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Hotel Now Accepting Reservations for PDC 2008
Why wait? Reserve your room today for AGA’s 57th Annual Professional
Development Conference (PDC) in Atlanta, GA. The conference takes place July
27-30, 2008 at the
Atlanta Marriott Marquis. Room rate is $129 (plus tax) for single and
double occupancy. We encourage you to make your reservations early, for the
best price and availability. To make a reservation, call the hotel at
888.829.1396 and mention you are attending the “AGA PDC” to ensure you
receive the discounted rate. A credit card is required to guarantee the
reservation.
Audit Efficiency Focus of Next
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 and increasingly important
topic,
Conducting Performance Audits Efficiently: Tools and Techniques to Improve
Performance Audit Productivity. The audio conference, worth 2 CPE
hours, is set for 2 – 3:50 p.m., EST, Nov. 14.
In an environment in which government auditors are
supposed to "do more with less," how can audit offices efficiently use their
limited resources to produce timely and high-quality performance audit
reports? You'll learn the latest tools and techniques from two leaders in
government performance auditing, including how to create a framework for
audit efficiency in your organization through the use of technology and
telecommuting.
Speakers are: Drummond Kahn, CGFM, CIA, CGAP,
Director of Audit Services for Portland, OR; and Leslie Tanaka, CPA,
City Auditor for the City and County of Honolulu, HI.
Cost is $249 per site (unlimited attendance) if you
register on or before Nov. 9, and $299 thereafter.
Register online or print the
registration form and fax it to 703.6846933
View the entire audio conference schedule.
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September 24,
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
OMB Finds Performance
of Federal Programs Improving
More than three-quarters of federal programs assessed by the Bush
administration for management and effectiveness are performing at least
adequately, new data indicates. The Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) on Wednesday released the results of its sixth annual Program
Assessment Rating Tool evaluations. The agency looked at 48 programs for
the first time, with 77 percent receiving grades of effective,
moderately effective or adequate. OMB also reevaluated 73 programs,
including 30 that originally received grades of ineffective or results
not demonstrated, the latter indicating a lack of meaningful data or
performance goals. Of those programs, more than 93 percent are now
ranked as having an adequate or better performance. Overall, OMB has
evaluated 1,016 programs—accounting for $2.6 trillion in federal
spending—finding that 78 percent were operating at least somewhat
effectively. Those figures represent a 3 percent increase from last
year. —Robert Brodsky, Government Executive.
Read the entire story.
Congress Tackles States' Agenda
As lawmakers on Capitol Hill shift their focus
from the Iraq war and turn to domestic issues, states are sending a
simple message: more money and less interference. Measures pending
before Congress that are important to states vary widely, but several
would have a profound impact on the daily lives of Americans, if
approved, ranging from whether states are forced to drop children from a
popular subsidized health care program to whether the voting machines
used in the 2008 presidential election all have paper trails. Topping
states’ legislative agenda is winning an immediate infusion of federal
dollars to the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), which
technically ends Sept. 30, and getting a clear confirmation from
Congress that states, not the White House, get to decide who qualifies
for each state’s SCHIP program. —Pamela M. Prah, Stateline.org.
Read the entire article.
AGA Today is Brought to
You by Becker CPA Review
 Becker
Professional Review has an open position for a Government Key Account
Manager (GKAM). The GKAM is responsible for identifying and establishing
productive GSA relationships to sell a portfolio of accounting and
finance products. Having the CPA credential is a plus. For a complete
description, search for GSA at the
DeVry careers page or email your resume to
Mark Chodash.
GAO Analysts Vote to Approve
Union
Analysts at the
Government Accountability Office (GAO) voted Wednesday to unionize,
marking a first in the watchdog agency's 86-year history. The analysts
backed union representation from the International Federation of
Professional and Technical Engineers (IFPTE) by a vote of 897-445. More
than 74 percent of the 1,800 eligible analysts at headquarters and field
offices participated. "This is a great and historic day for GAO," said
Robert Kershaw, a senior analyst who voted in favor of the union. "We
need to restructure the incentives in this agency so that the talents
and gifts of each employee are utilized to the maximum." Comptroller
General of the United States David M. Walker on Thursday praised the
level of employee turnout. "GAO management will bargain in good faith,"
he said. GAO's union will be an IFPTE local, and bargaining unit
employees will now move forward to elect a council, write a constitution
and determine bargaining priorities. The local can then sit down with
management and negotiate a first contract. —Brittany R. Ballenstedt,
Government Executive.
Read the entire article.
Accounting Firms Among Best
Places to Launch a Career
Accounting firms dominate BusinessWeek's second annual ranking
of the "Best Places to Launch a Career." Deloitte & Touche is No. 1,
followed by PricewaterhouseCoopers and Ernst & Young. The last of the
Big Four, KPMG, moved up four spots to No. 11. Accountants used to be
spoofed as bean counters—dutiful, middle-aged, gray-suited men with
considerable analytical expertise but little charisma. This year
accountants became sexy, BusinessWeek said in a statement. Why
did the accounting firms do so well? Enormous demand. Across industries,
there is a mad scramble to recruit the best and brightest of a new
generation, the much-maligned, heavily scrutinized Gen Y. Nowhere is the
pressure more intense than in the Big Four. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act has
so greatly increased the need for their services that the firms are
facing an epic talent shortage. —SmartPros.
Read the entire article.
AGA Today
is Brought to You by AGA Corporate Partner  The
MIL Corporation
The MIL Corporation is seeking mid to senior level Systems Analysts and
Systems Accountants. The ideal candidate will have government accounting
experience and a degree in Accounting or Business; master’s degree, CPA
or CGFM preferred. Experience with Momentum a plus. Ability to
obtain secret security clearance required. For more information, visit
www.milcorp.com and to apply, email resumes to
jdickerson@milcorp.com.
They Said What?
Executives Cite Unusual Job Pitches
Conducting job interviews can be time consuming, but for many employers
these meetings are far from boring. Executives were recently asked to
describe the strangest pitches they’ve heard from potential hires. The
responses ranged from a person who noted that he’d be a great addition to
the company softball team to the candidate who sang her responses to
interview questions. The national poll included responses from 150 senior
executives with the nation’s 1,000 largest companies. Executives were asked,
“What is the wackiest or most unusual pitch you’ve heard from a job seeker
about why he or she should get the job?” Here are some of their responses:
- “An individual told me he was allergic to unemployment."
- “One individual said we had nice benefits, which was good
because he was going to need to take a lot of leave in the next year.”
- “An applicant drafted a press release announcing that we
had hired him.”
- “A gentleman delivered his entire cover letter verbally
as a rap song.”
- “An applicant once told me she wanted the position
because she wanted to get away from dealing with people.”
- “One person brought his mother to the job interview and
let her do all of the talking.” —Accountemps.
Read more unusual pitches.
Labor Selects Interior as Human Resources Service Provider
The Department of the Interior’s
National Business Center (NBC) has announced that it has been selected as
the Department of Labor’s Human Resources Line of Business Shared Service Center
Provider. Labor selected NBC through an open and competitive process, which
included both federal and private sector organizations. NBC is to provide human
resources shared services for Labor's 15,500 employees assigned to a number of
offices and agencies nationwide. With the addition of the Department of Labor
employees, the NBC HR Line of Business organization will increase its client
base to more than 300,000 federal employee accounts across 40 separate agencies
nationwide. —National Business Center.
GASB Derivatives Deadline Approaching
 Friday,
Oct. 26 is the deadline for commenting on the Governmental Accounting Standards
Board’s (GASB) Exposure Draft,
Accounting and Financial Reporting for Derivative Instruments.
Following the closing of the comment period on Oct. 29, the GASB will hold a
public hearing on the proposal on Nov. 1 in New York City. Individuals who wish
to speak at the hearing should notify the GASB in writing and submit a copy of
their comments no later than Oct. 12. Additional details are available in the
Exposure Draft. More information about the GASB’s derivatives proposals can be
found on the GASB
website. —GASB.
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