AGA TOPICS Newsletter

KPMG Makes Huge Commitment to Certification 

What do you get when you combine 32 senior KPMG professionals with three study guides and a two-day customized course, followed by three examinations in one day? Thirty new CGFMs and one champagne reception.

“It was a very exciting day,” said Cindi O'Connor, director of KPMG LLP’s Public Sector Government Practice. “As the day progressed and we discovered a high number of people were continually passing the exams, an impromptu champagne reception was scheduled for everyone following the third exam.”

March 1 was the culmination of a significant effort by KPMG to further credential its audit staff in the intricacies of government financial management. O’Connor distributed AGA’s CGFM study materials to the group of audit partners, managers and senior staff several weeks before bringing the customized two-day intensive review course to KPMG’s Washington, D.C., office. The day after the course ended, the three CGFM examinations were offered at 8 a.m., noon and 3:30 p.m. In addition to this effort, KPMG held a six-day Government Financial Manager training program for its advisory staff.

Audit partner Michael Lippert, CGFM, said having so many CGFMs on staff helps KPMG stand apart in the ever-changing government environment. “Having the ‘bench strength’ to go to market is half the battle to being a successful client service firm,” he said.  “Professionals who are well rounded with significant experience tend to more easily recognize organizational problems and can better provide practical solutions.”

Additional comments from some of KPMG’s new CGFMs:

Tess Pasaoa, manager: “Most individuals I talked to said that the two-day course was extremely beneficial and key to helping them pass. Also, Hal Steinberg was a great, experienced instructor who was able to share many examples and related stories aside from helping us pass the exams.”

Dan Olden, senior manager: “It’s been a good number of years since I passed the CPA exam; good to know I still have test anxiety!”

Allen Devine, senior associate: “I certainly didn’t finish any exam thinking I had passed easily. Getting the results immediately was welcomed.”

Rod Filliben, partner: “I thought the exam was very comprehensive and covered many different subjects. Even though the exams were multiple choice, I found that I needed most of the allotted time to complete the exam and review the questions I was not positive about. I thought the computer-aided exam was user-friendly and I liked the ability to mark a question in yellow so that I knew which question to come back and review again. Also, the clock countdown and question summary screen to see how many questions were left were useful tools.”

Robin Valentine, senior manager: “I believe it was a useful course because it built upon my existing understanding of the government accounting environment. Overall, it provided me with a different perspective, which I enjoyed learning.”

Orinda Basha, senior manager: “By doing some of the model exercises, I was afraid that the test would focus on trivial things, such as use of words, which one could easily misread. However, I noticed it was much more substantial than I had expected.”

Andrew Lewis, senior manager: “The exam was a fair measurement of people’s ability to speak on a wide variety of public sector accounting and auditing matters.”

Carl Patton, senior manager: “The course was extremely helpful and helped us to focus on the most important matters. The materials provided the details needed to reinforce the classroom instructions. I am glad I did it!”

With 30 new CGFMs on staff, Diane Dudley, CGFM, partner and the firm’s federal audit sector leader, is pleased her firm can offer clients tangible proof of experience in a broad range of governmental organizational structures and accounting standards. “The federal marketplace recognizes the CGFM designation as a mark of quality and experience,” said Dudley, an AGA Past National Treasurer. “The marketplace also expects KPMG to deploy experienced government audit and accounting professionals on every assignment. Having professionals with the CGFM designation is clearly a market differentiator.”

Other KPMG professionals who passed the three CGFM Examinations:

• C. Dawn Beatty, senior associate
• Daniel D'Anglada, senior associate
• Heather Koppe Flanagan, partner
• Timothy Garneski, senior associate
• James Gould, manager
• Elizabeth L. Hacquard, partner
• James P. Hauer III, senior associate
• Pamela L. Hughet, senior associate
• Jula Jefferson, senior manager
• Hakeem A. Khwaja, manager
• Charles Kozlik, senior associate
• Christen E. Kozlik, manager
• Julie Lau, manager
• Kerrey K. Moran, manager
• Corbin Neiberline, senior manager
• Johnny E. Ramsey, manager
• Sudammi Ranasinghe, senior manager
• Michelle Robertson, manager
• Gregory W. Schuster, senior associate
• Helen J. Singer, senior associate
• Theo Tackie-Yarboi, manager
• Jessica Wong, manager

Congratulations KPMG!