AGA TOPICS Newsletter
AGA
Reinvigorates Academy for Government Accountability
Many longtime
AGA members will remember AGA’s Education and Research Foundation.
Incorporated in 1979, the foundation was established “to contribute
to the improvement of education in the field of federal, state and
local government accounting, auditing, budgeting and financial
management.” The foundation provided educational events, scholarship
awards and small research projects in the mid-1990s. In 1999 the
foundation informally changed its name to the Academy for Government
Accountability to oversee AGA’s education and research programs.
Newfound
interest in the Academy bloomed again last year. A presentation at
the September 2005 National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting was
made by AGA National President Sam McCall, CGFM, Sridhar Ramamoorti,
Ph.D., a member of AGA's Chicago Chapter, and AGA Executive Director
Relmond Van Daniker, DBA, CPA. They introduced a revised mission
statement that more accurately reflects the future of the Academy.
The NEC approved the revised mission: to forge relationships among
government, business and academia to support research and education
initiatives and advance thought leadership in bringing transparency
and accountability in government financial management. The NEC also
appointed Ramamoorti to chair the Academy’s Board of Trustees for
one year.
A task force,
chaired by Wendy Comes, CGFM, executive director of the Federal
Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB) was also established to
review Academy progress. Ramamoorti, a partner with Grant Thornton,
has developed Academy bylaws, which will be reviewed by the task
force with final approval by the NEC in February. The affairs of the
Academy are to be managed by a Board of Trustees. One trustee will
be appointed by, and will act as a representative of, the NEC. The
AGA executive director and legal counsel will also participate as
ex-officio, non-voting members of the Board of Trustees. Individuals
are invited to participate on the Board of Trustees with final
approval by the NEC. Stay tuned for more information on the Academy
in TOPICS and on the AGA website. Staff liaison to the
Academy will be AGA Director of Education Eveanna Barry. For more
information about the Academy, please contact her at
ebarry@agacgfm.org.