Highlights
Training
Opportunities
Looking
for a Job?
Join the GASB Board
Members at AGA's Performance Management Conference
All seven members of the Governmental
Accounting Standards Board (GASB) will attend AGA’s Second
National Performance Management Conference (PMC) as moderators and
speakers. 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. Share your thoughts with GASB members about using
performance measurement in government. Let them hear directly from you
as they look to the future of performance measurement on their December
agenda. The conference theme is, “Integrating Measurement with
Management: Making the Connection,” and it offers 16 CPE
hours.
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. Register
today.
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.
|
October 16, 2006 • News from the Profession
Spam: It's not just a
canned meat product anymore. To make sure you continue to
receive our e-mails optimally and in your inbox (not sent to bulk or
junk folders), please add agawebmaster@agacgfm.org to your
address book or safe sender list.
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's FMSB Weighs in
on FASAB Proposal
AGA's Financial Management Standards Board (FMSB) sent a Comment
Letter to the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB) Oct.
12 on its recent Exposure Draft of a proposed Interpretation titled,
Items Held for Remanufacture. The FMSB wrote that the proposal
did not appear to offer clarification to the existing standards. Read the entire letter.
Advocacy Group Puts
Federal Spending Search Tool Online
Tuesday marked the launch of a new federal spending search
website, designed to provide simple, one-stop visibility into most
contracts and grants issued by federal agencies. The search tool was built by
advocacy group OMB Watch. It includes many of the functionalities that
Congress ordered the federal government to develop under the Federal
Funding Accountability and Transparency Act, which President Bush
signed into law last month. "When you buy something at the store,
you get a receipt," said OMB Watch director Gary Bass.
"FedSpending.org is that receipt for government spending—we
can examine it and see just what kind of deal we're getting." The
new search tool mostly provides easier access to data that already is
available through the government's central contract and grant
databases. FedSpending uses data from the Federal Procurement Data
System on contracts, and information from the Federal Assistance Award
Data System on grants, direct payments and loans. —Jenny Mandel,
Government Executive. Read the entire article.
Report: Young Work
Force Is 'Ill-Prepared'
As the baby boom generation slowly exits the U.S. workplace, a
new report says the incoming generation is sorely lacking in much
needed workplace skills—both basic academic and more advanced
"applied" skills. The report is based on a detailed survey of
431 human resource officials conducted in April and May 2006. Its
objective was to examine employers' views on the readiness of new
entrants to the U.S. work force—recently hired graduates from
high schools, two-year colleges or technical schools, and four-year
colleges. "The future work force is here, and it is
ill-prepared," concludes the report. Employers expect young people
to arrive with a core set of basic knowledge and the ability to apply
their skills in the workplace, but the reality is not matching the
expectation. Business leaders report that while the three
"R's" are still fundamental to every employee's ability to do
the job, applied skills such as teamwork, critical thinking and
communication are essential for success at work.
—SmartPros. Read the entire
article.
Governor Stresses Need
to Communicate Performance
Measuring performance is important for improving the way
government works, but it’s equally vital to communicate that
performance to citizens. That was the message to public officials
gathered for Governing’s Managing Performance 2006
conference held in Austin Oct. 5. ”It’s not enough to have
performance measures; you have to show people what you’re
doing,” said Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire. Citizens need to
know the actual impact their tax dollars are making, and governments
must become more adept at measuring results and sharing them with the
public, she said. Gregoire discussed some of the approaches that have
worked in Washington State. When she first came into office in 2005,
she said, she conducted a series of listening tours to gauge what
government services were the most important to citizens. At each of the
meetings, which regularly attracted over 400 participants, Gregoire
focused on two questions: What are your top priorities for state
spending? And what would tell you that the state is succeeding in those
priorities? Those meetings helped inform and influence the development
of a perforeance management system that Gregoire put in place in
mid-2005. The Government Management Accountability and Performance plan
(GMAP) helps the state determine whether it’s meeting its goals
and the goals of its citizens. —Zach Patton,
Governing.com. Read the entire
article.
OMB Paper Aims to
Clear Up Bush's Management Agenda
As federal employees understand all too well, it's sometimes hard
to sort out myth and fact in Washington. The White House budget office
has posted a paper that, from its perspective, tried to
set the record straight on the President's Management Agenda for the
government. Among the paper's points:
• Changes to the federal personnel systems are not intended
to cut payroll expenses.
• Additional money has been proposed for training and
implementation of new personnel systems.
• Projected savings from job competitions between federal
employees and contractors, often in dispute, will be tracked and
verified.
• Program assessment ratings, conducted by the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB), are not used to eliminate federal programs
that are out of favor with the administration. —Stephen Barr,
The Washington Post. Read the entire article.
The Best, and Worst,
State Tax Climates for Business
When it comes to gaining or losing jobs, the U.S. Department of
Labor reports the most mass job relocations occur between U.S. states,
rather than jobs moving out of the country entirely. As a result, it is
vital that businesses, lawmakers and even citizens understand how their
state’s business climate and environment compare with others,
both regionally and nationally. A state’s business climate is
built on taxes. The 2007 edition of
the State Business Tax Climate Index (SBTCI), released by the Tax
Foundation, is designed to measure the competitiveness of each
state’s tax system. The SBTCI places more than 100 variables into
five component indexes measuring different sectors of the state's tax
climate and calculates the state's total score based on the scores of
the component indices. Based upon these calculations, the five states
having the best tax climate (from No. 1 to 5) are: Wyoming, South
Dakota, Alaska, Nevada and Florida. The worst tax climate can be found
in Rhode Island, followed by Ohio, New Jersey, New York
and Vermont. —AccountingWEB. Read the
article.
GASB Issues Statement
48
 At the end
of September, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) issued
Statement No. 48, Sales and Pledges of Receivables and Future
Revenues and Intra-Entity Transfers of Assets and Future Revenues.
The Statement establishes criteria that governments will use to
ascertain whether certain transactions should be regarded as a sale or
a collateralized borrowing. It applies to transactions such as the sale
of delinquent taxes, certain mortgages, student loans, or future
revenues such as those arising from tobacco settlement agreements. The
Statement also includes a provision that stipulates that governments
should not revalue assets that are transferred between financial
reporting entity components. Statement 48 can be ordered from the GASB website, which also includes a
complete news release and a plain-language article about the new
standards.
New Speaker
Added to Nov. 8 Yellow Book Audio Conference
AGA, in conjunction with NASACT and
ALGA, is pleased to announce that Stephen L. Morgan, CGFM,
City Auditor, City of Austin, Texas, will add his expertise to
this new and significant audio conference addressing the upcoming
revisions to the Government Auditing Standards, commonly known as the
Yellow Book, set for 2 – 3:50 p.m. EST on Nov. 8. To discuss the
major changes and interpretation of the Government Auditing Standards
is AGA Past National President Jeffrey C. Steinhoff,
CGFM, Managing Director, Financial Management and Assurance,
U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO); Jeanette M.
Franzel, CGFM, Director, Financial Management and Assurance,
GAO; and Marcia B. Buchanan, CGFM, Assistant Director,
Financial Management and Assurance, GAO. Cost is $249 per site if you
register by November 3; $299 thereafter.
Attendance is unlimited.
Time
Running Out to Submit Nominations for Leadership Awards
Government financial managers from all three levels of government, and
the private sector, will be honored with leadership awards at AGA's
National Leadership Conference, but first, we need nominations from
you! Who do you know who has demonstrated outstanding leadership that
led to improved government services and operations? Nominate your
candidates for AGA’s leadership
awards today. All nominations must be submitted electronically to
Rosanna Ortiz by Friday,
October 27, 2006.
|
