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Performance Auditing Focus of Next Audio Conference
AGA, in conjunction with the National Association of State Auditors,
Comptrollers and Treasurers (NASACT) and the Association of Local
Government Auditors (ALGA), is pleased to announce a new audio
conference addressing Risk Assessments for Performance Auditing, set for
2-3:50 p.m. EDT Sept. 14, 2006. The audio conference, worth 2 CPE hours,
is designed to help participants understand how a risk-based audit
approach can be an important tool for evaluating program compliance,
economy, efficiency and
effectiveness. Speakers are
Beth Ashcroft, MBA, CIA, Director of the Office of Program
Evaluation and Government Accountability for the State of Maine, and
Gerald Silva, CGFM, CPA, City Auditor for the City of San Jose,
CA. Cost is $249 per site if you register
before Sept. 8.
Register Now for AGA's Internal
Control & Fraud Conference
Join us in Atlanta for AGA’s First National Internal Control &
Fraud Conference, to be held September 25-26, 2006, at the Hyatt Regency
Atlanta Hotel. The theme is, "Fraud Prevention and Detection: The Newest
Tools and Techniques." AGA has brought together the best in the
business: Matthew A. Jadacki, CGFM, CPA, Special
Inspector General for Gulf Coast Hurricane Recovery, Comptroller General
of the United States
David M. Walker, CPA, Arthur A. Hayes Jr., JD, MBA, CGFM, CPA, CFE,
Director, Division of State Audit, Comptroller of the Treasury, State of
Tennessee; inspectors general from several federal agencies and more.
Register now and secure your place at AGA’s newest
educational and networking event!
SAS No. 112: Impact on
Auditors and Preparers
NASACT, in conjunction with AGA and ALGA, is pleased to announce an
audio conference on AICPA Statement on Auditing Standards No. 112, which
establishes standards and provides guidance on communicating matters
related to an entity’s internal control over financial reporting
identified in an audit of financial statements. The audio conference,
worth 2 CPE hours, is set for 2 – 3:50 p.m. EDT on Oct. 19. Speakers are
Randy Roberts, Director of Professional Practices, Office of
the Auditor General, state of Arizona, and
Arizona State Comptroller Clark
Partridge.
Cost is $249 if you register before Oct. 13.
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August 21, 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
Number of CPAs at Standstill, Even as
Need Grows
The number of Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) is at a standstill—from
639,628 in 2003 to just 646,520 in 2006—an increase of a little over 1
percent, according to data from the National Association of State Boards
of Accountancy (NASBA). At the same time, the need for accounting
professionals is greater than ever, thanks to Sarbanes-Oxley and other
changing financial laws and regulations passed in the last few years.
The pass rate for each of the four parts is roughly 43 percent, which is
a 10 percent rise since 2004, when the exam became computerized and more
user-friendly by separating the sections and providing windows of time
for each part. So, the problem is that candidates are simply not taking
the exam. —AccountingEducation.com.
Read the entire story.
Municipalities Struggle to
Understand New Accounting Guidelines
New rules requiring that state and local governments disclose their
future health benefits costs could wreak havoc on public employees,
municipal budgets and, eventually, all Oregon residents. Issued by the
Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB), the new rules will
require local governments to determine how much they'll pay for future
benefits, then book that figure on their balance sheet as liabilities,
which can affect how investors evaluate balance sheets. The rules don't
require the governments to stockpile money to pay off the liabilities,
but jurisdictions that don't do so or take other preventive actions
could face lower credit ratings. Excessive liabilities often hint at
long-term financial challenges. The move could affect health benefits
for some workers, especially early public employee retirees. The rules
could also impact governmental budgets, thereby slashing public
services. And if credit ratings are lowered because of the new
disclosures, bond issuers may think twice before allotting money for
large-scale municipal projects. —Andy Giegerich, Portland Business
Journal. Read the entire article.
AGA Today is Brought to You by the U.S.
Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General
 Supervisor Auditor (Project Manager), GS-0511-14 or
Management & Program Analysis Officer, GS-0343-14,
Washington, DC – Salary Range $91,407 - $118,828
DOT OIG seeks a dynamic individual with excellent
skills in planning, conducting and communicating results of Federal
acquisition program audits. Download announcements I-06-71 or I-06-72 at
following Internet website: www.usajobs.opm.gov or at www.oig.dot.gov, or call 202-366-1490 to request a mail
copy. All applications must be received no later than
c.o.b. 09-14-06.
Federal Accounting Corner
Recording Continuing Resolutions – an Update
A year ago I wrote a column explaining that the
SGL guidance for continuing resolutions (transaction A104) said not to
post cash and equity, but the definition for 1010 Fund Balance with
Treasury said that it should be posted for a continuing resolution. In
addition, a Treasury edit requires that proprietary cash match budgetary
cash, including continuing resolutions, but there is another edit
requiring proprietary cash to match what is in Treasury's own system,
which is not updated for continuing resolutions. Treasury's SGL Board
has now resolved this problem. —Simcha Kuritzky, CGFM, CPA. Read the entire column.
Closing the Book on
the Board
Taxpayers in Brookhaven, NY, are outraged by their local school
district's inappropriate spending of millions of dollars. The William
Floyd School District, home to 11,000 students, 1,500 employees and an
operating budget of $165 million, recently underwent an audit that
revealed $6.4 million dollars in misappropriation spending. The audit
began in April 2005 after Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota
made a request to review the financial spending in the district. The
investigation began in spring 2004 after suspicions of financial
wrongdoings surfaced, according to the New York State Comptroller Alan
Hevesi. Since then, five officials in the district have been arrested
and former Treasurer James Wright and Assistant Superintendent for
Business Daniel Cifonelli have pleaded guilty to stealing nearly $1.5
million. — Nicole Cosentino, Long Island Press. Read the entire article.
Note: Hear from the auditors who uncovered
wrongdoing in New York school districts at AGA's First National Internal
Control & Fraud Conference.
A Fight Against Terrorism—and
Disorganization
Early this summer, a new strategy for combating terrorism, described by
its authors as "revolutionary" in concept, arrived on President Bush's
desk. The highly classified National Implementation Plan for the first
time set government-wide goals and assigned responsibility for achieving
them to specific departments and agencies. Written by officials at the
National Counterterrorism Center, under a directive signed by the
president last winter, the 160-page plan aspires to achieve what has
eluded the Bush administration in the five years since the Sept. 11,
2001, attacks: bringing order and direction to the fight against
terrorism. The federal government has undergone an unprecedented
expansion and reorganization since the attacks. Yet the counterterrorism
infrastructure that resulted has become so immense and unwieldy that
many looking at it from the outside, and even some on the inside, have
trouble understanding how it works or how much safer it has made the
country. —Karen DeYoung, The Washington Post. Read the entire article.
GASB Has Its Own Performance
Measures
 Contrary to popular belief, the Governmental Accounting Standards
Board (GASB) does not spend every waking hour setting standards. In
fact, a considerable amount of the staff’s time is spent helping its
constituents to understand and implement its standards, as well as to
comprehend the information that results from those standards. Through
the publication of implementation guides and plain-English guides to
financial statements for non-accountants, the writing of articles, and
presentations at conferences and seminars across the country, the GASB
works hard to fulfill the portion of its mission devoted to educating
the public. The GASB staff also spends a lot of time answering the phone
and responding to emails as our constituents pose questions to us
regarding the standards. Several years ago the GASB created a portal on
its website to make it easier for the public to submit what we refer to
as “technical inquiries.” Part of the GASB’s strategic plan aims to
“respond to technical inquiries on a timely basis.” Toward that end, we
have been publishing performance measures for the past year on our
website. The measures report on the timeliness of our responses and
the satisfaction of our constituents with our efforts to answer their
questions. Measures for the first half of 2006 have recently been posted to
the site. If you have any questions about these measures, our technical
inquiry activities or our strategic plan, contact Dean Mead, GASB project manager. —GASB.
Attention State, Local Governments: Make Plans
for AGA’s PMC
Join us for AGA’s Second National Performance
Management Conference (PMC)—a one-of-a kind event focusing on state and
local government performance reporting. The PMC, set for Oct. 30-31 in
Schaumburg, IL, will bring together state and local government
professionals to share in education, networking and recognition of
government entities that have been honored with AGA’s Certificate of
Achievement in SEA Reporting. The theme is, “Integrating Measurement
with Management: Making the Connection,” and it offers 14 CPE hours.
Make a connection with SEA award winners!
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