Highlights
Happy Thanksgiving from AGA’s National Office
The AGA National Office gives thanks to you, our members, for your dedication and commitment to AGA’s mission. Your collective energy and spirit of volunteerism—to keep your chapters strong, to give back to your communities and to become even better stewards of taxpayer dollars—inspire each of us every day. Thank you for 61 years of advancing government accountability.
Register Today for 10th Annual National Leadership Conference
Register today for AGA’s 10th Annual National Leadership Conference (NLC) being held Feb. 16–17, 2012 at the Ronald Reagan Building & International Trade Center in Washington D.C.
In today’s challenging economic times, now more than ever, government financial managers and accountability professionals must stay abreast of the latest developments, policies and issues affecting our citizens, and continually enhance their skills. Staying up to date on new regulations, while maintaining a clear vision of government transformation, can be accomplished through the best training.
The NLC offers a cost-effective way of doing just that. Earn 14 CPE hours, learn from top-notch speakers, discuss the latest research, discover innovative management techniques, and see technological tools that can help your agency achieve its mission.
For Attendees—Register today!
For Exhibitors & Sponsors—The NLC is the perfect place to reach your target audience. Space is limited.
Reserve your booth space.
Consider becoming a sponsor.
Upcoming Audio Conferences
Dec. 7: Using Performance Information to Drive Performance Improvement
Dec. 14: Boost Efficiency, Accuracy, Transparency, Fraud Detection and Cost Savings by Preventing Inappropriate Payments
Jan. 11: Getting a Handle on Internal Controls
March 7: Data Mining to Prioritize Investigations of Contract Fraud
April 18: Find Strength in Numbers: Sampling Techniques to Improve Financial Audit, Control and Program Performance
2011—2012 Audio Conference Schedule
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November 21, 2011 • News from the Profession
AGA Today is Brought to You by AGA Corporate Partner Clifton Gunderson
 Clifton Gunderson, ranked as one of the nation's largest certified public accounting and consulting firms, is a leader in providing assurance, risk management, IT security, financial accounting and management, and management advisory services for federal, state and local government agencies. Visit our website at www.cliftoncpa.com for more information.
Point of Contact
Patrick Byer, MBA, CGFM, CPA, CISA, CISM
301-931-2050
Pat.Byer@cliftoncpa.com
Federal News
Federal Financial Systems Summit—FREE* One-Day Event for Government Executives
AGA is hosting a one-day event that brings together federal financial managers and private sector executives for the second year to discuss federal financial systems. The summit, set for 8:30 a.m. Jan. 10 at the Washington, D.C. Convention Center, will focus on the current state of federal financial management systems initiatives and implementations, as well as the next generation of financial management systems. Speakers will discuss lessons learned, economics, and benefits of migrating to and integrating with Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS, shared services) and Software as a Service (SaaS) models. Learn more about the agenda.
* Government executives can register FREE.
AGA Corporate Partners are invited to participate through sponsorships. Please contact Susan Fritzlen for more information.
Federal Agencies Cut Improper Payments by $18 Billion
Agencies saved nearly $18 billion in fiscal 2011 by reducing improper payments, the White House announced Tuesday. The administration also unveiled new steps to prevent the government from paying money to the wrong people. Agencies saved $17.6 billion last year, by reducing payment errors in Medicare, Medicaid, Pell Grants and a food assistance program. President Barack Obama initiated the crackdown on improper payments two years ago, when he gave agencies the goal of reducing payment errors by $50 billion before 2013. The effort has since become part of the administration's Campaign to Cut Waste, which seeks to apply lessons learned by the Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board to all federal spending. —Ruben Gomez, Federal News Radio. Read more.
Read a research report on improper payments by AGA's Corporate Partner Advisory Group, Improper Payments: Not Just the Purview of the CFO Anymore?
AGA Today is Brought to You by AGA Corporate Partner Graduate School USA
 Skills for Leading and Managing Audit Projects
This three-day course helps senior auditors acquire the knowledge and skills they need to be outstanding leaders. Learn concepts and techniques for managing projects; how to communicate with responsible officials and the media; how to evaluate, coach, and motivate team members; and more.
February 13–15, 2012 Washington, D.C.
State and Local News
Repeal of Contractor 3 Percent Withholding Rule Sent to Obama to Sign
The U.S. House of Representatives passed and sent to President Barack Obama legislation to repeal a requirement that federal, state and local governments begin withholding 3 percent of payments to contractors in 2013. After months of bouncing between the two chambers of Congress, the measure cleared its final legislative hurdle with Wednesday’s 422-0 House vote. The legislation also includes tax credits for companies that hire unemployed veterans. Obama has said he would sign the bill into law, marking one of the few areas of agreement between the Obama administration and congressional Republicans. The House passed the bill as members of Congress’s deficit-cutting supercommittee continue to see if partisan disagreements over taxes can be bridged. —Steven Sloan, Bloomberg. Read more.
For a City in Maryland, Staying Debt-Free is the Norm
The nation’s debt in dollars consists of 14 digits. The District’s, 10. But Gaithersburg, MD, has only one: zero. Yes, $0. Zilch. Just a 45-minute drive from Capitol Hill, the community is debt-free and has been, more or less, for about four decades. As the country struggles with its $15 trillion debt, Gaithersburg has plugged away with a time-tested budgeting philosophy: Pay as you go and build your financial reserves. For the city of about 60,000 along Interstate 270, the discipline comes with rewards: There’s $33 million in Gaithersburg’s rainy day fund, which draws effusive praise from local government experts. “For a community to have a large rainy day fund and no debt is the situation that any local government official would truly die for,” said Donald F. Kettl, dean of the University of Maryland School of Public Policy. —Victor Zapana, The Washington Post. Read more.
AGA Today is Brought to You by IBM
 Cognos FSR automates each step in the budgeting, planning, performance reporting processes. Along with Cognos TM1, IBM's integrated corporate performance platform, users can eliminate the manual, error-prone spreadsheet processes and significantly enhance controls and visibility at each step. Visit the website to learn more.
Download the IBM Cognos CAFR Datasheet.
Federal Accounting Corner
Borrowing Authority
Sometimes agencies need to disburse funds before they receive offsetting or other types of collections. If these disbursements cannot be covered by appropriations, Congress may authorize the agencies to borrow from Treasury or the Federal Financing Bank. The Standard General Ledger (SGL) accounts and posting entries for borrowing authority can be confusing. While they have the same three stages (anticipated, authorized and funded) as most funding sources, the accounts are not in strict logical sequence and are squeezed together in a narrow spectrum of the SGL account series. —Simcha Kuritzky, CGFM, CPA. Read more.
Private Sector News
Clifton Gunderson, LarsonAllen to Merge in January
Clifton Gunderson and LarsonAllen, ranked as two of the nation’s top 20 certified public accounting and consulting firms, today announced plans to merge and form one of the top 10 accounting firms in the United States. The partners of both firms have agreed to the combination. Pending final approvals, the merger will take effect Jan. 2, 2012. The new firm will be named CliftonLarsonAllen (CLA). CLA will bring together two firms of significant magnitude to offer unprecedented emphasis on serving privately held businesses and their owners, as well as entities in the public sector—not-for-profits and governmentals. Access to a firm with a top 10 presence and capabilities committed to serving primarily these types of clients is rare. The new firm will have more than $550 million in combined revenue, employ more than 3,600 professionals, including 500-plus partners, and will operate from 25 states and Washington, D.C. —Clifton Gunderson LLP and LarsonAllen LLP.
Accounting Standards News
FAF Trustees Reappoint Jan Sylvis to GASB
 The Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF), which oversees the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB), has announced that Jan Sylvis, CGFM, CPA, has been appointed to a second five-year term beginning July 1, 2012. In addition, the FAF is searching for candidates from the financial statement user community to replace Michael Belsky, who tendered his resignation from the board in October, and from public accounting to replace outgoing board member James Williams, CGFM-Retired, whose second term ends in June 2012.
FASAB Seeks Feedback on Annual Report
 The Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB) annual report for fiscal year 2011 is now available online. FASAB Executive Director Wendy Payne, CGFM, CPA, is interested in feedback and suggestions. Send comments to fasab@fasab.gov or call 202.512.7350.
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