Highlights
Training Opportunities
Last Week to Register Early for
Sept. 10 Fraud 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 Fraud Prevention
and Detection—The Cost with No Return, set for 2 –3:50 p.m., EDT,
Sept. 10.
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. 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 pay only $200 per site.
Register online
Print the registration form
Special promotion registration
There's Still Time to Register for AGA's National Fraud Conference
If you’ve already registered for AGA's Third Annual Internal Control &
Fraud Conference, set for Sept. 22–23 in Phoenix, we look forward to seeing
you! You’ve made a smart investment in yourself and your organization.
But if you have not yet registered, don’t worry…
there’s still time. Join us to earn 14 valuable CPE hours and hear from
the top financial management leaders and industry experts, including:
Roger Drye, Director, Internal Control Services, U.S.
Department of Veteran Affairs
Glenn A. Fine, JD, Inspector General,
U.S. Department of Justice
Glen R. Ferry, Special Agent in
Charge, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Mark Funkhouser, Ph.D., CIA, Mayor of
Kansas City, MO
David R. Hancox, Audit Director,
Comptroller’s Office, State of New York
Matthew A. Jadacki, CGFM, CPA, Deputy
Inspector General, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Marianne M. Jennings, JD, Professor
of Legal and Ethical Studies, Arizona State University
Joseph T. McDermott, Executive
Advisor, Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Defense
Brian D. Miller, Inspector General,
U.S.. General Services Administration
David L. Norquist, Chief Financial
Officer, U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Michael L. Piazza, MBA, Director of
Program Development and Training, Institute for Internal Controls
John J. Radford, CGFM, CFE, CIA,
Controller, State of Oregon
Steven Russo, JD, Chief of
Investigations, Senior Staff Counsel, Bureau of State Audits, State of
California
Kim R. Wallin, CPA, CMA, CFM,
Controller, State of Nevada
Douglas W. Webster, DBA, Chief
Financial Officer, U.S. Department of Labor
Information about the agenda, speakers and technical
sessions is available
online.
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September 2,
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
Financial Crisis Is Absent From
Agendas of Parties, Candidates
The U.S. is facing the worst financial crisis since the Depression. You
would never know that from the Democrats' platform in Denver or its
Republican counterpart, or from listening to Barack Obama or John
McCain. While both candidates have bemoaned the ravages of the subprime
crisis, they have yet to spell out steps for tackling it, such as using
taxpayer money to shore up banks and housing. "They fail to come to
grips with the biggest danger that is going to hit the next president in
his first few months in office: the crisis in the capital markets,''
said David Smick, a Washington-based consultant to hedge funds and
author of The World is Curved: Hidden Dangers to the Global Economy.
The Democrats' platform, adopted at their Denver convention last week,
labels the crisis a "debacle'' and promises to jump-start the economy
with a $50 billion stimulus package. It says nothing about helping banks
or bailing out the mortgage-finance firms Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
The draft of the Republicans' plank, to be adopted next week at their
convention in St. Paul, MN, supports "timely and carefully targeted aid
to those hurt by the housing crisis'' and opposes bailouts of private
financial institutions. It doesn't mention Fannie and Freddie. —Rich
Miller, Bloomberg.
Read more.
Data Breaches Have Surpassed
Level for All of 2007, Report Finds
More data breaches have been reported so far this year than in all of
2007, according to a report released yesterday by a nonprofit group that
works to prevent fraud. Identity Theft Resource Center of San Diego
found that 449 U.S. businesses, government agencies and universities
have reported a loss or theft of consumer data this year. Last year, the
center tallied 446 breaches involving 127 million consumer records.
About 90 million of those records were attributed to a single retail
chain, TJX, which operates T.J. Maxx stores. Officials said they do not
know whether there have been more breaches this year or if there is
better reporting of the incidents. So far this year, at least 22 million
consumer records have been the target of data breaches, according to the
report. But resource center founder Linda Foley cautioned that the true
number of records affected is likely far higher, noting that in 41
percent of the cases the number of consumer records affected was not
disclosed. —Brian Krebs, The Washington Post.
Read more.
AGA Today is Brought to You by Becker CPA Review
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John Gioeli to learn more.
Brutal Budget Season For N.
Va.; Fairfax Faces Gap Of $430 Million
Falling property values, rising fuel costs and stagnant sales tax receipts
are pushing Fairfax County and other local governments to their worst
budget crunch in nearly two decades, just as the new fiscal season gets
under way. In Fairfax, Virginia's largest jobs center and one of the
nation's wealthiest counties, officials are bracing for a projected $430
million shortfall in county and school spending. Even as they promise to
maintain the quality classrooms, parks, police protection and highways
that residents have come to expect, officials said they will have to
make deeper cuts and consider bigger tax increases than they have done
in years. "These are going to be very difficult decisions," said Deputy
County Executive Edward L. Long Jr., who presented county and school
leaders with a warning late last month that the region's economy was
continuing to sour. "People are not going to be happy." —Amy Gardner,
The Washington Post.
Read more.
This
Week on AGA's Blog
Visit the AGA Blog at
http://aga.typepad.com/aga/.
This
week:
Wednesday:
Judith Harris, DBA, CMA, Karen McKenzie, Ph.D., CGFM, CPA, and Randall
Rentfro, Ph.D., CPA, CMA, on "Efforts and Accomplishments in
Communicating with the Citizenry"
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.
Report Faults Medicare Audits;
Agency Missed Many Payment Errors, HHS Review Finds
The rate of improper payments, including fraud, in Medicare's purchases of
wheelchairs and other home medical equipment is significantly higher
than the government has estimated, according to a federal audit released
Aug. 25. The report by Inspector General Daniel R. Levinson at the
Department of Health and Human Services found an "error rate" of almost
29 percent in a sample of claims paid in 2006 under Medicare's
multibillion-dollar durable medical equipment program. The Centers for
Medicare and Medicaid Services had estimated a rate of 7.5 percent, or
about $700 million in improper payments. Investigators reviewed a sample
of 363 claims to determine whether the Medicare contractor that
routinely checks such claims had found all of the improper payments.
Such payments include not only fraudulent claims, but also those without
sufficient documentation and those for goods deemed not medically
necessary. The new review found 20 payment errors that the contractor
identified and 73 that it had not. —Christopher Lee, The Washington
Post.
Read more.
John Brocklebank, Ph.D., Research Scientist, SAS, and
Glen Perry, Special Agent, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services,
will speak on Medicare/Medicaid fraud at
AGA's Internal Control & Fraud Conference.
Better Performers at Defense
Net Bigger Payouts
The U.S. Department of Defense's pay-for-performance system is living up
to its promise of tying bigger raises and bonuses to better performance
on the job. Most employees who received a performance rating of 3 last
year on a 1-to-5 scale—called “valued performers”—received combined
performance-based raises and bonuses of between 2 percent and 5 percent
in January. Most Level 4 employees, those who “exceeded expectations,”
received between 5 percent and 8 percent. And most Level 5 “role models”
received payments worth between 8 percent and 9 percent.
That, combined with the 1.5 percent base salary increase and average 1
percent locality pay raise that all but Level 1 “unacceptable” National
Security Personnel System (NSPS) employees received, means that all but
165 employees at Levels 3 through 5 received total pay increases that
were equal to or greater than the average 3.5 percent pay raise that
General Schedule employees received. “It’s working in a couple of ways,”
said NSPS Executive Director Brad Bunn. “It’s making meaningful
distinctions in performance, and we’re rewarding exceptional performance
in an exceptional manner.” —Stephen Losey, The Federal Times.
Read more.
Times are Tough all Over: Survey Shows Employers,
Workers Face Problems
While many workers are having a tough time finding suitable employment
in today's uncertain economy, companies also face challenges finding
highly skilled people. According to the fourth annual Employment
Dynamics and Growth Expectations (EDGE) Report by Robert Half
International and CareerBuilder.com, employees rated the level of
challenge in finding a job at 3.56 on a one-to-five sliding scale;
similarly, employers rated the level of challenge in finding qualified
candidates at 3.47. "A dual hiring environment seems to be taking
shape," said Max Messmer, chairman and CEO of Robert Half International.
"Job seekers in some fields are competing aggressively for open
positions, giving employers the edge in those segments of the hiring
market. At the same time, however, companies continue to face a shortage
of highly skilled professionals in fields such as technology and
accounting. These in-demand workers may not be willing to leave secure
positions unless firms extend very attractive job offers." —AccountingWEB.
Read more.
GASB Seeks Comment on Two Exposure Drafts
 The
Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) issued two Exposure
Drafts Aug. 28 that propose to transfer accounting and financial
reporting guidance currently contained in the AICPA auditing literature
into the GASB’s accounting and financial reporting literature. The
proposals intend to make it easier for preparers of financial statements
to identify and apply guidance on related party transactions, going
concern considerations, subsequent events, and the GAAP hierarchy for
state and local governments. The guidance would be moved without
substantive changes. The Exposure Drafts can be downloaded at no charge
from the GASB website. Written
comments should be provided by Oct. 30, 2008.
 FASAB
Releases Exposure Draft on Fiscal Sustainability Reporting
The Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board
(FASAB) plans to release an exposure draft later today called,
Reporting Comprehensive Long-Term Fiscal Projections for the U.S.
Government. One of FASAB’s federal financial reporting
objectives—the stewardship objective—includes enabling readers to
determine whether future budgetary resources will likely be sufficient
to sustain public services and to meet obligations as they come due.
FASAB Chairman Tom Allen noted that “the question of the long-term
fiscal sustainability of U.S. government services may be among the most
important questions of our time. The board believes that fully meeting
the stewardship objective requires non-traditional approaches to
complement and enrich the information from the federal government’s
balance sheets and operating statements. The proposed reporting will
include information about projected trends in the federal budget deficit
or surplus and the federal debt and how these amounts relate to the
national economy.”
Comments on the
exposure draft are requested by Jan. 5, 2009 and a
public hearing will be held on Feb. 25, 2009. Paper
copies are available by calling 202.512.7350.
Since the objective of the proposed reporting is not
only to provide information that is useful and necessary in assessing
fiscal sustainability but also to effectively communicate the
information in way that is meaningful and understandable to readers,
FASAB is particularly interested in receiving comments from the public.
Research on
Performance-Based Management Reporting Topic of Oct. 15 Audio
Conference
AGA is pleased to announce its latest audio conference,
worth 2 CPE hours, on one of its important ongoing research
projects, which demonstrates the value of government financial and
performance reporting. Hear an overview of AGA’s research project on
Performance-Based Reporting, set for 2–3:50 p.m. EDT Oct.
15. The speakers share the results of Phase I of the
research and describe Phase II, recently completed. The discussion
includes aspects of multi-dimensional accounting and the ability to
use accounting information in forward looking/predictive manner.
Speakers are Kristine Lee Leiphart,
Ph.D., Deputy Chief Financial Officer for Budget and
Policy, Federal Transit Administration; Peter Chipman,
Budget Analyst, Office of Budget and Policy, Federal Transit
Administration; Martin J. Rajk, Deputy Assistant
Commandant for Resources and Deputy Chief Financial Officer for the
U.S. Coast Guard; Clifton A. Williams, CGFM, CPA,
Partner, Grant Thornton LLP; and James Brimson, MS,
founder of Activity-Based Management Institute.
Cost is $249 per site (UNLIMITED ATTENDANCE) if
you register on or before Friday, Oct.10, 2008 and
$299 thereafter. SPECIAL PROMOTION: Government
agencies and CPAG members who register five or more offices will pay
$200 per site.
Register online.
Contact
Maria Lucas at 800.AGA.7211 ext. 308 with registration
questions. Questions regarding the program should be directed to
Raymond Harris at ext. 339.
Wyndham Phoenix
Reservation Deadline Extended to Sept. 4 for AGA's Internal Control
& Fraud Conference
AGA has reserved a block of rooms at the Wyndham Phoenix for fraud
conference attendees. The room rate is $102 (plus tax) for single
and double occupancy; however, the rate is only guaranteed
until Sept. 4, 2008. Reservations made after this date will
be subject to higher rates. We encourage you to make your hotel
reservations early, for the best price and availability.
To make reservations, please call the hotel at
800.359.7253 and mention you are attending the “AGA Fraud
Conference” to ensure you receive the discounted rate.
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