressing ethical challenges and
dilemmas in today’s work environment. This audio conference,
set for 2 – 3:50 p.m. EDT May 9 and worth 2 CPE hours, will
explore how the power and scope of today’s advancing technology
can leverage ethical decisions and other ethical challenges that may
impact your career and organization. Topics will include ethical risk
taking, working within your organization, handling ethical dilemmas and
managing your workplace ethics, as well as provide you with practical
approaches for these workplace situations.
To discuss the ethics challenge are two industry experts: Alan
Goodman, Master Trainer for the Institute for Global Ethics,
and Leon Young, Associate Professor at the University
of Maryland University College. Cost is $249 per site (unlimited
attendance) if you register on or before Friday, May 4,
2007. and $299 thereafter.
Read the audio conference schedule.
Tell Us What
You're Interested In!
AGA is running a brief survey to gauge
member buying patterns, so we can improve our efforts to get you the
information you want to have. The survey will take just a few minutes
and will ask your preferences about things such as which hotels and
rental car companies you prefer. If you wish to give us your e-mail
address at the end, we'll enter you into a drawing for a $50 American
Express Gift Card to thank you for taking the time to reply. Take the
survey!
Get to Know Your AGA Corporate Partner
Grantium Inc. (Grantium) is
the only software company with a singular focus on end-to-end software
solutions for enterprise grants management (EGM). Highly
configurable and rapidly deployable, Grantium commercial-off-the-shelf
solutions automate grant processes for the web-based delivery and
management of complex multi-level grants and funding initiatives. Since
its founding in 1998, Grantium has been dedicated to streamlining all
facets of grants programs, enhancing accessibility for applicants,
facilitating reporting at multiple levels, and providing administrators
with powerful tools for granting, tracking, and managing public funds
and multiple grants programs with maximum efficiency, transparency and
accountability. Grantium solutions easily integrate with other
enterprise applications and systems such as Financial Management
Systems, reporting tools and data migration tools. With hundreds of
unique programs granting upwards of $50 billion annually under
administration, serving tens of thousands of end users and hundreds of
thousands of applicants per year, Grantium solutions have already been
proven in demanding granting environments worldwide. Grantium, the
enterprise grants management (EGM) leader.
Zoe Hawa
Marketing Manager
Grantium Inc. – Enterprise Grants Management Solutions
613.230.7890 ext. 225
zhawa@grantium.com
www.grantium.com
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April
16, 2007• News from the Profession
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 Jennifer.Busse@cliftoncpa.com
AGA Board Comments on
GAO Proposal
AGA's Financial Management Standards Board (FMSB) sent a letter
to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) on March 30
on its proposed changes to the quality control and assurance and peer
review section of Government Auditing Standards.The letter
said: "We applaud the strengthened emphasis on audit quality and
expanded description of the overall objectives and elements of an audit
organization’s system of quality control, including the
articulation of six key elements of quality control for achieving high
quality throughout all phases of the audit process. We do suggest that
the GAO consider adding a seventh element addressing information
security." Read the entire comment letter.
Oxley Not Happy with
Sarbox; Blames PCAOB for 'All the Problems'
Michael Oxley has been guaranteed immortality—and perhaps
a degree of infamy —since his name was affixed to the
Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the most comprehensive set of corporate
rule changes since the 1930s. Earlier this year, Oxley retired from
Congress after serving 25 years. The act that bears his name missed
unanimous passage through Congress by a mere three votes in the House
of Representatives, and initially received grudging lip service from a
shaken corporate America. But a little-noticed section, just 168 words
long, soon changed the debate from whether Sarbox was essential to
restoring confidence in the U.S. capital market to whether it was
destroying it. Section 404, which requires companies and their auditors
to examine and report on the processes behind their financial
reporting, quickly became the most expensive and hated provision of the
act. Today, Sarbox, and particularly 404, are under heavy attack, as
are many of its accessory creations, most notably the Public Company
Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). In his final months in Congress,
Oxley took to the hustings to defend the act, but more recently has
joined the chorus of voices who say that the act, if not wrong itself,
was poorly implemented. —Stephen Taub, CFO.com. Read the entire
article.
TOPICS is Brought to You by the
University of Alabama-Huntsville
 Federal
Contract Management Essentials & Federal Contract Management
Specialization Certificate Programs – in hybrid CD-ROM/web-based,
distance learning – next courses begin May 2
Receive the same high level presentations and expert instructors that
on-site classes offer. Participants can review the audio/video of live
classroom instruction on CD as often as wanted and with no bandwidth
concerns. The course learning management system offers presentation
materials in PDF format, interaction with instructors and other
participants, and tools to assess personal progress. For a sample video
or detailed certificate program information visit www.e-trainingsolutions.net or e-mail info@cepo.conted.uah.edu
Fluid Removed from
Corzine's Lung Area
New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine underwent a procedure Sunday
morning to remove fluid that had collected outside his left lung.
Officials said such a fluid occurrence is common after one sustains
multiple rib fractures and termed the condition routine. The governor
remains hospitalized in the Trauma Intensive Care Unit at Cooper
University Hospital in Camden. "The entire procedure lasted less
than 15 minutes, and doctors described it as successful," Corzine
spokesman Anthony Coley said. "The governor's condition remains
critical but stable." Coley also said the governor's family
visited with him earlier Sunday. "They remain at the hospital and
are pleased with his progress," he said, adding there has been
some communication, but that doctors will have more to say about his
condition today. —The Star-Ledger. Read the entire article.
Increasingly Qualified
Federal Workers Earn Bigger Paychecks
Contrary to popular impressions, Uncle Sam's bureaucracy looks like a
fairly dynamic place. The federal work force has become more highly
educated, increasingly clustered in professional and administrative
jobs, with substantial numbers of employees switching agencies and
occupations each year. With higher education levels and more complex
jobs, average salaries have increased, as might be expected. Those
findings are drawn from a recently released report from the
Congressional Budget Office, "Characteristics and Pay of Federal
Civilian Employees." The analysis is based on data for about 1.4
million salaried, full-time government workers— basically the
white-collar employees in the executive branch—in December 2005.
Understanding federal work force trends has been increasingly important
for the Congress. Projections show that about 60 percent of federal
workers will be eligible for retirement over the next 10 years, putting
government programs at risk if agencies falter in hiring replacements.
—Stephen Barr, The Washington Post. Read the entire article.
Dems Support Expansion
of GAO, but Question Affordability
Congressional Democrats who consider aggressive oversight critical to
greater government accountability are eager to expand the Government
Accountability Office's (GAO) size and mission, but there might not be
enough money to give the watchdog agency a big boost in its next
appropriation. Congress' investigative and auditing agency is seeking
$523 million for fiscal 2008, an 8 percent hike over current spending.
Comptroller General of the United States David M. Walker said such an
increase would help the agency expand its staff from 3,200 to 3,750
over the next six years. But despite the support on both sides of the
Capitol, House Appropriations Legislative Branch Subcommittee
Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-FL, said the request is too tall
an order in the current fiscal environment. "Right now, we're only
dealing with the got to dos, must haves, and can't live withouts."
—Jenny Brady, CongressDaily. Read the entire article.
 GASB Adds Two Projects to
Agenda
At its April 5 meeting, the GASB added two new projects to its
current technical agenda. One project relates to the reporting of
service efforts and accomplishments information. This project will
update GASB Concepts Statement 2 to reflect what the GASB has learned
over more than two decades of research on and monitoring of performance
reporting by state and local governments. The project will also
consider establishing suggested guidelines for governments that
voluntarily choose to report SEA information. The project will not,
however, lead to any requirements that governments report on their
performance. The other project relates to intergovernmental financial
dependency risk—the risk associated with a government’s
dependence on revenue provided by other governments. More information
about both projects can be found at the GASB’s website, —GASB.
Deadline is Today to
Comment on Social Insurance
 Comments
are due today to the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board
(FASAB) on Accounting for Social Insurance. FASAB's Preliminary Views
document presents two perspectives regarding appropriate liability
recognition for obligations arising in social insurance programs, such
as Social Security and Medicare. The Preliminary Views document
includes an alternative view proposing to require a Statement of Fiscal
Sustainability for the government's consolidated financial report that
would provide projections for the entire government, including
information necessary to assess the sustainability of social insurance
programs and information on intergenerational equity. Comments
should be sent by e-mail to comesw@fasab.gov. A public hearing
on the Preliminary Views
document is set for May 23, 2007.
New PDC Hotel Added;
Registration Brochure Available
 For your convenience, a block of rooms has
been added at the Holiday
Inn Express Nashville-Downtown Hotel to accommodate PDC attendees.
To make reservations, please call the Holiday Inn Express directly at
800.465.4329. Please be sure to mention the “AGA PDC” to
receive the conference rate.
The preliminary program and registration
brochure for AGA’s 2007 PDC are available online. The brochure
includes a list of featured speakers, education sessions and networking
events. You can also get information about registration, hotel
accommodations, travel discounts and more!
AGA Advertising Opportunities!
Advertise in AGA's electronic newsletters—TOPICS and
AGA Today! Get maximum exposure and build your brand. Find
out what's available in an upcoming issue. Click here for all the information you need to
run your ad. Or, you can contact AGA's Director of Communications,
Marie Force.
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