AGA TOPICS Newsletter

CGFM Profile: Rosy Moore, CGFM, CPA, CPFO, CEBS

Austin Chapter member Rosy Moore is using her experience in earning the CGFM certification to help other AGA members pass the three exams.

She served as a regional CGFM coordinator, helped bring one of the CGFM training courses to Austin last year and helps in other ways. Moore, who is not only a CGFM but a CPA, CPFO (Certified Public Finance Officer) and CEBS (Certified Employee Benefit Specialist) clearly believes in the value of certification. In fact, she was preparing for her CPFO while she was part-way through the process of earning her CGFM, an experience she wouldn’t want to repeat. “Concentrate on one certification at a time,” she said, “I was trying to do too much.”

But she took on the CGFM because she felt that government finance managers needed a certification they could call their own—a credential that showed they had knowledge, skills and experience in government accounting and auditing. “I think it reflects that you are dedicated and committed to your profession,” she said, referring to the rigorous continuing professional education requirements to maintain the CGFM. “It’s a designation that shows you care for your job.”

Moore is the Financial Reporting and Investment Accounting Manager for the Employees Retirement System of Texas, where keeping abreast of the latest rules, regulations and pronouncements from standard-setters is a top concern. Her office prepares the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, oversees the automation of new accounting systems, reconciles hundreds of investment trade settlements and develops reports required for investment accounting. “It’s kept me busy for 22 years,” she said.

To pass the three CGFM Exams last summer, Moore used every studying method available. She took AGA’s online training for the first exam, Governmental Environment. She attended the three-day training course that she helped bring to Austin to prepare for the second exam, Governmental Accounting, Financial Reporting and Budgeting. She backed up her course work with AGA’s study guide, which was the foundation for a small study group that formed within the Austin chapter. For Exam 3, Governmental Financial Management and Control, she took the training class in San Antonio and again used the study guide.

Moore advises CGFM candidates to schedule the exams soon after the training courses. “If you take the training in May, schedule your exam in June so you’ll review your notes and it’s all still fresh in your mind. If you’re self-studying, have a study group. But the first thing you need to do is schedule the exam and then start studying for it. If you don’t schedule it, it doesn’t happen.”

Moore said the exams were a challenge. “You’re not going to pass them just because you work for government. You have to study.” The federal government information, which included budgeting and appropriations, was particularly difficult for her, she said. “It put things in perspective, and now I’m up on things that are happening in FASAB (Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board), whereas before I was just keeping track of GASB (Governmental Accounting Standards Board, which deals with state and local government standards).” Keeping up-to-date on standards throughout all levels of government is important, she said. “If it doesn’t affect us now, it will in the future. It gave me a big-picture view of things.”

The CGFM also paid off in another way: “I got a bonus in pay this year, I’m sure it was because I had earned the CGFM designation.” Her employer paid for some of the training, which was supplemented by two scholarships she received from the Austin Chapter to take Course 3, for which she is very thankful.

Her office is deeply involved with AGA’s Austin Chapter. One staff member is secretary, another is education chair, another is treasurer and Moore is vice president.

Moore touts the CGFM often. “I like to encourage people,” she said. “I’ve been a manager for a long time so I try to give my people the tools to do their jobs better, so I’m very oriented to providing the education, providing the tools, encouraging people to study together and helping them out. That’s what I wanted to do by being involved with AGA.”