Highlights
Training Opportunities
Looking for a
Job?
Call for Nominations for AGA National and Regional Leaders
Interested in the
opportunity to shape the Association’s programs, advance your profession,
and represent members’ interests in the government accountability community?
Submit your nomination TODAY for these National Board of Directors
positions: National President-Elect; National Treasurer-Elect;
Senior Vice President for Regional Services - Section III; Senior Vice
President At-Large; Regional Vice Presidents-Elect.
For more information, visit the
governance section of AGA’s website.
Nomination forms are due to
Michiyo Wheeler by Friday, Oct. 26, 2007.
Leadership Awards Nominations Due Soon
Who do you know that deserves special recognition
for contributions to our field? Help us acknowledge financial
professionals at the federal, state and local level and private sector
who are leading the way. Awards will be presented at AGA’s Sixth Annual
National Leadership Conference, Feb. 21 - 22, 2008 in Washington, D.C.
For information on all awards, visit the
National Awards website. For more information, contact
Michiyo Wheeler.
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 its latest audio
conference,
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: 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 703.684.6933
View the entire audio conference schedule.
|
October 9,
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
AGA's FMSB Comments on
FASAB Proposal
AGA's Financial Management Standards Board (FMSB) has sent a
comment letter to the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board
(FASAB) on Accounting and Financial Reporting for Federal Oil and
Gas Resources. The FMSB believes that the proposed statement is
appropriate as it enhances the accountability of federal government
assets and worth. However, the FMSB is concerned with the large volume
of new and additional data that will now be reported/disclosed and the
efforts and resources needed to obtain and report that data and hope
that the board will weigh the costs against the benefits as they proceed
with their deliberations. The FMSB also urged FASAB to communicate with
the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) in developing
guidance.
IGs May Have to Hunt for Redundant Programs
To make government efficient, inspectors general
may have to report redundant programs to Congress and the president each
year, according to an amendment to legislation the House passed last
week. Furthermore, IGs would have to include with those reports proposed
legislation to encourage Congress to do something about the
redundancies, according to the Improving Government Accountability Act.
“This legislation is borne out of frustration,” said Rep. Tom Davis
(R-Va), who proposed the amendment. “How many more times are we going to
have to hear about redundancy in federal programs without doing anything
about it?” The Bush administration opposes the bill, however, because,
officials, say several provisions would undermine the president’s
authority over the executive branch. For instance, they disagree with a
provision that would prevent the president from removing from office IGs
he appointed, except for specific reasons such as being convicted of a
felony. —Matthew Weigelt, Federal Computer News.
Read the entire article.
AGA Today
is Brought to You by AGA Corporate Partner Graduate School, USDA
 Performance
measurement! Today, performance measurement
permeates every management function. If you want to improve operations
and program outcomes, you may need training. Turn to the Graduate
School, USDA! Choose from our selection of
up-to-date, high-quality courses in performance assessment and
auditing.
For more information, call (888) 744-GRAD or visit
www.grad.usda.gov/gati.
Sweeping Away GAAP: FASB's Herz
Calls for One International Standard
Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Chairman Robert Herz
expects that U.S. companies eventually will be made to follow a single
accounting standard. That standard, he said recently, would be
International Financial Reporting Standards, not U.S. generally accepted
accounting principles. Herz said he is looking for an "orderly way" to
get to a single accounting system and that a national plan would be the
way to go about it. The plan would consist of timetables, tasks and
education efforts to move American companies off U.S. GAAP and onto a
single global standard. "I don't believe in a two-GAAP system," he said.
The FASB chairman said he objects to providing U.S. issuers with an
"unfettered choice" between GAAP and IFRS because it undermines his goal
of getting to a single standard. The choice may appeal to some
companies, he said, but the standards are written for the benefit of
investors, not companies. —Marie Leone, CFO.com.
Read the entire article.
What Makes a
Company a Great Place to Work Today?
Tis the season for workplace rankings, with "best-workplace" lists
sprouting everywhere this fall. From Working Mother magazine's
"100 Best Companies" to Business Week's "Best Places to Launch
a Career," judges are sizing up employers' flexible scheduling and other
perks as criteria for coveted top-employer rankings. And family-friendly
companies are looking very different today than they did a few years
ago. The waning of boomers with their uptight ways, and the rise of the
we-want-it-all millennials, are spurring major shifts in employer
programs. Here's a look at what's hot: wide-open flexibility, broader
benefits programs and generous vacation time. —Sue Shellenbarger,
The Wall Street Journal.
Read the entire 'Work and Family' column.
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
Dennis Green .
Federal Salary Survey
Shows Widening Pay Gap
Federal employees make an average of 23 percent less than their private
sector counterparts, the Federal Salary Council announced Wednesday. The
body, an independent group of salary experts, employee representatives and
federal officials that makes determinations each year on the allocations of
locality pay, said at its annual meeting that the average gap widened by 6
percentage points from last year. The council uses data collected by the
Bureau of Labor Statistics under the National Compensation Survey to
determine the pay gap. Unlike previous years, however, this year's data
included small private sector establishments with 50 employees or less,
resulting in pay gaps averaging 1.6 percent higher than when such
establishments were not included, the council said. — Brittany R.
Ballenstedt, Government Executive.
Read the entire article.
Louisiana Legislators Subpoena Insurance Officials Over Audit Findings
The legislative panel that oversees
enforcement of state audits voted Oct. 3 to subpoena past and present
officials of three state-affiliated insurance agencies to testify about
a recently released audit that alleged more than $1 million was misspent
on travel, entertainment and meals. The Legislative Audit Advisory
Council, angered by the report and wanting to know why the allegations
of long-standing misspending surfaced only recently, voted to compel
appearances by Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon, former Commissioner
Robert Wooley and Terry Lisotta, the former executive director of all
three agencies. Dan Daigle, director of compliance audits for
Legislative Auditor Steve Theriot's office, said auditors examined only
10 percent of Lisotta's expenditures. The results showed he allegedly
received payment for expenses he did not incur, for expenses that "did
not have a public purpose" and for personal expenses. Daigle said the
examination of the agencies and Lisotta's expenditures will continue. He
called the audit "one of the worst I have seen" for agencies with a
statewide impact. —Ed Anderson, The Times-Picayune.
Read the entire article.
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.
|
