Highlights
CPE Opportunities
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AGA to Survey Members – Help Us to Help You
As part of our ongoing effort to ensure that your AGA membership is as
valuable as possible, a Member Needs Assessment Survey will be launched in
May. This survey will be administered and tabulated by Industry Insights,
Inc., an independent research firm. The 15-minute survey will provide AGA
with valuable information about your interests and needs, and what you are
looking for in a professional association. Your confidential surveys will go
directly to Industry Insights, which will report responses in composite
only. So, watch for your invitation to take the survey. Together we can
bring the Association to even greater heights!
See You
in San Diego!
Make plans now to attend AGA’s 55th Annual Professional Development
Conference & Exposition (PDC). With the theme “Navigating the Way to
Citizen-Centered Government,” the PDC will provide technical training,
emerging trend snapshots and leadership secrets from the best in the
business. Register today and secure your place at the government financial
management education event of the year!
•
Register online
•
Print registration form to send by fax/mail (Adobe PDF)
•
Visit the conference website
Register Early and Save for May 10 Audio Conference on Performance Auditing
In the wake of government and corporate frauds and scandals, accountability
professionals conducting performance audits of government programs and
operations are under the microscope. What are the barriers to planning,
conducting and reporting audit and program evaluation results that will lead
to positive changes in government operations? To discuss these issues at all
government levels is Drummond Kahn, Director of Audit
Services, City of Portland, OR; Jerry Barber, Assistant
Comptroller, New York State Office of the State Comptroller; and Pam
Tumler, Senior Analyst, U.S. Government Accountability Office,
Denver, CO. They will be speaking at a May 10 audio conference, “Performance
Auditing: Planning, Conducting and Reporting Results in Today’s
Environment.” AGA, in conjunction with NASACT and NALGA, is offering the
audio conference, worth 2 CPE hours, at 2 - 3:50 p.m. EDT May 10. Cost is
$249 per site (unlimited attendance) if you register on or before
May 5, 2006, and $299 afterward.
Register online. If you have any
questions regarding registration, please contact
Maria Lucas Questions regarding the program content should be directed
to Raymond Harris.
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April 24, 2006 • News from the Profession
AGA Today is Brought to You by AGA Corporate Partner Clifton Gunderson
 Clifton
Gunderson's DC office is 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
Walker Paints Grim Picture of Nation's Financial Future
 More
than 100 AGA Corporate Partners and members gathered in Washington, D.C.,
last week to hear Comptroller General of the United States David M. Walker,
CPA, discuss the financial challenges facing the federal government now and
in the future. "As the chief accountability officer for the federal
government, I am very concerned about where we are and where we are going,”
Walker said at AGA’s Meet the Financial Management Policy-Makers breakfast
April 19. AGA Executive Director Relmond Van Daniker, DBA, CPA, moderated
the discussion at the National Press Club. —Jennifer I. Curtin, MPA.
Read the entire article and see pictures of the event.
FMSB Weighs in on GASB Medicare Proposal
AGA’s Financial Management Standards Board (FMSB) has commented on a
proposed Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) Technical Bulletin
on Accounting and Financial Reporting by Employers and OPEB Plans for
Payments from the Federal Government Pursuant to the Provisions of Medicare
Part D. “The FMSB generally agrees with the proposed provisions and
thinks that the Technical Bulletin will be helpful to preparers of financial
statements since it provides necessary and appropriate guidance to
governments and OPEB plans regarding the financial reporting issues related
to receipts of Medicare Part D payments,” Chair Russell Hinton, CGFM, wrote.
Read the entire letter.
AGA Today is Brought to You by Data Management Group  Free
White Paper—Establishing the connection between detailed daily
activities, desired high-level outcomes, and budgets is one of the biggest
challenges facing management in the public sector today. Read about strategy
management in the public sector. Call Data Management Group for assistance
in bringing your Budget and Performance Integration goals in line with the
GRPA and the President's Management Agenda. Call 888.394.1664 or visit us
online at
datamanagementgroup.com.
Audits Find Massive Waste in Katrina Response
Nearly
eight months after Hurricane Katrina triggered the nation's largest housing
crisis since the Second World War, a hastily improvised $10 billion effort
by the federal government has produced vast sums of waste and misspent
funds, an array of government audits and outside analysts have concluded. As
the Federal Emergency Management Agency wraps up the initial phase of its
temporary housing program—ending reliance on cruise ships and hotels for
people sent fleeing by the Aug. 29 storm—the toll of false starts and missed
opportunities appears likely to top $1 billion and perhaps much more,
according to a series of after-action studies and Department of Homeland
Security reports. —Spencer S. Hsu, The Washington Post.
Read the entire article.
Report: States Need Better Guidance on Improper Payments
Both states and federal agencies would benefit from enhanced guidance to
reduce mistaken payments in federally funded, state-administered programs,
government auditors said in a recent report. The Government Accountability
Office report (GAO-06-347) on federal and state coordination in estimating
erroneous payments also found that few agencies used incentives or penalties
to prompt state cooperation in meeting reporting obligations under the 2002
Improper Payments Information Act. GAO auditors conducted a survey of state
officials responsible for programs with large federal funding components,
obtaining comments from more than 200 officials involved with 25 federal
programs. Almost half of respondents indicated that greater guidance from
the Office of Management and Budget and the federal agencies providing them
with funding would be needed if they were to play a larger role in meeting
Improper Payments Information Act obligations, and some said additional
money would be necessary. —Jenny Mandel, Government Executive.
Read the entire article. Federal
Accounting Corner
Pro-Forma
Transaction Formats
Treasury's
Standard General Ledger (SGL) condenses a lot of information into a small
space. One of the problems with deciding how to format a pro forma
transaction is that every accounting system has its own way of loading
posting models and what is convenient for one system is convoluted for
another. —Simcha Kuritzky, CGFM, CPA.
Read the entire column.
Half of CFOs in Survey Reimburse for CPEs
As demand
intensifies for skilled accountants, some companies are pulling out all the
stops to recruit top candidates. But a recent survey by Robert Half Finance
& Accounting shows many firms may be overlooking an attractive benefit:
education. Fifty percent of chief financial officers polled said their
organizations do not reimburse staff for the continuing education units
required to maintain their professional certifications. Full reimbursement
was offered by 29 percent and partial reimbursement was given by 17 percent.
"Companies that support continuing education signal they are committed to
the professional development of their staff, which could give these firms an
edge in their recruitment and retention efforts," said Max Messmer, chairman
and CEO of Robert Half International Inc. "While education benefits rarely
are the sole criterion for accepting a position, they can tip the scales in
an employer's favor in a competitive hiring environment." —SmartPros.
Read the entire article. Biggest
Worry for New Orleans is Money
When John Kallenborn sits down with a group of bankers to talk about a big
loan he's trying to put together, he is usually 99 percent certain that he's
got a deal by the time he leaves the room. But when the New Orleans
president of Chase Bank walked into New Orleans City Hall on April 6,
Kallenborn knew he was facing a much tougher room. Though he had talked his
bosses into lending the city $50 million, Kallenborn wasn't sure any of the
other 10 lenders at the meeting would be willing to take a piece of the
city's proposed $150 million debt placement. "We think there is more than a
50 or 60 percent chance, but we're not at our usual 99 percent just because
of what has happened to the city," said Kallenborn, who remains the only
banker who has committed to helping the city through its current financial
crisis. It's not hard to understand why other banks are skittish about doing
business with New Orleans: city government will run out of money next month
without another major infusion of cash. — Jeffrey Meitrodt, The Times
Picayune.
Read the entire article.
Bill Would Require Reporting Unfunded Federal Liabilities
With state and local governments scrambling to meet the Government
Accounting Standards Board’s (GASB) amended rules for reporting on
postretirement benefits, and private and public companies getting ready for
compliance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (FASB) proposed
statement on recording pension liabilities, a congressman from Indiana has
introduced legislation that would require the federal government to meet a
similar standard. The Truth in Accounting Act, sponsored by Rep. Chris
Chocola (R-Ind) and co-sponsored by Reps. Jim Cooper (D-Tenn) and Mark Kirk
(R – Ill), would require the federal government to accurately report the
nation’s unfunded long-term liabilities, including Social Security and
Medicare, a debt that amounts to $43 trillion dollars, during the next 75
years, Chocola says. —AccountingWeb.
Read the entire article. States
Chart Their Own Foreign Policy
Maine may not have a seat at the United Nations, but its state lawmakers are
dealing with Caracas, Havana and Khartoum as if those foreign capitals were
nearby Boston. In the past few months, Maine Gov. John Baldacci (D) has
engineered a controversial oil deal with Venezuela, met with maligned Cuban
dictator Fidel Castro and supported an effort to divest state funds from
Sudan to protest human rights violations there. States increasingly are
becoming more assertive on the international stage. For example, more than
30 states now export goods to Cuba despite tight U.S. trade restrictions.
Organizations in eight states brokered deals to import heating oil for the
poor this winter from Venezuela, despite strained relations between the
White House and Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. Three states—Illinois, New
Jersey and Oregon—passed laws to divest state funds from companies with
interests in war-scarred Sudan. Foreign-policy experts warn that some state
policies—such as friendly ties between state capitals and Venezuela and
Cuba—could undermine federal power abroad. —Mark K. Matthews, Stateline.org.
Read the entire article. GASB
Approves Proposed Standards for Derivatives
 At
its April meeting, the GASB voted unanimously to issue proposed standards on
accounting and financial reporting for derivatives. The proposal will be
published in the form of a Preliminary Views document and will be available
to download free from the GASB website by
the end of April. For more information,
read the news release announcing the decision.
Interested in the CGFM Certification?
Sign up for AGA's special Intensive Review Course and take the CGFM
Examinations in June in San Diego.
Don't miss this opportunity to earn your CGFM!
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