Highlights
Training Opportunities
Performance Auditing Tools and
Techniques 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? Learn 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.
Registration Now Open for PDC Golf Tournament
Step up to the tee and take your best shot. Enjoy a day of early networking,
fun and friendly competition at the PDC Golf Tournament on Saturday, July
26, 2008 at the
Stone Mountain Golf Club–Lakemont Course. Join us for a day of
networking, camaraderie and fun. Space is limited, so sign up early!
Golf Registration Form.
Check out the PDC website.
Anatomy of Fraud Topic of Dec. 12
Audio Conference
AGA, in conjunction with NASACT and ALGA, is pleased to announce its
upcoming audio conference,
Anatomy of Fraud: Case Examples of Greed, Collusion and Override of
Controls. The audio conference, worth 2 CPE hours, is set for 2 –
3:50 p.m., EST, Dec. 12.
Included in this audio conference will be some
remarkable work that uncovered major fraud in government, the private sector
and not-for-profit
organizations. Hear from two of the top presenters and investigators of
fraud, David L. Cotton, CGFM, CFE, CPA, Chairman of
Cotton & Co., and David R. Hancox, CGFM, CIA, Director in
the Division of State Government
Accountability, Office of the New York State Comptroller.
Cost is $249 per site (unlimited attendance) if you
register on or before Dec. 7, and $299 thereafter.
Register online or print the
registration form and fax it to 703.684.6933
View the entire audio conference schedule.
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November 5,
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 Comments on GASB Proposal
AGA's Financial Management Standards Board has sent a comment letter to
the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) on its Exposure
Draft, Accounting and Financial Reporting for Derivative
Instruments. The FMSB noted that many of its previous comments were
addressed in this Exposure Draft. The FMSB is especially pleased with
the board’s decision to eliminate the required disclosure of hedge
ineffectiveness for hedging derivative instruments. However, members are
still concerned about two issues. The first is the complexity of the
standard and the second is the question of what the board is doing or
plans to do to consider the education needs of the government community.
Read the comment letter.
Federal Study Offers Dire
Outlook on Child Insurance
Twenty-one states will run out of money for children’s health insurance in
the coming year, and at least nine of those states will exhaust their
allotments in March if Congress continues spending at current levels, a
new federal study says. The findings added urgency to bipartisan talks
on Capitol Hill intended to overcome an impasse over expansion of the
State Children’s Health Insurance Program. According to the new study,
from the Congressional Research Service, the nine states that will run
out of money by March are Alaska, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Maine,
Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and Rhode Island. The federal budget
for the program is $5 billion for the current fiscal year, which began
Oct. 1. But states, by their own estimates, expect to spend $7.6
billion. To continue coverage for people now enrolled in the 21 states
would require an extra $1.6 billion just for the current fiscal year,
the study said. —Robert Pear, The New York Times.
Read more.
AGA Today is Brought to
You by AGA Corporate Partner, Graduate School, USDA
 The
Graduate School, USDA provides professional training and educational
services to auditors and financial managers in all levels of government.
We offer studies in accounting, budgeting, financial management and
performance auditing, as well as customized development services to meet
your organization’s unique needs. Call (888) 744-GRAD or visit us at
www.grad.usda.gov.
Conn. AG Subpoenas Debt Raters
In Antitrust Probe
In the latest example of state probes into the operations of financial
services firms, Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is
investigating allegations that the three major Wall Street debt rating
agencies used the power of their ratings to pressure companies into
buying services. The inquiry began earlier this year under Connecticut's
civil antitrust statutes. Blumenthal said he received complaints and
"credible evidence" of anti-competitive practices at the agencies.
"Assuring debt ratings are honest and untainted is vital to investors,
companies and government," Blumenthal said. Moody's, Standard & Poor's
and Fitch provide credit ratings for the debt of corporations,
governments and other entities. The ratings, which companies issuing
debt pay for, affect borrowing costs, as higher-quality debt is issued
at lower interest rates. Blumenthal's investigation comes as the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission is implementing a new federal law
designed to promote competition in debt rating. —Mark Peters,
Hartford Courant.
Read more.
A Push for Plain English
Gobbledygook. It's the stuff of government. Maybe its No. 1 export. Now, a
first-term House member, Bruce Braley (D-Iowa), wants to do away with
the wordy, pompous and confusing forms and memos that spew out of the
bureaucracy every day. He has introduced legislation that would require
the federal government to write in "plain language"—simple words, short
sentences and no jargon, so that people can understand tax forms,
college aid applications and other documents distributed to the public.
"Unless there is aggressive or intensive oversight, no agency is going
to change the way it does business," he said. Using plain language would
improve services to the public, save time at agencies spent on answering
questions about what documents mean and make it easier to hold agencies
accountable for their work, Braley said. — Stephen Barr, The
Washington Post.
Read more.
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 (visit Contract # GS-02F-0105R). You may even
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Contact us at 1-877-CPA-EXAM or Becker
CPA Review or e-mail
Monica Callahan to learn more about this career defining
opportunity.
Accounting, Finance Salaries on
the Rise
Starting salaries for accounting and finance professionals are expected to
increase an average of 4.3 percent in 2008, according to the annual
salary guide by Robert Half International. The pay increases stem from
business expansion and growing workloads—direct results of compliance
requirements mandated by Sarbanes-Oxley—combined with staffing
shortages. Not surprisingly, experienced candidates have greater
leverage in negotiating compensation, and salaries for the most
in-demand specialties are rising faster than the national average.
Public accountants, financial analysts and internal auditors are
projected to see the largest gains, according to the survey. —SmartPros.
Read more.
Campaign Urges Students
to Consider Federal Service
College students can make a difference through public service.
That's the theme of a new campaign by the Partnership for Public Service
(PPS) ito encourage college students to consider careers in the federal
government. “There is no better place to work on critical issues that
affect our country on a grand scale than the federal government,” said
Max Stier, president at PPS. As part of the “Making the Difference”
campaign, PPS officials have circulated materials to more than 600
colleges and universities nationwide. Resources include a website, a
library of guidebooks on topics such as student loan repayment and
navigating the security clearance process, monthly job and internships
listings, and workshops for students and university career services
staff members. The campaign grew out of the organization’s research
during two years as a partner with the Office of Personnel Management on
a project to identify cost-effective and sustainable ways to promote
public service on campuses. —Richard W. Walker, Federal Computer
Week. Read
more.
AGA Today is Brought to You by Norwich University
 Norwich
University's online Master of
Public Administration degree produces professionals with the skills
required to be effective public managers in an evolving system. The program
is designed for public and civil service professionals to learn the tools
and techniques needed to implement policies, projects, and programs. E-mail
mpa@grad.norwich.edu for information.
Customers Give Florida
Purchasing System High Marks
Customer satisfaction with Florida’s online
purchasing system, MyFloridaMarketPlace, topped 90 percent in a recent
survey and has saved the state $71 million through strategic sourcing.
The system achieved an overall satisfaction mark of 91 percent, according
to a survey conducted in August. The survey polled purchasing and
finance/accounting groups about MyFloridaMarketPlace’s purchasing and
invoicing components. Eighty-nine percent of the purchasing respondents
said they were moderately to very satisfied with the system’s purchasing
tool, compared with 84 percent who reported that satisfaction range in a
December 2006 survey. The purchasing component starts with requisition
and supports the entire approval cycle, with agencies able to set up
their own approval processes. —John Moore, Federal Computer Week.
Read more.
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. |
