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PARs Due
Dec. 15 for CEAR Program Review
AGA’s CEAR Program helps raise the quality and usefulness of
federal agency performance information through promulgation of
guidelines, training workshops for Performance and Accountability
Report (PAR) preparers and program reviewers, an in-depth peer review
of each PAR, opportunities to serve as reviewers, and an annual
comprehensive compilation of commendable practices, examples of
creativity and practices in need of improvement. Interested in
participating? Click
here to learn more or contact Craig Galloway to reserve a
spot for your agency's PAR.
Computer-Based Auditing Tools & Techniques—A
Special Supplement to the Summer 2005
Journal
Auditors everywhere rely on a
variety of computer-based tools and techniques to get their jobs done.
The supplement will be bagged and mailed along with the Summer 2005
Annual Technology issue of the Journal of Government Financial
Management. Click here for more information.
CGFM Exam 3 Study Guide
Now Available!
Be sure
to order the new Study Guide for CGFM Exam 3: Governmental
Financial Management and Control to help in your preparation for
the examination. Click here to learn
more.
 ORDER NOW!
A Primer on Internal Controls and Auditing: Crucial to Government and
the Economy
By: Wanda A. Wallace, Ph.D., CPA, CMA,
CIA
Internal control has never been optional, and now an easy-to-read
resource directed to a wide audience is available to understand both
what is meant by "internal control" and how an
“audit” is conducted. Click
here to order your copy.
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November 15, 2004
• News from the Profession
AGA Today is brought to
you by AGA Corporate Partner
Deloitte Open House: Deloitte is one
of the nation's leading professional services firms and providers of
Audit, Tax, Financial Advisory and Consulting. We offer solutions that
help our clients maximize opportunities and master their most pressing
challenges. We are hosting an "invitation only"
Employment Open House in
McLean on November 15th.
We are seeking skilled individuals to fill positions at all
levels and across all functions. If you have Assurance, IT Audit,
Internal Audit, Tax, Forensic Accounting, Marketing, Custom Application
Development, Enterprise Portal Integration, IT Strategy, Enterprise
Application (Oracle, SAP or PeopleSoft) or Identity Management
experiences, please forward your resume to centralatlanticrecr
uiting@deloitte.com. Qualified candidates will be sent
invitations.
FMSB Comments on
FASAB’s Guidance on SFFAS 23
 AGA’s
Financial Management Standards Board (FMSB) has commented on the
Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board’s (FASAB) proposed
Guidance for Implementation of SFFAS 23, Eliminating the Category
National Defense Property, Plant, and Equipment Classification of Items
Formerly Considered National Defense PP&E (Proposed Staff
Implementation Guidance 23.1). In an Oct. 28 letter, Chair Russell
W. Hinton, CGFM, wrote that the FMSB agreed with the proposal that
assets recognized under SFFAS 23 “should be categorized based on
currently effective asset definitions in SFFAS 6 and other standards,
and not be limited in classification to general PP&E.” The
letter also said, “It also agrees that any items not properly
classified as general PP&E should be valued in a manner consistent
with the general principles established in SFFAS 23 implementation
guidance and the specific measurement guidance provided for the asset
class.” The FMSB also made suggested changes to three paragraphs
to clarify them. Click
here to read the entire letter.
FASAB Publishes SFFAS
26
FASAB has issued Statement of Federal Accounting Standards 26,
called Presentation of Significant Assumptions for the Statement of
Social Insurance: Amending SFFAS 25. The amendment reclassifies
significant assumptions as basic information rather than as required
supplementary information (RSI). RSI is not part of the basic financial
statements and is usually presented separately. The standard is
effective for periods beginning after Sept. 30, 2004. Click here to read the
entire statement. Click here for
more information on FASAB.
FMSB Comments on Plan for NIAF
AGA’s FMSB has made a number of comments and suggestions on the
draft Strategic Plan for the National Intergovernmental Audit Forum
(NIAF). The FMSB applauded the task force for taking on the task of
developing the forum’s first strategic plan, and gave the forum
four pages of suggestions to improve the draft. Click here to read the entire letter.
FMSB Takes Stance
on GASB Proposal
AGA’s FMSB has sent comments to the
Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) on its proposed
Technical Bulletin, Recognition of Pension and Other
Postemployment Benefit (OPEB) Expenditures/Expense and
Liabilities. In a Nov. 11 letter, the FMSB said that the answers
given in the technical bulletin are generally “consistent with
past standards for modified accrual accounting and for accrual
accounting for pensions and OPEB.” It also offered several
suggestions, including the idea that GASB could include additional
examples of “conversion of unpaid differences to pension- or
OPEB-related debt.” Click here to read the entire letter.
IRS Brings New
Accounting System Online
The IRS has switched on its new Integrated Financial System (IFS) to
handle core accounting, post debits and credits, and manage the budget.
“A lot of the focus of the initial implementation will be with
the chief financial officer’s organization to do their year-end
close and their first monthly financial report cycle,” said
Robert Albicker, deputy associate commissioner of modernization for
systems integration. In September, the IRS began assembling its fiscal
2004 report using the legacy Automated Financial System. After
processing all the necessary transactions, the agency converted data
and production information from the 2004 close and fiscal 2005 start
into IFS so it could complete the end-of-year report and first
month’s statement, both due this month. “We have very
detailed charts that show day by day, hour by hour, what we’ve
had to do from the middle of September until Nov. 10 in order to put
the system into live production,” he said. Beginning next month,
the IRS will use the new system to produce W-2 and 1099 forms for
employees and contractors to accompany 2004 tax returns. —Mary
Mosquera, Government Computer News. Click here to
read more.
GAO Debates New Auditing
Rules
After Congress enacted the 2002 Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the
Government Accountability Office (GAO) was left with a question: Should
it change the standards for government auditors? GAO's Advisory Council
on Government Auditing Standards, a group of auditing experts from the
public and private sectors, met Nov. 8 to debate that proposition. GAO
sets governmentwide auditing standards through the Yellow Book, which
was last updated in 2003, and is considering changes for its next
revision. "It started to look like there was a risk of everyone
going off in their own direction and that would not have been good at
all for the profession," said Jeanette Franzel, director of
Financial Management and Assurance at GAO, Government
Executive reported. Audits, she said, should follow certain
standards, regardless of whether the auditor is examining a publicly
traded company, not-for-profit or government entity. Click here to learn more
about Government Auditing Standards.
Survey Shows Voter
Support of Federal Workers
The majority of American voters believe
the country needs a positive view of the federal government and its
workers, according to a study released Nov. 4 by the Partnership for
Public Service. "The post-election buzz is about values and how
they divide us, but one value that unites Americans is a belief in the
potential of government as an instrument for good," said Max
Stier, president of the Washington-based partnership. "The
majority of American voters say they want our leaders to lay out a
positive vision for improving government, rather than engaging in
bureaucrat bashing." According to the Election Day survey, support
for the government and for federal employees is evenly spread across
party and ideological lines. — David McGlinchey, Government
Executive. Click here to
read more.
OPM Launches Minority
Recruitment Program for SES
The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) today will begin accepting
applications for a special governmentwide recruitment program designed
to broaden opportunities for minorities, women and people with
disabilities to become federal executives. The Senior Executive Service
Federal Candidate Development Program, or Fed CDP, will prepare people
for leadership jobs in government through rotational assignments,
mentoring and performance assessments, OPM said. The Senior Executive
Service (SES), the government's corps of senior managers and technical
experts who oversee day-to-day operations at many agencies, had 7,078
members as of June. Of that total, 14.7 percent were minorities and
26.6 percent were women, according OPM. Gilbert Sandate, chairman of
the Coalition for Fairness for Hispanics in Government, said agencies,
which will bear much of the program's cost, will control which
applicants are selected for training and then promoted into the SES. To
achieve fair representation, he suggested that OPM and the agencies
work together to ensure that minorities serve on screening panels and
that they set goals for minority participation in the program.
—Stephen Barr, The Washington Post. Click here to read more.
Federal Agencies Show
Modest Management Gains
Ten federal agencies earned better grades on this quarter's scorecard
from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) than they earned in the
previous ratings. Under OMB's scorecard, green indicates success,
yellow means mixed results and red means unsatisfactory. Six agencies
improved on at least two measures. The Department of Labor earned green
scores, the highest rating, for its financial performance and
e-government initiatives, both of which were rated yellow, the middle
rating, in the June quarter results. The Department of State went from
yellow to green for its e-government and budget and performance
efforts. The General Services Administration improved from yellow to
green for its competitive sourcing and from red, the lowest rating, to
yellow for its e-government and budget and performance integration
efforts. The quarterly scorecard measures 26 major agencies' progress
on President Bush's five main initiatives: strategic management of
human capital, competitive sourcing, improved financial performance,
expanded electronic government, and budget and performance integration.
—Kimberly Palmer, Government Executive. Click here to
read more.
GASAC Hears Reports on
GASB Fund-Raising Efforts
The Governmental Accounting Standards Advisory Council (GASAC) heard
updates on fund-raising efforts and other projects of the GASB at its
Nov. 5 meeting at the GASB offices in Norwalk, CT. Sharon R. Russell,
CGFM, AGA’s GASAC representative, reported that Steven Getz of
the Financial Accounting Foundation told members that about $120,500
has been raised from 100 cities and seven counties under the Fair Share
Assessment Program. This is compared to $95,500 raised last year from
28 respondents. The Bond Fee Program, another fund-raising effort, has
a goal of raising $1.3 million. Although the Bond Market Association
has contributed $500,000, collections under the program have been slow,
Getz said. In other action, GASB staff announced that work is under way
on a new user guide on note disclosures and supporting information. The
guide is expected to be released by early 2005.
 GASB Sets New Deadline for Intangible
Assets Survey
Technical difficulties have hampered the collection of data through an
online survey on existing practices for reporting intangible assets.
The deadline for completion of the survey, intended to support the
board’s upcoming project on accounting and reporting of
intangible assets, has been extended to Dec. 17, 2004. If your
government or client has intangible assets, please complete the survey
at the GASB’s website. Click here
to complete the survey online. Respondents have the option to
complete the survey online or to print the survey and submit it by
mail.
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