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U.S. Rep. Tom Davis Headlines Next CPAG Breakfast
AGA and its Corporate Partner Advisory Group invite government executives to a complimentary leadership breakfast at 7:30 a.m. March 1, featuring a discussion with Virginia Congressman Tom Davis, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Register today, space is limited.
Last Week to Register Early for Feb. 28 Audio Conference, Aessessing Risk and Controls
AGA, in conjunction with the National Association of State Auditors,
Comptrollers and Treasurers (NASACT) and the Association of Local Government
Auditors (ALGA), is sponsoring an audio conference worth 2 CPE hours, addressing risk and internal control issues. Speakers include Frank
W. Crawford, CPA, president, Crawford & Associates, P.C., Certified Public Accountants, and chair, AICPA Government Expert Panel and
Oklahoma Society of CPAs Government Accounting and Auditing Committee; and Arthur A. Hayes, CGFM, CPA, CFE, director, Division of State Audit, Office of the Comptroller of the Treasury, State of Tennessee, who has chaired and served on various committees and task forces for AGA, GFOA, Southeastern Intergovernmental
Audit Forum and AICPA. Join us from 2 – 3:50 p.m. EST, Feb. 28 for a lively, open discussion. Cost is $249 per site (unlimited attendance) before Feb. 23, and $299 thereafter. Register online. Visit the AGA website for the audio conference schedule.
National Award Nominations Due
AGA’s National Awards Committee is now accepting nominations for our 12 National Awards that recognize the leaders advancing our profession and setting the standards of excellence:
- Robert W. King Memorial Award
- Einhorn-Gary Award
- Frank Greathouse Distinguished Leadership Award
- Achievement of the Year Award
- Educator Award
- Cornelius E. Tierney/Ernst & Young Research Award
- International Achievement Award NEW
- Emerging Leader Award of Excellence NEW
- Chapter Service Award
- Chapter Education Award
- Chapter CGFM Award NEW
- Community Service Award
These awards will be presented during AGA's Professional Development Conference and Exposition in Nashville, TN June 25-27, 2007. In many cases, individuals do not have to be members of AGA to be eligible. All nomination forms are due no later than Friday, March 2, 2007. For more information contact Rosanna Ortiz.
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February 20, 2007• 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
 NLC Highlights Government Success Stories, Challenges
More than 600 leaders in all three levels of government and the private sector gathered in Washington, D.C. last Monday and Tuesday for AGA's Fifth Annual National Leadership Conference. Educational sessions included discussions on combating terrorist financing, challenges among federal chief financial officers, leadership at the Internal Revenue Service, the massive federal deficit and much more. See photos and read a recap of sessions from Monday and Tuesday. If you attended the conference, please give us your feedback.
Mass. May Take Over Underperforming Local Pension Funds
Commonwealth of Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick is proposing a tough new mandate for the state's cities and towns: If your pension system isn't performing, we're taking the money and investing it ourselves. As part of a municipal relief package, approximately one-third of the state's 107 public pension funds would be forced to turn over nearly $5 billion in assets for investment by the state. Those funds, which include the system overseen by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, have earned lower returns than the state's pension fund over the past five years and contain less than 80 percent of the money necessary to cover their pension obligations. Many of the funds invest pensions collectively for several cities and towns. The proposal, which would encroach on an often jealously guarded function of local government, must be approved by the Legislature, which has cast doubt recently on another aspect of Patrick's municipal agenda, his proposal to allow cities and towns to impose a small local meals tax on restaurants. An effort to take control of the pension funds could spark criticism from local government officials, who have put their hope in Patrick after years of depressed local aid and increasing property taxes. —Lisa Wangsness, The Boston Globe. Read the entire article.
AGA Today is Brought to You by AGA Corporate Partner
The Graduate School, USDA
 Enhance your financial management intern and developmental programs.
The Graduate School, USDA provides professional training and educational services to financial managers. If your agency has a professional development program for financial management staff, we can help you ensure a richer developmental experience with our extensive curriculum of basic, intermediate and advanced courses. We also offer customized development services to help you design a new program that meets your unique requirements.
For more information about our programs, call (888) 744-GRAD or visit www.grad.usda.gov.
Federal Accounting Corner: Parsimonious Accounting Codes
In an attempt to reduce the need for customization, the Financial Systems Integration Office (FSIO) of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) recently released an exposure draft on a Common Governmentwide Accounting Classification (CGAC) system. The current GCAC proposal accepts without question that all FACTS codes are necessary. If we are really serious about meaningful standardization, we need to take a hard look at what codes we have and if they really are needed. —Simcha Kuritzky, CGFM, CPA. Read the entire column.
GAO: D.C. Procurement System Needs Major Reform
The District of Columbia's procurement practices are riddled with loopholes that undermine effective oversight, despite reforms enacted in 1997, according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) study released last week. The district's procurement law does not apply to all procurement authorities and does not allow the chief procurement officer (CPO) to effectively oversee all agencies, GAO found. The system creates the risk that some companies could become preferred contractors and inflate costs. Washington, D.C.'s system provides broad authority for sole-source contracting and sets high dollar-value thresholds for small purchases not subject to competition, GAO found. The CPO is particularly hamstrung under the district's laws, according to GAO. Agencies can conduct procurements independently of the CPO, and as of 2003, the officer no longer has sole authority to suspend or debar companies from Washington, D.C., contracts. GAO recommends that the district’s mayor submit a new procurement reform plan to Congress for approval. —Michael Hardy, Federal Computer Week. Read the entire article.
IRS Chief Cites Progress Toward Closing Tax Gap
Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Mark Everson told the Senate Budget Committee Wednesday that the agency is making progress to close the $345 billion gap between taxes that are owed and what the agency collects. Senate Budget Chairman Kent Conrad, D-N.D., expressed some consternation that the administration's proposals for closing the so-called tax gap would collect only a fraction of billions owed by individuals, small businesses and corporations. "I commended you for what you've done, but let's deal with reality," Conrad said. "Tax avoidance is growing dramatically." He noted that the estimated $20 billion that could be recovered is less than 1 percent of the $2.4 trillion the IRS collects annually, and he lamented the slow progress. —Kate Schuler, CongressDaily. Read the entire article.
Errors Leave L.A. School Workers Without Paychecks
Contrite Los Angeles Unified School District officials expressed regrets to district employees last Tuesday for problems with a new payroll system that have resulted in errors on thousands of paychecks. "Let me apologize officially for this failure," said Supt. David L. Brewer, addressing the scores of district employees who protested the pay issues at a school board meeting. "There is no excuse for it. I apologize to anyone who has been hurt by this." Charles Burbridge, the district's chief financial officer, reiterated previous statements by senior staff that the complicated transfer from an antiquated computer system to the new one had been an overall success in a public agency with more than 90,000 employees. He described, however, how subpar training for timekeepers and their supervisors, insufficient staffing and technology glitches led to serious snafus during the first pay period under the new system. —Joel Rubin, Los Angeles Times. Read the entire article.
FASAB Establishes Fiscal Sustainability Task Force
 Tom L. Allen, chairman of the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB), announced the formation of a new task to develop recommendations for reporting on the fiscal sustainability of the federal governments policies. One of FASAB's federal financial reporting objectives-the stewardship objective-includes enabling readers to determine whether future budgetary resources will likely be sufficient to sustain public services and to meet obligations as they come due. Allen noted that meeting the stewardship objective will require non-traditional approaches that complement and enrich information from balance sheets and operating statements. —FASAB. Read the entire news release.
Social Insurance: Call for Public Comment and Public Hearing
The fiscal sustainability effort follows closely behind a current FASAB project to address Accounting for Social Insurance. In October 2006, the board released a Preliminary Views document presenting two perspectives regarding appropriate liability recognition for obligations arising in social insurance programs, which are key programs such as Social Security and Medicare. In addition, the Preliminary Views document includes an alternative view proposing to require a Statement of Fiscal Sustainability for the government's consolidated financial report that would provide projections for the entire government, including information necessary to assess the sustainability of social insurance programs and information on intergenerational equity. Comments are due April 16, 2007. In addition, the board plans to hold a public hearing on the Preliminary Views document at the May 23, 2007 FASAB meeting.
AGA Accepting Scholarship Applications
Are you or a family member pursuing undergraduate or graduate studies in disciplines such as accounting, auditing, budgeting, economics, finance, information technology, public administration, etc.? If so, consider applying for an AGA National Academic Scholarship today!
Each year, AGA National awards up to four $3,000 full-time merit scholarships to AGA members and their family members; one $1,000 part-time merit scholarships to AGA members and their family members; and one $3,000 community service scholarship.The deadline for receipt of applications is March 30, 2007. Apply now and take full advantage of your AGA membership. Contact Rosanna Ortiz with questions.
AGA Advertising Opportunities!
Advertise in AGA's electronic newsletters—TOPICS and AGA Today! Get maximum exposure and build your brandFind out what's available in an upcoming issue! Click here for all the information you need to run your ad! Or, you can contact AGA's Director of Communications, Marie Force.
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