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Don't Miss AGA's PDC 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!
Walk-ins welcome!
• Register online until June 14
• Print
registration form to send by fax/mail (Adobe PDF)
• Visit
the conference website
Audio Conference Scheduled for June
14
Governmental Accounting Standards Board
(GASB) Statement No. 44, Economic Condition Reporting: The
Statistical Section—an amendment of NCGA Statement 1, is the
subject of an audio conference set for June 14.
NASACT, in conjunction with AGA, the
Association of Local Government Auditors (A.L.G.A.) and the National
Association of College and University Business Officers, are sponsoring
this audio conference, worth 2 CPE hours. GASB Statement No. 44 is the
first update in 25 years of the standards guiding the preparation of
the statistical section of a CAFR.
Join us from 2 – 3:50 p.m. EDT on June
14. Speakers are Dean Mead, GASB Project Manager;
Eric Berman, Deputy Comptroller, Commonwealth of
Massachusetts; Anne Fritz, Finance Manager, Westlake,
Ohio; a representative from the National Association of College and
University Business Officers; and Dan Bonnette,
Deloitte.
Visit the NASACT
website for registration information.
Emerging Issues at FASAB, GASB
AGA, in conjunction with NASACT and
A.L.G.A., are sponsoring an August audio conference, worth 2 CPE hours,
addressing "Accounting Concepts and Emerging Issues at the FASAB
and GASB." Speakers are David Mosso, who will be
concluding his 10-year term as chairperson of FASAB at the end of 2006,
Tom Allen, former chairperson of GASB and
Mosso’s planned successor at FASAB, and Robert
Attmore, current chairperson at GASB.
Join us from 2 – 3:50 p.m. EDT
Aug. 2. Cost is $249 per site if you register on or before
Friday, July 28, 2006 and $299 thereafter. Register online. |
June
5, 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
Instant Criticism for Cuts to
Anti-Terror Funding in D.C., New York
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday
slashed anti-terrorism money for Washington and New York, part of an
immediately controversial decision to reduce grant funds for major
urban areas in the Northeast while providing more to mid-size cities
from Jacksonville to Sacramento. The announcement that the two cities
targeted on Sept. 11, 2001, would suffer 40 percent reductions in urban
security funds prompted outrage from lawmakers and local officials in
both areas, who questioned the wisdom of cutting funds so deeply for
cities widely recognized as prime terrorist targets. The decision came
less than five months after Homeland Security Secretary Michael
Chertoff unveiled changes in the grants plan intended to focus funding
on areas facing the gravest risk of attack. Potential targets outside
the Northeast also took painful hits, including New Orleans, San Diego
and Phoenix. Homeland Security's grant programs have drawn criticism
from cities both large and small; many have felt slighted by what they
maintained was a haphazard and unfair distribution plan. —Dan
Eggen and Mary Beth Sheridan, The Washington Post. Read the entire article.
States Urging Hurricane Preparedness in
Dramatic Fashion
Convinced that tough tactics are
needed, officials in hurricane-prone states are trumpeting dire
warnings about the storm season, preaching self-reliance and prodding
the public to prepare early and well. Cities are circulating
storm-preparation checklists, counties are holding hurricane
expositions at shopping malls and states are dangling carrots like free
home inspections and tax-free storm supplies in hopes of conquering
complacency. But the main strategy, it seems, is to scare the
multitudes of people who emergency officials say remain blasé
even after last year's record-breaking storm season. This
save-yourselves approach comes after government agencies were
overwhelmed by pleas for help after last year's storms and strongly
criticized as not responding swiftly or thoroughly enough to the public
need. Now, officials have said repeatedly, only the elderly, the poor
and the disabled should count on the government to help them escape a
hurricane or endure its immediate aftermath. —Abby Goodnough,
The New York Times. Read the entire article.
TOPICS is Brought to You by AGA Corporate
Partner
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provider of ethics hotlines for nearly 25 years. Using award-winning
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The Network operates EthicsLine, the official hotline of the
Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. Click here for a free copy of the
ACFE "How Fraud Hurts You & Your Government Organization"
CD.
Comments Requested on Financial
Management Consolidation
The General Services Administration and
the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) are seeking input on draft
guidelines designed to sort out unanswered questions about streamlining
financial management systems across government. The effort is part of
the OMB-initiated lines of business project, aimed at moving agencies'
back-office information technology systems in several areas, including
financial management, to a handful of designated federal entities or
private sector providers. The concept is that shared-service providers
could present more efficient alternatives to in-house systems.
—Daniel Pulliam, Government Executive. Read the entire article.
Wisconsin Taxpayer
List Scares up Millions
Wisconsin's Internet list of tax scofflaws has been credited with
generating $9.7 million in additional tax collections or promises to
pay in the first five months of the experiment in public shaming. State
Department of Revenue officials had cautiously estimated that the
Internet posting of total unpaid taxes, assessments and interest owed
by businesses and individuals would bring in only $1.5 million more a
year, so they were pleased that the actual amount was much higher. The
$9.7 million is only a fraction of the $12 billion in state taxes that
will be collected this year, but is a step toward tax fairness, said
Meredith Helgerson, spokeswoman for the state Department of Revenue.
Wisconsin's program started in January and is patterned after programs
in other states, which also compile a "Top 100" list of
scofflaws, their names and last known addresses. —Steven Walters,
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Read the
entire article.
AGA Today is Brought to You by
 Federal Contract Management Master Certificate
program starts June 11.
Provided through eTraining Solutions Distance Learning from the
University of Alabama in Huntsville Professional Development. Learn to
understand the government procurement system including FAR, proposal
preparation, negotiation, legalities, and financial issues. Boost your
confidence in dealing with the complex and newest issues in the world
of government contracting. For detailed program information visit www.e-trainingsolutions.net
or email ann@e-trainingsolutions.net.
FASAB Releases Proposal on Reporting
Asbestos Cleanup Costs
The Federal Accounting Standards
Advisory Board (FASAB) is seeking comments by June 30 on Technical
Bulletin 2006-1, which is intended to clarify the required reporting of
liabilities and related expenses arising from cleanups due to asbestos.
If adopted, federal entities should estimate both friable and
nonfriable asbestos-related cleanup costs and recognize a liability and
related expenses for those costs that are both probable and reasonably
estimable, consistent with the current guidance. Also, federal entities
should disclose information related to friable and nonfriable
asbestos-related cleanup costs that are probable, but not reasonably
estimable, in a note to the financial statements. If adopted, the
proposed technical bulletin would be effective for periods beginning
after September 30, 2008. Copies of the exposure draft are available on
the FASAB website.
GASB to Hold
Public Hearing at AGA's PDC in San Diego
 The
Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) has set a public hearing
for June 21 at AGA's 55th Annual Professional Development Conference
& Exposition in San Diego. The topic of the hearing is the
GASB’s Preliminary Views (PV) document, Accounting and
Financial Reporting for Derivatives. Each individual or
organization will be allotted 20-40 minutes, including 10 minutes to
summarize or elaborate on written comments and the remaining time to
answer questions from the GASB members and staff. Persons or
organizations interested in testifying should notify the GASB in
writing no later than June 9. Written comments on the PV should be
submitted to the GASB in advance of the hearing by each person or
organization participating. The notice of intent and written comments
should be addressed to: Director of Research and Technical Activities,
Project No. 26–4P, and sent by email to director@gasb.org or by mail to
GASB, 401 Merritt 7, P.O. Box 5116, Norwalk, CT 06856-5116. The hearing
is open to the public and observers are welcome.
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!
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. |
