CGFM TOPICS Newsletter

New PCB Member: Financial Managers an Integral Part of Decision-Making Team

Capt. Larry White, CGFM, CPA, CMA, CFM, believes government finance professionals play a key role in managing their agencies that goes well beyond preparing required financial reports.

It’s not enough to produce reliable and timely accounting information. Government financial managers must do a better job of explaining how program managers can connect accounting data, broader economic and nonfinancial data to make better operational decisions.

White, the newest member of AGA’s Professional Certification Board (PCB), says AGA’s CGFM credential contributes to this goal by helping financial managers see the big picture. The three CGFM Examinations focus not only on the importance of clean financial statements, but a wide range of business issues covering all three levels of government.

“That’s really my primary interest is to make sure accountants look beyond the one view of business, which is captured by the GASB and FASAB accounting standards, and look at the economic reality of the situation.”

Finance professionals bring a certain talent to the table, White said, and that is telling the economic story of the operation. “Finance people tend to look at things from an audit-like point of view, and that is often remote and judgmental. Auditors—no matter how good they are—criticize, and while it has a role, too much doesn’t create a productive, innovative environment.” White, a vocal advocate for the profession, said government financial managers should see themselves as an integral part of the agency team.

White, a captain in the U.S. Coast Guard, has served nearly 30 years in uniform. He is the commanding officer for the USCG Finance Center in Chesapeake, VA, with responsibility for 525 employees and contractors who operate the financial system and provide accounting support for the Coast Guard, Transportation Security Administration and the Federal Air Marshal Service.

He previously served as deputy CFO and Chief of Financial Systems and Policy at USCG headquarters in Washington, D.C., overseeing finance systems, financial statements, audit compliance, finance policy and financial management personnel development.

Long ago, White made a commitment to demonstrating professionalism in government financial management. In the early- to mid-1990s, he earned his CPA and two credentials offered by the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA), the CFM (Certified Financial Manager) and CMA (Certified Management Accountant). He became a CGFM soon after AGA created the program more than 10 years ago.

He has also served on the AICPA National Members in Government Committee and was a member of the AICPA special committee on enhanced business reporting.

White, who was appointed in December to a three-year term on AGA’s board, is committed to raising the visibility of the CGFM and communicating what makes government different (“in a good way”) from the private sector. In his long Coast Guard career, White has worked closely with private industry. “I’m continuously impressed by how well government compares.”

As the former national Chairman of the Board of the IMA, White said the CMA and CFM credentials have a special place in his heart because of their broad business focus, and what he likes about the CGFM is that it is also comprehensive for its industry. Because government is part of the credential’s name, it broadcasts that professionals with the CGFM work in government and have achieved a specialized expertise.

He said, “The CGFM shows two important attributes: an individual's commitment to a career in public service financial management, this counts for a lot even if they have other professional certifications; and secondly, professional certification is a commitment to lifelong professional learning, college degrees are ‘point in time’ events, continuing professional education for a certification is always up to date.”

By: Christina M. Camara