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Last Week to Register Early for Aug. 8 Performance
Management & Reporting 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 offering an audio conference on
Performance Management and Reporting, set for 2 - 3:50 p.m. EDT Aug. 8 and
worth 2 CPE hours. Speakers will explore how performance management and
reporting allows government officials to improve service delivery and
resource allocation.
To share their practical experiences and
to learn the latest in the GASB Service Efforts and Accomplishments Project
will be Jay Fountain, CGFM, CPA, CMA, GASB Consultant;
Michael Lawson, Director, ICMA Center for Performance Measurement;
and Michael Matthes, MPA, Assistant City Manager, Des
Moines, Iowa. Cost is $249 per site (unlimited attendance) if you register
on or before Friday, Aug. 3, 2007, and $299 thereafter.
Register online.
View the audio conference schedule.
 Don’t
Miss AGA’s Internal Control & Fraud Conference –Register Today!
Enhance your existing skills and gain a deeper
understanding of fraud, ethics and internal controls by attending AGA’s
Second National Internal Control & Fraud Conference, to be held Sept. 10
– 11, 2007 at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta. With the theme, "Combating
Fraud & Minimizing Risk: Strategies for Success," this event focuses on
management's responsibility for ensuring a good system of internal
controls and the role of accountability professionals in minimizing the
risk of fraud, waste and abuse.
The conference features leaders from all levels of
government, the private sector and academia and offers outstanding
sessions and ample opportunities to network. Register by Aug. 17
and save.
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July 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.com
GAO Finds Weak Controls on U.S.
Financials
Significant internal control weaknesses
remain in the preparation of the U.S. government's consolidated
financial statements, according to a report from the Government
Accountability Office (GAO). The GAO said the weaknesses impair the
government's ability to ensure that the consolidated financial
statements are consistent with the underlying audited financial
statements from the agencies involved. The weaknesses also make it hard
to ensure the consolidated statements are properly balanced and conform
to GAAP, the report noted. —WebCPA staff.
Read the entire article.
$58 Billion Shortfall for New Jersey
Retiree Care
In 1994, New Jersey decided to stop
setting aside money in a fund to pay for health care for its retired
public workers. The savings paved the way for a big tax cut. Meanwhile,
hundreds of thousands of public workers were being told that as long as
they worked 25 years, the system would provide virtually free health
care for them when they retired, often when they were as young as 55. No
one added up the cost—until now. —Mary Williams Walsh, New
York Times.
Read the entire article.
AGA Today is Brought to You by Becker
CPA Review
 The
CPA Exam isn't easy.
Paying for
Becker CPA Review is.
If you’re a federal employee, you can prepare for the CPA Exam with the
leading exam prep provider—Becker CPA Review—at a dramatic tuition
discount (Contract # GS-02F-0105R). You may even
qualify for full tuition reimbursement. Contact us at 1-877-CPA-EXAM or
Becker CPA Review or e-mail
Monica Callahan to learn more about this career defining
opportunity.
SEC Chairman Seeks Stronger GASB
Securities and Exchange Commission
Chairman Christopher Cox wants the Governmental Accounting Standards
Board (GASB) to have more clout. His July 18 speech, at a
community town hall meeting in Los Angeles, centered on the need for
greater disclosure in the municipal bond markets, for which GASB sets
accounting rules. Cox said the SEC will begin a review to ensure
brokerage firm compliance of the rule that prohibits brokers from doing
business with any municipality that it gives political donations to, a
practice called "pay-to-play." —SmartPros.
Read entire article.
Senators to Nominee: Put 'M' Back
in OMB
The new director of the Office of
Management and Budget must focus on management issues even in the
midst of anticipated budget battles, members of the Senate Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs Committee told nominee Jim Nussle.
"We have tried to re-establish the 'M' in OMB," said Sen. George
Voinovich, R-Ohio, during a hearing last Tuesday to consider
Nussle's nomination. "When I think about that, I think about working
harder and smarter and doing more with less, about having the right
people with the right skills in the right place, and also [about]
being able to recruit, retain and reward." —Elizabeth Newell,
Government Executive.
Read the entire article.
States Work to Plug 'Brain Drain'
A “brain drain” problem is plaguing a number of
states in the Midwest, Great Plains and Northeast. Young, educated
people flee, taking high tax revenues and economic potential with
them. To reverse the loss of such a valuable asset, states are
trying solutions that veer from granting financial incentives to
stay, to trying to create jobs to keep and attract new workers, to
improving the quality of life for young people.
The problem for states is there’s no sure-fire solution. —Pauline
Vu, Stateline.org.
Read entire article.
Discussion of Current
Events that Affect the GASB and GASAC
The Governmental Accounting Standards Advisory Council (GASAC),
which advises the GASB, met recently at the LaGuardia Crowne Plaza Hotel
in New York.
Read highlights of the meeting from Sharon R. Russell, CGFM,
AGA's representative to GASAC.
 GASB
Posts Performance Measures
The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) has published measures
of its performance in responding to technical inquiries. The GASB is in
the midst of a five-year strategic plan and is committed to measuring
its progress toward its goals and objectives and reporting on its
performance to its constituents. The most recent measures cover the
first half of 2007 and can be found by clicking on the “Strategic Plan”
button on the left-hand side of the GASB
website. Visitors will also find summary and full versions of the
strategic plan, technical inquiry performance measures from prior years,
and a variety of other performance measures that derive from constituent
satisfaction surveys conducted last year by the National Research Center
on behalf of the Financial Accounting Foundation. —GASB.
Don't Miss AGA's Performance
Management Conference in Phoenix
AGA’s Third Annual National Performance Management Conference is
set for Sept. 24 – 25, 2007, at the Embassy Suites Phoenix/Scottsdale.
Are you a state and local government performance manager looking for
resources to improve your entity’s Service Efforts and Accomplishments
(SEA) Reports? Take a look at what AGA’s PMC has to offer including the
opportunity to earn 14 CPE hours and share best practices with industry
leaders and peers. Session topics include:
- Using performance information to improve
management.
- Engaging citizens to establish goals and measures
in the community.
- Using the media to advance the government successes
and challenges.
- Linking performance measures to budgeting.
- Comparing community benchmarks.
Join us in Phoenix to share in educational
sessions, networking opportunities and recognition of state and local
government entities honored with AGA’s Certificate of Achievement in SEA
Report. We look forward to hosting you in Phoenix!
Register Now – Register by Aug. 31 and save.
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