Highlights
Training Opportunities
Looking for a Job?
Last Week to
Register Early for May 9 Ethics 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.
Get to Know Your AGA Corporate Partner
Altum provides
industry-leading Grants Management, and Performance Management
solutions. Since 1997, Altum has provided innovative software
products and services to philanthropic and government organizations.
Altum's products include Infor PM, the industry-leading budgeting and performance
management solution ranked No, 1 by Ventana Research 2005-2007;
proposalCENTRAL, an e-grantmaking website shared by many government,
non-profit, and private grant-making organizations; and Altum
Easygrants, a highly configurable E-grants solution that meets the
unique needs of grantmaking organizations.
Altum is proud to have received a 2006 NIH
Center for Information Technology Technical Merit Award, and for
being a top 20 finalist in the 2007 Excellence.Gov awards.
Contact: Kathy McKee
kathy.mckee@altum.com
www.altum.com/
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April 30, 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.co
m
AGA Board Comments
on 'Accounting for Social Insurance'
AGA’s Financial Management Standards Board (FMSB) has
suggested that the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board
(FASAB) table the Preliminary Views document and the responses
received to Accounting for Social Insurance. The board
suggests a delay until the Fiscal Sustainability Task Force can show
what the future of sustainability reporting will be, how much
significance and relevance a sustainability report would have in
relation to the other financial statements, and what other federal
promises and obligations would be included in such a report. Read the comment letter.
Senate Shoots Down
Attempt to Loosen Sarbanes-Oxley
The U.S. Senate on Tuesday defeated a Republican attempt to
weaken 2002's post-Enron Sarbanes-Oxley laws by making it optional
for many corporations to comply with a controversial section on
internal controls. By a vote of 62-35, the Senate set aside an
amendment to make compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley's Section 404
optional for companies with total market value of less than $700
million. The amendment was offered by U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint, (R-SC)
who tried to attach it to a bill on the Senate floor that was focused
chiefly on boosting investment in research, and improving science,
engineering and math education. In response to the amendment,
defenders of Sarbanes-Oxley proposed and won passage, by a vote of
97-0, of a symbolic Senate statement expressing support for efforts
already under way by federal regulators to fine-tune Section 404,
which requires a company's outside auditor to give a public
assessment of internal financial controls. —Reuters. Read the entire article.
AGA Today is Brought to You
by the County of Orange, California
Senior Internal
Auditor I & Senior Internal Auditor II
Want to join an Audit Team that:
- Received the IIA’s Award of Excellence in 2005?
- Passed its last three Peer Reviews?
- Has a staff of experienced, highly credentialed auditors?
- Performs a variety of challenging assignments?
The County of Orange Internal Audit
Department is seeking to hire a Senior Internal Auditor I and a Senior Internal Auditor II. These
positions allow for great benefits, flexible schedules, and NO travel.
If you are interested, please check our website for details or
contact Vangie Ortiz at (714) 834-5497.
Arizona High Court
Takes on Government E-Mail Privacy
It is up to a judge, not government officials, to decide which
messages generated from government e-mail systems are private. The
ruling came from the Arizona Supreme Court last Wednesday after
Phoenix Newspapers Inc. appealed a court decision denying The
Arizona Republic access to about 90 e-mails Stanley Griffis sent
or received during his time as Pinal county manager. Now a court will
review those e-mails to determine which messages should be released
as public record to the newspaper. In January, Griffis plead guilty
to six felony charges involving the theft of about half a million
dollars in public funds. Investigations show Griffis spent public
money to buy weapons, cars and vacations at taxpayers' expense.
Griffis' sentencing trial is expected to begin on May 10. The state
prosecutor has recommended he serve 10 years in prison. The
Arizona Republic requested access to Griffis' e-mails last year
after the Pinal County Sheriff's Office launched an investigation
into the former county manager's misuse of public funds. Pinal County
gave up more than 700 messages but withheld dozens that county
officials and Griffis considered confidential or private. A court of
appeals ruled that Griffis, and in essence government officials, had
the right to decide what e-mails are private and what could be
withheld from public record. But the Arizona Supreme Court's ruling
reversed that decision. —Lynh Bui, The Arizona Republic. Read the entire article.
New Hacker
Techniques Threaten Federal Agencies
With hackers constantly concocting new types of malicious
software, government agencies are struggling to stay abreast of the
latest threats, according to federal auditors. One new trick that
intruders are trying involves a covert form of "malware"
called a rootkit. A rootkit remains dormant, invisible to the user
and even the computer's operating system, while gaining access to
information in the computer and any network connected to the
computer. "[T]he purpose of the rootkit is to jimmy the door or
make a key to the house that no one else knows that you have, so you
can gain entry," said Jim Butterworth, the director of incident
response at Guidance Software, a computer investigation firm.
"It's a significant threat to all government agencies."
While rootkits can be outwitted by users and sophisticated technical
protections, including a tool offered by Guidance, agencies are not
fully executing their defense strategies, according to the GAO. User
training is critical to combating threats, Butterworth said. "A
lot of times it is human error that results in an intrusion. It is
accidental. ... It is unintentional." — Aliya Sternstein,
National Journal's Technology Daily. Read
the entire article.
States Pitch Bright
Idea to Save Energy
Lawmakers in at least seven states want to ban ordinary light
bulbs in favor of longer-lasting, energy-efficient compact
fluorescents. Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick (D) already has
ordered state agencies to fill the light sockets with fluorescents to
save electricity and cut power-plant emissions blamed for global
warming. In what could be the beginning of the end for inventor
Thomas Alva Edison’s most famous achievement, even his home
state of New Jersey has a bill to do away with energy-eating
incandescent bulbs in state government buildings within three years.
A similar proposal is up for debate in South Carolina. And
legislatures in California, Connecticut, North Carolina and Rhode
Island are debating bills to phase out traditional light bulbs
statewide by 2012 or 2016 as a way to trim consumer's and
government's electricity bills and to help save the planet from
global warming. —Eric Kelderman, Stateline.org. Read the entire article.
PDC Early
Registration Deadline is May 25
 The early registration deadline for PDC 2007 is quickly
approaching. Don't miss your chance to save $100 by registering by
May 25, 2007. After that date, fees will increase to $900 for AGA
members and $1,100 for nonmembers. Registration couldn’t be
easier. You can register online or print the registration form to register by fax
or mail. Advance registration discounts apply to all forms received
before May 25, 2007.
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.
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. |
