Highlights
Training Opportunities
Performance Reporting Audio Conference Set for Wednesday
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, Everything You Wanted to Know About Performance Reporting, But Were Afraid to Ask, set for 2 – 3:50 p.m. Aug. 20. Three performance report preparers will explain the positive results achieved through use of a performance report. Join Drummond Kahn, CGFM, CIA, Director, Audit Services, Portland, OR; Rebekah Stephens, Planning and Performance Coordinator, Metro Nashville, TN; and Mike Taylor, CPA, CIA, City Auditor, Stockton, CA. Stephens and Taylor, first-time recipients of AGA's Certificate of Achievement in Service Efforts and Accomplishments, will explain why their municipalities needed a performance report to drive changes within government. Kahn will share how the Portland performance report has matured over the past 17 years and how it is being used to improve government services today.
Cost: $299 per site (UNLIMITED ATTENDANCE). SPECIAL PROMOTION: Register five or more offices from your government agency or CPAG firm for $200 per site.
AGA's National Fraud Conference Attendees Urged to Reserve Rooms
Now
AGA’s Internal Control & Fraud Conference takes place Sept. 22-23 at the Wyndham Phoenix, located at 50 East Adams Street, Phoenix, AZ 85004.
This newly renovated hotel is centrally located in its vibrant core, the best of the city is just outside its doors. The Wyndham Phoenix is just a short walk from numerous attractions, including the shops and restaurants of Arizona Center, America West Arena, Bank One Ballpark, Herberger and Orpheum Theaters, Symphony Hall and Dodge Theatre. Find peace in tastefully-appointed guest rooms which are both spacious and comfortable.
The room rate is $102 (plus tax) for single and double occupancy. Rates are guaranteed until Aug. 29 or until the block is sold out. We encourage you to make your hotel reservations early, for the best price and availability.
To make reservations, please call the hotel directly at 800.359.7253 and mention you are attending the “AGA Fraud Conference” to ensure you receive the discounted rate.
Information about the agenda, speakers and technical sessions is available online. See you in September!
AGA Advertising Opportunities!
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August 18, 2008 • 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, Harrisburg, PA, and Arlington, VA, 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
Federal Financial Reporting System is Broken, CFOs Say
The system federal agencies use to prepare, present and audit financial statements is broken. That's the take-away message from a recent survey of 239 financial management executives across government. "The current financial reporting model costs too much and delivers little useful information to government decision-makers," AGA and Professional Corporate Partner Grant Thornton LLP concluded from the survey. "Many of our survey respondents question the value of much of the work that they must do, especially in meeting compliance mandates."
The report noted, "All signs point toward a bleak fiscal future for the federal government. Massive deficits and the costs of overseas conflicts mean fewer resources for programs and some tough budget decisions. If [CFOs] stay on the present path of financial management, they will be of little use in making those decisions." While agencies have made significant progress in achieving clean audit opinions on financial statements, few people actually read those statements and even fewer regard the data as useful in making executive-level decisions. As one survey respondent noted: "We are getting As on our tests, but not learning anything." —Katherine McIntire Peters, Government Executive. Read more.
I.O.U.S.A.: Live Presentation Set with Warren Buffett, Pete Peterson, David Walker
Fathom and Roadside Attractions present I.O.U.S.A.: Live with Warren Buffett, Pete Peterson and David Walker, which will be presented in about 400 movie theatres nationwide on Thursday, Aug. 21. This event will include the critically acclaimed documentary, I.O.U.S.A., and a live discussion, at 8 p.m. Eastern time, about America’s economic crisis and what we can do to change course. The live discussion includes Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway; William Niskanen, chairman of the Cato Institute; Bill Novelli, CEO of AARP; Pete Peterson, senior chairman of The Blackstone Group and chairman of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation; and David Walker, president and CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation and former Comptroller General of the United States.
The panel will be moderated by Becky Quick, co-anchor of CNBC’s morning news show Squawk Box. From the producers of Wordplay and the studio that brought you Supersize Me, the documentary I.O.U.S.A. uncovers the source of critical economic concerns that touch the lives of every American. A tapestry of archival footage, hard data and candid interviews woven together, it paints an authentic profile of today’s economic condition. Solutions for how we can impact this nationwide crisis and evolve into a more fiscally sound nation for future generations are offered by the documentary’s powerful conclusion. Find ticket prices and other information.
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Public Pension Prowess: Private Sector Could Take Cue from State Pensions
CalPERS is a very big fish. When California's $250 billion employee pension plan flexes its muscle in boardrooms, corporate CEOs sit up and take notice. When it dumps stocks from countries with morally offensive policies, leaders of those nations hear about it. None of the other public employee pension plans in this country has quite that much clout. But quite a few are starting to gain some. "Public pension plans were for decades sleepy things that nobody paid attention to," says Beth Almeida, executive director of the National Institute of Retirement Security. But in recent years, these funds have grown to some $3 trillion in value. "Obviously, with an investment that large," Almeida says, "they become a focus." They are a focus because most of them—although not all—have done well for their civil-servant customers. Some, like CalPERS, have "developed brand-name equity," says Brad Barber, professor of finance at the University of California-Davis. "They've earned solid rates of return for money they have invested." This has led to a surprising development: A growing number of states are looking at pension plans as a partial solution to the problem that afflicts private-sector employees. —Penelope Lemov, Governing. Read more.
Federal Accounting Corner
Recording Receivables
There are a number of different types of receivables that a federal agency can generate, but only some are specifically recognized in the Standard General Ledger (SGL) or should be reported on the Treasury Report on Receivables (TROR). —Simcha Kuritzky, CGFM, CPA. Read the entire column.
AGA Today is Brought to You by AGA Corporate Partner IBM Global Business Services
 IBM Global Business Services currently has opportunities in our Public Sector Financial Management practice. We need professionals to join our practice of over 600 consultants – including many CPAs, CGFMs and ex-auditors – to help our Federal clients improve financial management. If you are interested, please email your resume to ibmhire@us.ibm.com.
This Week on AGA's Blog
Visit the AGA Blog at http://aga.typepad.com/aga/.
This week:
Monday: Tom Sadowski, CGFM, CPA, Director of Accounting, Office of Administration, State of Missouri, on "Living Your Core Beliefs"
Wednesday: Sunil Datt, MBA, CGFM, PMP, Senior Managing Consultant and Project Manager, IBM Public Sector Financial Management, on "Thoughts on Post-Sustainability Models"
Friday: Q&A With 1971-1972 AGA National President Sidney Baurmash
Questions about how to post a comment or how to subscribe to the feed that sends blog entries straight to your e-mail address? Find out more. Want to spend a day as our guest on the blog? Contact Marie Force, communications director.
Detroit Mayor Asks Governor to Consider Pardon
Amid mounting legal woes and as one of his lawyers asked Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm about the possibility of a pardon, Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's office said Wednesday he is on vacation for the next two weeks. Kilpatrick's absence from the office came on a day that the floodgates seemed to open on calls for him to resign, with the Michigan Chronicle and U.S. Rep. John Dingell of Dearborn headlining the list. Those developments transpired amid a flood of speculation within the Kilpatrick administration and among City Council members that a resignation might be imminent. Kilpatrick aides steadfastly denied any suggestion that the mayor—a defendant in two felony cases—was planning to quit or negotiating a deal to resolve his many legal problems. —Zachary Gorchow and Joe Swickard, Detroit Free Press. Read more.
GASB Seeks Input on SEA Reporting
 The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) has issued a Request for Response on Suggested Guidelines for Voluntary Reporting of SEA Performance Information. The purpose of this document is to obtain feedback from constituents at an early stage of the board’s project to develop guidelines to assist state and local governments that voluntarily choose to report on their service efforts and accomplishments (SEA). The document can be downloaded free. The deadline for submitting written comments is Oct. 31. A public hearing will be held on Nov. 14 in Orlando, in conjunction with the Annual Congress & Exposition of the National League of Cities. A forum for users of SEA information will be held on Nov. 7 in New York City.
Fraud Prevention, Detection Focus of Sept. 10 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, Fraud Prevention and Detection—The Cost with No Return, set for 2 –3:50 p.m., EDT, Sept. 10.
Unlike a theft or vandalism against an organization, fraud is a quiet, unseen crime that is hidden from the light of day. Its perpetrators hide in the shadows and gaps within the existing internal control structures to avoid detection and continue their unlawful enterprise. But what exactly is fraud? How do you detect it? Who is responsible for detecting and preventing fraud?
This audio conference, worth 2 CPE hours, will provide some of the answers. Speaker is Bruce N. Crandlemire, CPA, senior consultant with EAM, Inc./Mosley & Associates, who has more than 31 years of audit and investigative experience in the federal government and inspector general community. Crandlemire will offer a contemporary definition of fraud, discuss who is responsible for detecting and preventing fraud, and how to recognize fraud in procurement awards and employee actions.
Cost is $249 per site (UNLIMITED ATTENDANCE) if you register on or before Friday, Sept. 5, 2008 and $299 thereafter. SPECIAL PROMOTION: Government agencies and CPAG members who register five or more offices will receive a 20 percent discount ($200 per site).
Register online
Print the registration form
Special promotion registration
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