Highlights

Jan. 13—Sudden Impact or Long-Term Process? Impact of the Stimulus Plan on Internal Controls

Feb. 10—Understanding IT Audits for Program Managers and Auditors

March 3—The War Against Fraud and Abuse: Are We Winning?

Entire 2009–2010 Audio Conference Schedule

AGA's New Book: Managing for High Government Performance
Read articles from Pennsylvania Gov. Edward Rendell, Shelley Metzenbaum, assistant director at the U.S. Office of Management and Budget and others. Download the book. Many thanks to corporate partner Oracle USA for underwriting this project.

Wednesday: Jon Desenberg, policy director, The Performance Institute

Thursday: Andrew Lewis, CGFM, CPA, senior manager with KPMG LLP's government audit practice and a Fellow of the KPMG Government Institute.

Friday: Jeffrey C. Steinhoff, CGFM, CPA, CFE, Past AGA National President and the executive director of the KPMG Government Institute.

The course provides a general overview of grants management, including preparation, review and submittal of proposals; negotiation and acceptance of grants; post-award financial and administrative management; closeout and audit; and relevant compliance issues.

For more details about this and other AGA-sponsored training courses, including pricing and availability, please contact AGA Education Director Joe Jozefczyk at 800.AGA.7211, ext. 307 or Lynn Hoffman at ext. 342.

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.

December 14, 2009 • News from the Profession

AGA Today is Brought to You by AGA Corporate Partner Clifton Gunderson
Clifton Gunderson's offices in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, MD, and Arlington, VA, are seeking experienced professionals to join our public sector practice. Ideal candidates will have 3 yrs of Public Accounting or equivalent audit experience along with a BA/BS in Accounting/IT/IS, CPA, CGFM, CISA and/or CISSP. 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

Federal News

OMB Sets Up Best Practices Website on Reducing Improper Payments
The U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has established Partner4Solutions.gov to gather solutions and best practices to improve service delivery, payment accuracy, administrative efficiency, and reduce access barriers in federally funded assistance programs. States and local governments are already addressing these issues head-on and have identified many innovative approaches. Partner4Solutions.gov is an opportunity for taxpayers, program participants, and federal, state and local program administrators to provide their input and begin a dialogue to better understand some of the on-the-ground best practices in this area. This website is also a central element in meeting the transparency and collaboration principles of Executive Order 13520, "Reducing Improper Payments and Eliminating Waste in Federal Programs." Please join this effort as a partner by contributing your ideas and solutions at Partner4Solutions.gov.

Game Changer: Open Government Directive Puts New Onus On Agencies
The Open Government Directive that the Obama administration released Tuesday lays out several deadlines for agencies, all centered on making government data easy to access and use. Within 45 days, agencies must make a minimum of three high-value data sets available to the public, federal Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra said today during a Web chat announcing the new directive. It is up to agencies to decide what is considered a high-value data set, Kundra said. Data related to health care, education and energy are the kinds of information officials expect agencies to share with the public, he added. Kundra wants agencies to release data that can fundamentally change the way government operates, or moves the government to an environment where making this data available publicly is going to improve the operations of government." —Doug Belzer, Federal Computer Week. Read more.

AGA Today is Brought to You by Becker Professional Education
Advance Your Career, Become a CPA
Becker Professional Education will get you there.

Study with the leading provider in professional education. Government employees receive discounts on our CPA Exam Review and Continuing Professional Education. (Contract #GS-02F-0105R). You may qualify for full tuition reimbursement.

Contact 1-877-CPA-EXAM, www.becker.com or John Gioeli at jgioeli@becker.com to learn more.

State and Local News

Economist: Stimulus Critical to Avoiding 'Draconian' State Government Cuts
Mark Zandi, the chief economist for Moody’s Economy.com, said Tuesday that additional federal stimulus dollars are crucial to helping state governments avoid Draconian spending cuts and tax increases in the difficult budget year ahead. Reacting to President Obama’s call on Congress to boost aid to state and local governments, Zandi said if states do not receive additional federal money, it could slow the recovery, because states would have to cut spending and jobs and raise taxes. “If we’re focused on creating jobs, state and local governments are one of the largest employers,” he said. “It can’t help the job market if we’re cutting jobs.” —Stephen C. Fehr, Stateline.org. Read more.

States and Localities Encouraged to Embrace New Openness Directive
A directive from the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released Tuesday orders federal government agencies to publish "high-value" data sets, launch Web sites for open government, and write agencywide plans that will hardwire transparency into the public process. Federal CIO Vivek Kundra and Federal Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra unveiled the long-awaited Open Government Directive during a live video chat on Whitehouse.gov. Chopra said the OMB "highly encourages" state and local governments to follow suit with similar transparency directives. "One of the things that we were so proud of when Vivek launched Data.gov was how many state and local governments replicated the model," Chopra said. "We see this as a key pillar of public-sector work\not just within the Obama administration. ... We think, we hope, this will be a helpful tool in support of state and local entrepreneurial activities to promote open government." A 22-page progress report on open government also was released. \Matt Williams, Government Technology. Read more.

AGA Today is Brought to You by Rutgers Business School
All government employees receive a big discount as they qualify for in-state, New Jersey tuition. Our Master of Accountancy in Governmental Accounting program is the only masters program of its kind that is available 100% online. Available only at Rutgers Business School. Contact us: govmaccy@business.rutgers.edu, 732-445-4441, or business.rutgers.edu/govmaccy.

Federal Accounting Corner

The FY2010 SF133 Section Four: Budget Authority and Outlays, Net
Two months ago I discussed section three of the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) new format of the SF]133 Report on Budget Execution and the associated Standard General Ledger (SGL) account mapping. This month, I complete the series with section four (Treasury and OMB have yet to map section five to the SGL). As a review, the new SF]133 format has five sections, using four-digit line numbers. It generally goes into more detail than the current format. —Simcha Kuritzky, CGFM, CPA. Read the entire column.           

Accounting Standards News

AGA's FMSB Comments on Exposure Drafts by GASB, FASAB
AGA's Financial Management Standards Board (FMSB) has commented on two Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) exposure drafts: a proposal to issue Suggested Voluntary Guidelines on Reporting of SEA Performance Information; and a proposed statement on Financial Instruments Omnibus.

The FMSB also commented on two Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB) exposure drafts on proposed Technical Releases giving implementation guidance on Equipment Cleanup Costs and Cleanup Costs for Asbestos: Implementation Guidance on Asbestos Cleanup Costs Associated with Facilities and Installed Equipment and Implementation Guidance on Cleanup Costs Associated with Equipment.

The NLC offers a comprehensive program, captivating speakers, lively discussions, top-quality sessions and numerous networking events. Attendees can learn about new products and services and innovative technologies available to the financial management community. Several opportunities are available for advertisers, exhibitors and sponsors. Join us Feb. 18–19, 2010 and secure your place at this important event.

Advertise in the official conference program to increase your impact and reach your target audience. Used extensively throughout the conference by virtually every attendee and kept as a reference tool after they return home, the program is the perfect place to increase awareness and to direct traffic to your website or exhibit booth.

Exhibit for an invaluable opportunity to network, cultivate leads and meet face-to-face with more than 700 hard-to-reach government financial management and accountability leaders. They want to know how your products and services will help their agency achieve its mission. Be sure you’re there to tell them! We combine all the right elements to attract attendees to the Exhibit Hall and move them toward your booth. More than 60 percent of the Exhibit Hall has already been sold—reserve your booth today to guarantee your spot.

Sponsor to expand your reach beyond the show floor. Sponsorship is a great way to increase your visibility onsite and during the months leading up to the event through website and e-mail promotion, signage, special mention during the general sessions and premier placement for advertising in the printed program. Sponsorship gives premium exposure and recognition to your company and provides an excellent opportunity to show your support of the industry and AGA. We offer a variety of options to help you stand out from the crowd and achieve your marketing goals.

Don’t let this valuable marketing opportunity pass you by… AGA’s NLC is an event you can’t afford to miss!

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Register for AGA's Eighth Annual National Leadership Conference, Feb. 18–19, 2010, Washington, D.C.

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© Association of Government Accountants 2009

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