Highlights
Upcoming Audio Conferences
2009–2010 Audio Conference Schedule
Edward DeSeve to Headline AGA Leadership Breakfast June 4
Edward DeSeve, Special Advisor to the President, Assistant to the Vice President and Special Advisor to the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director for Implementation of the Recovery Act, will discuss the progress and challenges government financial managers are facing with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. AGA’s Leadership Breakfast is set for 7:30 a.m. June 4 at the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C. The leadership breakfasts bring private sector and government executives together to exchange information, solve issues and build partnership and trust. Reserve Your Free Spot Today! *
Government Executive Registration Form
Corporate Partner Registration Form
Questions? Contact Susan Fritzlen.
* Free for government employees
Training Opportunities
An Exclusive Offer for AGA Chapters and ADVANTAGE Group Member Agencies—Discounted Audio Conferences
AGA is pleased to again announce a special offer exclusively for AGA chapters and ADVANTAGE group membership agencies. For a limited time only, purchase four, five or six AGA audio conferences as a package and you will receive a 10 percent discount on the early-bird price offered by the AGA. Purchase seven, eight or nine AGA audio conferences for a 15 percent discount. Purchase 10, 11 or 12 audio conferences for a whopping 20 percent discount.
This offer is only available to AGA chapters and ADVANTAGE group membership partners until July 8, 2009. Contact Maria Lucas at 800.AGA.7211, ext. 308, with questions or to register. Download the registration form.
The audio conference series has been a huge success over the past few years. With thousands of participants earning two CPE hours for each program, AGA now offers practically monthly audio conferences that provide chapters and group membership agencies a cost-effective and convenient way to provide quality education for members and others in the government accountability profession.
Questions about any of the audio conferences? Contact Raymond Harris, CGFM, Director of Chapter Operations and Audio Conference Producer, at 800.AGA.7211, ext. 339.
Not sure what is involved in becoming an ADVANTAGE group membership agency? Visit our website for details.
AGA Courses Help Managers Track Stimulus Dollars
Spending billions and billions of dollars of stimulus funds in a hurry is a formidable task. But tracking and accounting for these billions of dollars is far more formidable and much more difficult.
AGA is offering three courses to help in managing and accounting for these funds. They include:
Grants Management—This course provides a general overview of grants management, including preparation, review and submittal of proposals; negotiation and acceptance of grants; post-award financial and administrative management; closeout and audit; and relevant compliance issues.
Contract Auditing—This course focuses on the purpose of contract auditing, types of contracts, audit clauses to include in contracts, types of audits included in contract audit oversight, development of audit programs and internal audit, accounting and financial issues involved with procurements.
Fraud Detection and Prevention—This course is designed to help organizations cut this cost from their programs to reap benefits at the bottom line and in the eyes of stakeholders. In this course you will learn what is fraud; how to detect it in the normal course of program operations; what to do when fraud is detected and how to develop measures to correct practices that enabled fraud to happen.
Taught at the location of your choice, the courses include lectures, group discussion and exercises and class problem-solving. They can be customized to meet your needs and participants are awarded CPEs at the conclusion of each course.
For course pricing and additional information about course content, please contact Bekka Gehrmann, Education Manager, at 800.AGA.7211 ext. 309, or bgehrmann@agacgfm.org.
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 April Force Pardoe.
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May 26, 2009 • News from the Profession
AGA Today is Brought to You by AGA Corporate Partner Clifton Gunderson
 Clifton Gunderson’s offices in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, MD, and Arlington, VA, are seeking experienced professionals to join our public sector practice. Ideal candidates will have 3+ yrs of Public Accounting or equivalent audit experience along with a BA/BS in Accounting/IT/IS, CPA, CGFM, CISA and/or CISSP. 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
Recovery Act Coordinator Sees Signs of Progress
Three months after the most ambitious economic stimulus package in American history was signed into law, signs of progress are slowly beginning to emerge, according to G. Edward DeSeve, the government's lead implementation official for the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. In his first extensive interview since returning to government in March to serve as the Obama administration's lead official on stimulus implementation, DeSeve told Government Executive Wednesday that the rate and efficiency of federal and state spending is exceeding expectations. "As we look across the spectrum, we are comfortable that obligations and outlays are moving forward nicely," DeSeve said. "So we are pleased at the pace of spending." Thus far, federal agencies have obligated $110 billion in recovery funds—more than a $1 billion a day—and actually paid out $36 billion. —Robert Brodsky, Government Executive. Read more.
Lessons from California's Fiscal Crisis
California has always been a trendsetter. What happens in California often pops up elsewhere. Which raises this question: Are the perpetual billion-dollar deficits that haunt California state government unique to the Golden State or the harbinger of what other states can expect? The answer, analysts say, is that although most states are experiencing some of the same financial stress, California’s woes are its own. At the same time, other states can take a cue from California's troubles. —Pamela M. Prah, Stateline.org. Read more.
AGA Today is Brought to You by AGA Corporate Partner American Appraisal
 American Appraisal has 50 offices on 4 continents around the world. Our Government Services Practice can assist governmental entities with their TARP/Financial Crisis and Public/Private Partnership related transactions, as well as inventory, valuation and overall asset management reporting requirements for Real, Personal and Intellectual Property assets. Contact Kevin J. McHugh at (202) 628-8800 or kmchugh@american-appraisal.com.
OMB Tells States How to Recoup Costs of Administering Stimulus
The Office of Management and Budget has outlined the process by which states can get reimbursed for managing federal Recovery Act grants, addressing concerns raised by some state officials in recent weeks. OMB Circular A-87, "Cost Principles for State, Local and Indian Tribal Governments," allows state grantees to recoup administrative expenses through the State-wide Cost Allocation Plan, the administration said in a memorandum. SWCAP requests for reimbursements are sent to the Health and Human Services Department annually for review and approval. —Robert Brodsky, Government Executive. Read more.
China Grows More Picky About U.S. Debt
Leaders in both Washington and Beijing have been fretting openly about the mutual dependence—some would say codependence—created by China’s vast holdings of United States bonds. But beyond the talk, the relationship is already changing with surprising speed. China is growing more picky about which American debt it is willing to finance, and is changing laws to make it easier for Chinese companies to invest abroad the billions of dollars they take in each year by exporting to America. For its part, the United States is becoming relatively less dependent on Chinese financing —Keith Bradsher, The New York Times. Read more.
AGA Today is Brought to You by The Network
 For over 25 years, The Network has worked with public and private organizations to meet their compliance needs. Download our white paper Perspectives on Best Practices for Preserving Accountability and Transparency: Complying with Title XV of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. For more information call 800-253-0453.
States Adjust to Handle Stimulus Pressures
State governments receiving federal Recovery Act funds are adjusting their operating procedures to balance the competing goals of creating jobs quickly while ensuring the money is spent wisely, management officials said during an online conference May 14. In Ohio, for example, procurement officials are streamlining their competitive bidding practices to accelerate contract awards. But as a precaution against potential waste and mismanagement, officials also are incorporating a host of internal controls, such as risk assessments, for stimulus projects. According to the Government Accountability Office, more than half the funds in the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will be dispersed by state and local governments. —Robert Brodsky, Government Executive. Read more.
Wider Confidence LIfts Economy from Winter's Deep, Dark Freeze
The financial system, frozen solid for the past nine months, is in a spring thaw. And it's happening even though many of the Obama administration's major rescue programs have yet to get off the ground. The improvement reflects the combined impact of a wide range of actions, many of them taken with little public attention, according to government officials and private economists. But more important than any single program, the sources say, is a deepening confidence from financial markets that the government is prepared to take aggressive action—a confidence that Obama officials have repeatedly worked to cultivate in speeches and public appearances. —Neil Irwin and David Cho, The Washington Post. Read more.
Boost in Food Stamps Expected to Jolt State Economies
States quietly launched a multi-billion-dollar boost in food stamp funding last month that experts say is more likely than any other stimulus program to jolt the moribund economy back to life. “People who receive these benefits are hard-pressed and will spend any financial aid they receive very quickly,” said Moody’s chief economist Mark Zandi. Every $1 spent on the food assistance program adds $1.73 to local economies because an uptick in food sales creates related jobs and further consumer spending. In April, 32.5 million low-income recipients got their first monthly bonus — a 13.5 percent increase in benefits, averaging about $20 more per person — under the Obama administration’s stimulus plan. Slated to pump $20 billion into the market over five years, the stimulus plan gives each recipient more buying power but does not affect the number of enrollees. —Christine Vestal, Stateline.org. Read more.
GASB to Seek Comment on Five Documents
 The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) is scheduled to issue five documents for public comment in the last week of June. The proposals address Chapter 9 bankruptcies, certain implementation issues related to other postemployment benefits (OPEB), certain issues related to financial instruments, service concession arrangements, and suggested guidelines for voluntary reporting of service efforts and accomplishments performance reporting. The proposals will be available for download free-of-charge on the GASB’s website at www.gasb.org.
AGA PDC 2009 Update
Have you registered for AGA's PDC and reserved your room in New Orleans? If not, there’s still time! We encourage you to make your hotel reservations early, for the best price and availability.
The New Orleans Marriott has 30 additional rooms available to accommodate PDC attendees. The room rate is $120 (plus tax) per night for single or double occupancy, until May 29, 2009, or until the block sells out. To make a reservation, please call 800.654.3990 and mention you are attending the “AGA PDC” to receive the discounted rate.
If you are unable to obtain a room at the New Orleans Marriott, please contact the JW Marriott for reservations. This newly renovated hotel is steps from acclaimed entertainment and renowned attractions, and is just one block away from conference activities. To make a reservation, please call 888.364.1200 and mention that you are attending the AGA PDC to receive the discounted rate.
Hotel rooms are assigned on a first-come, first-served basis until the hotels are sold out. Make your reservations early. We look forward to seeing you in The Big Easy.
AGA PDC Spouse, Partner and Guest Program
Let the good times roll! While you’re in New Orleans, we want to make sure that you AND your guest have a great time.
We have created a new program to keep everyone entertained in the Big Easy. While you’re busy in the technical education sessions, we’ll be hosting a variety of activities for your spouse/guest. Tours are scheduled to give your guest plenty of time to return to the hotel to join you for evening receptions or free time to enjoy the city!
Attendees are encouraged to bring their guests to the PDC. This new program serves as an opportunity for your spouse, partner or guest to catch up with old acquaintances and make new friends, while discovering New Orleans’ culture and history.
If you have any questions regarding the tours, please contact the Vega Group, aga-tours@vegagroup.com, at 504.488.5222.
This Week on the AGA Blog
Today: William A. (Billy) Morehead, Ph.D., CGFM, CPA, chair, Division of Accountancy, CIS, and Finance, Delta State University and AGA National President-Elect, on "Think Big! Act Courageously! Make a Difference!"
Wednesday: Jeff Steinhoff, CGFM, CPA, CFE, an AGA Past National President and a director with KPMG LLP, on "Are You Prepared to Protect the Integrity of Recovery Act Spending?"
Friday: Jason K. Denmeade, Regional Vice President-Elect for the Ohio-Michigan Region, Systems Accountant with the Defense Finance and Accounting Service Strategic Business Management office, Navy Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) branch, on, "Climbing the Social Network Ladder—the PDC and You."
AGA Needs You on the Blog! Come share your opinions with the AGA community! Contact Marie Force to book your day on the AGA Blog.
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