Highlights
CPE Opportunities
Take the CGFM Intensive Review Course and the CGFM Examinations at the PDC. Click here for more information.
PDC 2005 Registration Brochure Now Online
Join us for AGA’s 54th Annual Professional Development Conference & Exposition, to be held July 10 – 13, 2005 in Orlando, FL. The PDC promises to be an excellent learning and networking opportunity for government financial managers and accountability professionals. Education sessions will provide technical training, emerging trends and lessons from the best in the business. The conference offers unparalleled opportunities to make valuable professional contacts, discuss challenges, discover creative solutions and access the latest tools you need to become more effective.
To download the brochure, click here. Or, if you prefer, you can view the education sessions on our website by clicking here.
Don’t miss this educational, fun and sun-filled event. Click here to register.
Audio Conference Set for May 25: Payment Card Industry Security—New Requirements, New Responsibilities
NASACT, in conjunction with AGA and the National Association of Local Government Auditors, is pleased to announce an audio conference on the new payment card industry security requirements, set fot 2- 3:50 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time May 25. Speakers include a representative from Visa (invited), Nick Carter, vice president, Information Technology, Link2Gov Corporation; Mike Irwin, director of sales, Link2Gov Corporation; Jeff Gardner, EVP Operations, Link2Gov Corporation; Pam Callier, program manager, Dynamics Research Corporation; and Cynthia Most, senior security analyst, Dynamics Research Corporation. The session offers 2 CPE hours for $249 per site (UNLIMITED ATTENDANCE) if you register on or before Friday, May 20; $299 thereafter. Click here to register. If you have any questions, please call NASACT at 859.276.1147 or support@nasact.org.
Click here to view the schedule of upcoming audio conferences.
Studying for the CGFM Examinations?
Be sure to order one of the study guides available for CGFM Exams 2 and 3 to help you prepare. Click here to learn more.
AGA Advertising Opportunities!
Advertise in AGA's electronic newsletters—TOPICS and AGA Today! Get maximum exposure and build your brand. Click here for all the information you need to run your ad! Or, you can contact AGA's Director of Communications, Marie Force. |
May 16, 2005 • 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
AGA Hosts Successful A-123 Expo
On Monday, May 9, more than 400 federal agency financial managers gathered at the Washington Court Hotel to share their experiences in implementing the Office of Management and Budget's (OMB) revised Circular A-123 and to learn more about OMB’s planned implementation guide. The Expo was led by James L. Taylor, deputy chief financial officer, U.S. Department of Commerce, and David M. Zavada, CPA, chief, Financial Standards and Grants Branch, OMB, with participation from others in the federal financial management community. AGA’s Director of Professional Certification Peter Aliferis, CGFM, was the introductory speaker and AGA’s Executive Director, Relmond Van Daniker, DBA, CPA, provided the closing address. AGA’s A-123 Expo is an excellent example of how the Association provides a bridge between the private sector and the federal government. OMB Circular No. A-123 defines management's responsibility for internal control in federal agencies. A re-examination of the existing internal control requirements for federal agencies was initiated in light of the new internal control requirements for publicly traded companies contained in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Circular A-123 and the statute it implements, the Federal Managers’ Financial Integrity Act of 1982, are at the center of the existing federal requirements to improve internal control. Click here to read more about the Expo.
States Compete for Innovation Awards
Four innovative state programs including Iowa's attempt to cut bureaucratic red tape and Washington’s budgeting solution are competing for the Oscars of government prizes. The state-run programs are among 18 finalists competing for an award for the most innovative initiatives in American government. The awards are given annually by the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard University 's John F. Kennedy School of Government in conjunction with the Council for Excellence in Government. Iowa 's Charter Agencies allow government divisions to have more power over all procurement and decisions about information technology if they agree to be held accountable for producing measurable results. Agencies either must cut spending or generate new revenue to earn administrative flexibility. Washington's budgeting method, called Priorities of Government, relies on teams of public and private-sector executives who prioritize funding choices based on what citizens need most. "The Met," short for Metropolitan Regional Career and Technical Center, is a state-funded Providence, R.I., high school that builds individualized curriculum around each student's needs. School-based learning is combined with internships and adult mentors in the community. Vermont 's Housing and Conservation Board supports the development of affordable housing while conserving natural areas and historic properties. —Kathleen Murphy, Stateline.org. Click here for more information.
Click here for links to the nominated programs.
Firms Say Associations Help Careers Take Off
Companies value employees who not only have the technical expertise required for their jobs but also exhibit a commitment to their profession. Eighty-six percent of hiring managers surveyed recently cited involvement in industry or trade associations as beneficial to an employee's career. The national poll includes responses from 150 senior executives—including those from human resources, finance and marketing departments—with the nation's 1,000 largest companies. It was conducted by an independent research firm and developed by Accountemps. Executives were asked, "In general, how beneficial is involvement in industry or professional associations to an employee's career?"
Their responses:
Very beneficial: 25 percent
Somewhat beneficial: 61 percent
Not very beneficial: 13 percent
Not at all beneficial: 1 percent
"Companies value employees who proactively seek opportunities to develop their skills and expertise," said Max Messmer, chairman of Accountemps. "Participation in professional associations is an effective way to learn of new industry developments and network with others in the field." —SmartPros. Click here to read the entire article.
EPA Leads Government Pack on Website Management
In February 2000, investigators from the U.S. General Accounting Office (now the Government Accountability Office, GAO) announced that the security measures on the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) website were so permeable that hackers had set up their own chat room on the agency's servers. The EPA, embarrassed and concerned that the announcement would make the site a target for new attacks, pulled the plug on its Internet site, leaving the agency without a home page (or e-mail capacity) for several days. Many of the agency's Web-based services took weeks to repair. Five years later, the EPA is at the forefront of a new initiative to improve oversight of government agency websites, creating centralized management structures and practices to replace the decade-old model in which division managers construct their own pages and post whatever information they see fit. Former Administrator Michael Leavitt (now secretary of Health and Human Services) created new governance principles for management of the website and established a "Web Council"—a group of senior managers from every office and region within the EPA—to overhaul the site. The council, which met for the first time this month, includes a content manager and an infrastructure manager in each branch of the agency; they are responsible for developing procedures and standards for the site and overseeing and organizing the content. The EPA is part of the leading edge of agencies trying to establish more coherent management practices for their websites, said Bev Godwin, director of First Gov.gov, the federal government's central Internet portal. "There is definitely a movement in government, and everybody is trying to improve their websites so that they are the best in the world," Godwin said. — Paul Singer, National Journal. Click here to read the entire article.
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Boom Times For Federal Contractors
In an ornate hall across the street from the White House, newly minted Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff recently stood before an audience of 400 business executives and asked for help. "We don't have the expertise in this department, even across the government, to get into very specific solutions for some of the challenges we face. You have that expertise," Chertoff said. The private sector, he repeated again and again in his address at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, must be the government's "partner" in pioneering products and services to keep Americans safe. When he finished, the executives applauded heartily. But Chertoff wasn't telling them anything they didn't already know. If industry leaders want a reminder that the government is turning to them more than ever for assistance, all they have to do is look at their latest earnings reports. Double-digit profit gains and record revenue were commonplace last quarter for firms that specialize in serving the government, a trend largely fueled by ramped-up demand for outsourced technology services in areas such as defense, intelligence and homeland security. "It's a good time to be a government contractor," said Ray J. Oleson, chief executive of Reston-based SI International Inc., an information technology supplier whose first-quarter profit was up 37 percent from a year earlier. "In 10 years, we'll be calling these the good old days." — Griff Witte, The Washington Post. Click here to read the entire article.
Governors Oppose Measure to Tighten ID Requirements
The Real ID Act, which the Senate approved last week, would make it more difficult for illegal immigrants to obtain identification that the federal government will recognize when they try to board an airplane, fill out tax forms or open a bank account. But the measure would affect U.S. citizens as well. Americans would need an authentic copy of their birth certificate to apply for a new driver's license or renew an old one. The certificates must be verified at the counter by a Department of Motor Vehicles agent, along with other identification, such as Social Security numbers and utility bills. Governors, legislatures and officials in motor vehicle departments oppose the act, saying it would lead to agonizingly long lines at DMV offices. States would not be required to comply with the legislation, which President Bush is expected to sign, but their residents would pay a price if they did not. They probably would be turned away when they tried to enter airport gates, unless they had other identification, such as a passport. —Darryl Fears, The Washington Post. Click here to read the entire article.
Senator Recognized for Improving Government Efficiency
A Washington-based nonprofit organization recognized Sen. George Voinovich, R-OH, for his leadership in the public sector last Monday. The Partnership for Public Service, which merged with the Private Sector Council in 2004, celebrated the joint venture at a dinner for hundreds who work in, or with, the federal government. A short video, which Voinovich joked resembled old campaign advertisements, featured OMB Deputy Director Clay Johnson, GAO Chief David Walker and Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, heralding Voinovich's virtues. Akaka called him "the human capital champion of the Senate." —Kimberly Palmer, Government Executive. Click here to read the entire article.
Justice: Financial Systems to Blame for Reporting Problems
Top Justice Department officials blamed their agency's financial reporting problems largely on the fact that multiple systems control disparate parts of the department's financial data. Paul R. Corts, Justice's chief financial officer, and Glenn A. Fine, inspector general, told a House Government Reform subcommittee that seven different systems currently hold financial data and that plans for a unified system are under way. Corts said, however, that the unified system could not be implemented without additional funding from Congress. Justice did not receive a clean audit for its fiscal 2004 statements, and its 2003 clean audit was rescinded based on new information uncovered during 2004. The Office of Justice Programs, which administers grants, received the lowest audit grade, which affected the rest of the department. — Kimberly Palmer, Government Executive. Click here to read the entire article.
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 GASB Approves Technical Plan
The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) has approved its technical plan for May through August 2005. In the second four months of 2005, the board plans to issue for comment an Exposure Draft on sales and pledges of receivables and future revenues, is scheduled to issue a final Statement related to termination benefits, and plans to clear for issuance two staff-prepared Implementation Guides—one on postemployment benefits other than pensions and one updating the Comprehensive Implementation Guide. During that period, the board also plans to continue to deliberate issues related to its conceptual framework project addressing elements of financial statements, as well as projects on derivatives and on fund balance reporting. In addition, the comment period on the Preliminary Views document, Accounting and Financial Reporting for Pollution Remediation Obligations, will conclude on June 24, and the Board plans to hold a public hearing on that proposal on June 29. Click here to read a complete update on GASB's current agenda projects and more information on the pollution remediation proposal.
GASB Member Honored for Work on Performance Measures
GASB member Richard C. Tracy, an at-large AGA member, has been named the recipient of the 2005 Harry Hatry Distinguished Performance Measurement Practice Award from the American Society for Public Administration. The annual award is presented to an individual whose outstanding teaching, education, training and consultation in performance measurement have made a significant contribution to the practice of public administration and who has spent the primary part of his career in public service. Tracy was appointed to the GASB in 1999. He served as director of audits for the city of Portland, OR, from 1983 until his retirement earlier this year. Prior to 1983, he was an audit manager for the California State Auditor’s Office. Tracy served as chair of the Advisory Council on Governmental Auditing Standards for GAO. Tracy is vice chair of the technical committee for AGA's upcoming National Performance Management Conference in Portland, OR. Click here to find out more about the conference.—GASB.
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