Highlights
Training Opportunities
NLC Registration
Brochure Is Now Available
The registration brochure for AGA’s National Leadership
Conference includes a list of speakers, education sessions and events
taking place at this year's conference. You can also get information
about registration, hotel accommodations, travel discounts and more.
SAS No. 112 Topic of Jan. 17
Audio Conference
The National Association of State Auditors, Comptrollers and Treasurers
(NASACT), in conjunction with AGA and the Association of Local
Government Auditors, is pleased to announce its next audio conference,
SAS No. 112: Intermediate Reporting Issues and Case Studies.
This training will provide an
intermediate-level review of SAS No. 112 titled,
Communicating Internal Control Related Matters Identified in an Audit.
The speaker is Frank Crawford, CPA, of Crawford &
Associates.
Set for 2 – 3:50 p.m. EST, Jan. 17,
the audio conference is worth 2 CPE hours.
Cost is $249 per site (unlimited attendance) if you
register before Jan. 11. Cost is $299 afterward.
Questions? Call Pat Hackney at 859.276.1147 or e-mail
support@nasact.org.
Internal Controls Audio
Conference Set for Feb. 6
AGA, in conjunction with NASACT and the Association of Local Government
Auditors, is pleased to announce a new audio conference,
Using Internal Controls to Improve Operations. The audio
conference, worth 2 CPE hours, is set for 2 – 3:50 pm EST, Feb.
6, 2008. Good internal controls can be used for far more than
ensuring the right numbers are used in financial statements. Good
controls can improve accountability, prevent problems and most
important, improve service delivery.
Speakers are: Janet Hayes, MBA, CPM, CICA,
Director of the Management Services and Nongovernmental Compliance
Division, Office of the State Auditor, State of North Carolina;
Michael L. Piazza, MBA, CICA, Principal Associate and lead
consultant of Professional Development Associates and Director of
Program Development and Training for the Institute for Internal
Controls; and Martha J. Stearns, Central Site Director,
Cleveland Center, U.S. Defense Finance and Accounting Service.
Cost is $249 per site (unlimited attendance) if you
register by Feb. 1, and $299 thereafter. Government
agencies and CPAG members who register five or more offices can receive
a 20 percent discount ($200 per site).
Register online, or print the
regular registration form, or the
special promotion registration form and fax it to 703.684.6933. View
the entire
audio conference schedule.
|
December 17,
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
Current Federal Spending Track
Called 'Unsustainable'
The Congressional Budget Office presented a long-range budget forecast
last Thursday warning that due to massive increases in projected health
care costs, "under any plausible scenario, the federal budget is on an
unsustainable path." It said without substantial spending cuts or
revenue increases the soaring federal debt "could seriously harm the
economy." CBO Director Peter Orszag told the House Budget Committee that
"there are only two alternatives: increases in revenues well beyond
anything the United States has ever seen, or cuts in spending, or some
combination of the two." Although the aging population will cause Social
Security outlays to increase nearly 50 percent in 75 years, the major
cause of the surge in spending is a nearly fivefold jump in the
projected cost of Medicare and Medicaid, the forecast showed." The heart
of the problems is that health care costs will literally consume the
U.S. economy," House Budget Chairman John Spratt, D-SC, said. "Those are
figures that cannot be ignored." —Otto Kreisher, CongressDaily.
Read more.
Millions Wasted by California
Insurance Fund
California's scandal-plagued government-run workers' compensation
insurance company spent more than half a billion dollars over the last
decade for outside marketing help that often provided "minimal
services," a scathing new state audit shows. About half that money went
to organizations with direct financial ties to two former board members
of the State Compensation Insurance Fund, said the audit. The company
sells workers' compensation insurance to 220,000 California employers.
Some marketing groups were paid millions of dollars for merely sending
members quarterly newsletters, providing few other services, the report
said. The report paints a picture of an obscure rogue operation with
more than $22 billion in assets, little oversight, minimal public checks
and balances, and indiscriminate spending with little attention until
recently from top state officials such as the governor and the insurance
commissioner. — Marc Lifsher, Los Angeles Times.
Read more.
AGA Today
is Brought to You by Becker CPA Review
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If you’re a federal employee, you can prepare for the
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Monica Callahan to learn more about this career defining
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Federal Accounting Corner
The New SGL Account Format
The Financial Systems
Integration Office (FSIO) has finalized its Common Governmentwide
Accounting Classification (CGAC) structure. FSIO believes that a coding
structure that is common to all federal agencies will allow for better
integration of systems, easier reconciliation and greater efficiency
overall. The U.S. Standard General Ledger (USSGL) account is one of the
fields addressed by CGAC.— Simcha Kuritzky, CGFM, CPA.
Read the entire column.
OMB Beats Deadline to Unveil
Federal Spending Database
The U.S. Office of Management and Budget has unveiled USAspending.gov, the
federal spending database required by the Federal Funding Accountability
and Transparency Act. The launch, on Dec. 13, came more than two weeks
before the congressionally mandated deadline of Jan. 1, 2008. The
database’s initial functionality will include the ability to search
contracts and grants but not other types of spending data such as loans,
said Robert Shea, OMB’s associate director of administration and
government performance and lead on developing the FederalSpending.gov
website. According to FederalSpending.gov, the database will include:
the name and unique identifier of the entity receiving the award; the
location of the entity receiving the award; he amount of the award;
information on the award, including transaction type and funding agency.
—Jason Miller, Federal Computer Week.
Read more.
Current Issues in
Auditing Articles Available Online
Current Issues in Auditing (CIIA), the auditing section
of the American Accounting Association’s new journal, is now online. The
first issue will contain eight articles including two commissioned
pieces demonstrating engagement with the practice community—a primary
goal of CIIA. The commissioned articles include one from former U.S.
Rep. Michael Oxley, R-OH, and the other from Grant
Thornton CEO Ed Nussbaum. The first three articles are
ready for viewing on the
website. In related news, the American Accounting Association’s new
manuscript management system will serve as the portal for paper
submissions, reviews and decision letters. Everyone is encouraged to
submit articles for consideration. Articles co-authored with
practitioners are especially encouraged.
FASAB Proposal to Display
the Effects of Changes in Assumptions on the Statement of Net Cost
 The
Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB) has extended until
Jan. 15, 2008 the comment period for the Exposure Draft,
Reporting Gains and Losses from Changes in Assumption and Selecting
Discount Rates and Valuation Dates.
One effect of the proposal would be an additional line item or multiple
line items on the statement of net costs displaying the effect of
changes in assumptions made when estimating liabilities when long-term
assumptions are employed. Assumptions are considered long-term
assumptions if the underlying event about which the assumption is made
will not occur for five years or more. Examples of some of the
activities within the scope of the standard include employee pensions,
other retirement benefits (ORB), other post-employment benefits (OPEB),
including veterans compensation; environmental cleanup obligations;
guarantees other than loan guarantees, for example, pension guarantees;
insurance obligations; and contingent liabilities for which the
confirming event is five years or more in the future. The proposal also
requires a new note disclosure, amends guidance for selecting a discount
rate, and provides guidance on the valuation date for liabilities. The
FASAB is seeking public comment on this exposure draft for consideration
at its February meeting and subsequent meetings.
GASB Issues New
Standard for Endowments
 The
Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) has issued a new standard
related to the reporting of land and other real estate investments by
endowments. Prior to the issuance of GASB Statement No. 52, Land and
Other Real Estate Held as Investments by Endowments, accounting
standards required permanent and term endowments, including permanent
funds, to report land and other real estate held as investments at
historical cost, while other entities that exist for the purpose of
generating income—such as pension plans—report them at fair value.
Statement 52 requires permanent and term endowments, including permanent
funds, to report these assets at fair value. Governments also are
required to report the changes in fair value as investment income and to
disclose the methods and significant assumptions employed to determine
fair value, and other information that they currently present for other
investments reported at fair value. It is effective for periods after
June 15, 2008, with earlier application encouraged.
Read the news release on Statement 52 by clicking on the link dated
Nov. 21, 2007. Statement 52 (product code GS52) can be ordered through
the GASB’s order department at 800.748.0659 or
online.
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