Highlights
Training
Opportunities
Looking for a Job?
Dealing with Ethical
Dilemmas Focus
of May 9 Audio Conference
AGA, in conjunction with the National Association of State Auditors,
Comptrollers and Treasurers (NASACT), and the Association of Local
Government Auditors (ALGA), is pleased to announce a new audio
conference addressing ethical challenges and dilemmas in today’s
work environment. This audio conference, set for 2 – 3:50 p.m.
EDT May 9 and worth 2 CPE hours, will explore how the power and scope
of today’s advancing technology can leverage ethical decisions
and other ethical challenges that may impact your career and
organization. Topics will include ethical risk taking, working within
your organization, handling ethical dilemmas and managing your
workplace ethics, as well as provide you with practical approaches for
these workplace situations. To discuss the ethics challenge are two
industry experts: Alan Goodman, Master Trainer for the
Institute for Global Ethics, and Leon Young, Associate
Professor at the University of Maryland University College. Cost is
$249 per site (unlimited attendance) if you register on or before
Friday, May 4, 2007. and $299 thereafter.
View the audio conference schedule.
Take the CFO Survey!
AGA is conducting its annual survey of federal financial
management leaders. What are your top priorities for government
financial management? Do you have an opinion on the value of federal
annual financial reports? What worries you the most about the future of
government financial management? Your answers to these and other
questions are an important part of the 2007 AGA survey of federal
managers. Already, we have collected the opinions of top federal CFOs,
deputy CFOs and other executives. Add your ideas to theirs for a
complete picture of what is wrong and right about federal financial
management—and what leaders should do to improve it. Participate in this
online survey. AGA’s annual surveys of the federal financial
management community are anonymous—neither AGA nor its survey
partner Grant Thornton LLP can identify individual respondents to the
online questionnaire.
Get to Know Your AGA Corporate
Partner
For more than two decades,
George Group has created an unsurpassed record of
successful partnerships with government agencies and Global 1000
companies. We combine strategic insight with powerful execution through
our unique methods of Lean Six Sigma, Fast Innovation, Conquering
Complexity and Prime Value Chain Analysis to help clients achieve rapid
and sustainable enhancement in their performance.
George Group is focused on getting results
for our clients—real, verifiable results—in record time.
Further, we create the essential capability and cultural transformation
for our clients to achieve and sustain those results. www.georgegroup.com.
Chapter News— Chapter Recognition
Don't forget—final Chapter Recognition Program credits
are due April 30. Questions? Contact Jessica Jones.
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Volume 47: Issue 8, April 23,
2007
TOPICS is Brought
to You by AGA Corporate Partner 
Grant Thornton Global Public Sector delivers
financial, technology and performance management solutions to federal,
state and local government clients, and international organizations.
Call us to see if we can help your agency manage its resources more
efficiently and effectively at 703.637.2750.
Member-Get-A-Member Campaign's Final Week to
Recruit and Win!
 There’s still time to Reach for the
Stars, as part of AGA’s member-get-a-member campaign! So
far, 381 members have reached out and recruited 810 AGA members this
program year. To count in this year’s recruitment campaign, all
new member applications must be received at the National Office by
April 30.
This year we have put a special emphasis on
recruiting the stars—we call them early career and
tomorrow’s professionals—individuals just starting out in
their careers, with fewer than three years of experience. Finding and
developing AGA leaders of tomorrow is so very important to AGA’s
future as well as to the future of our profession!
Congratulations to James J. Kennedy,
CGFM, President-Elect of the Central Ohio Chapter, who won
free roundtrip airfare and registration to AGA’s 2007
Professional Development Conference! James was one of nine members who
recruited 10 or more members by March 31. Each of the nine were entered
into a fishbowl drawing for this prize.
There are still other prizes available, so be sure
to reach out and recruit in the final week of the 2006-2007
member-get-a-member campaign, Reach for the Stars! Find out
more about the campaign.
Top Sponsors and AGA Dollars Earned as of March 31.
President Hart Organizes
Volunteer Trip to New Orleans
National President Jeff Hart, CGFM, and Capital
Region Vice President Karl Boettcher, CGFM, are
organizing a trip to New Orleans to offer support to victims of
Hurricane Katrina as they continue to put their lives back together.
While visiting the New Orleans and Baton Rouge Chapters in March,
Jeff got a first-hand view of the devastation that remains in East New
Orleans and the Ninth Ward and how many people remain homeless or
living in trailers 18 months after Katrina. (For more details, see Jeff’s April 9 TOPICS column where he first
announced this project).
AGA members, their families and friends are encouraged to join Jeff,
Karl, Past National President Charles Harrison, CGFM,
and hopefully many others for a day, a weekend or the whole week
beginning Monday morning June 4 and ending Saturday night June 9. Read more.
TOPICS is Brought to You by AGA Corporate
Partner Graduate School, USDA
 Keep up with changes
in government auditing. The GAO has just released its 2007
Revision of the Government Auditing Standards (“Yellow
Book”), which goes into effect on January 1, 2008. The Graduate
School is on top of things! Our course Government
Auditing Standards: Review and Update covers the ins and outs
of this new revision. We can even tailor this course to meet the
needs of your organization and bring it to your location. For more
information about this and other Graduate School, USDA government
accounting courses, call (202) 314-3555 or visit www.grad.usda.gov/gati.
Saddle Up, Dust Off Your Best Pair of Boots
and Get Ready for PDC 2007! 
Staying current with changes in government
financial management is a huge challenge. Let AGA help. With dozens of
educational sessions, social events and exhibitors available, the PDC
is an authoritative source for the knowledge and contacts you need to
succeed in today’s constantly changing environment.
Offering 24 CPE hours, the PDC is a valuable
event for all government finance professionals, whether you are
handling the detail work on the front lines, or managing a team amid
difficult political and financial realities.
Learn about the newest research in the field.
Find out about tools and techniques that have advanced the profession.
Hear dynamic speakers. Meet the top leaders from federal agencies,
state and local governments, the private sector and academia. Take part
in small-group discussions, explore the issues facing the profession
and find some answers.
Don’t miss this opportunity to network
with your peers and learn from the best in the business. Join us in
Nashville, June 24 – 27, 2007, and show your commitment to a more
accountable future—register today!
Register Now & Save! AGA PDC
Early Registration Deadline: May 25
The early registration deadline for PDC 2007 is quickly
approaching. Don't miss your chance to save money by registering in
advance. Register by May 25, 2007 and save. After May 25, fees will
increase to $900 for AGA members and $1,100 for nonmembers.
Registration couldn’t be easier. You
can register online or print the registration form to register by fax or
mail. Advance registration discounts apply to all forms received before
May 25, 2007.
TOPICS is Brought to You by AGA
Corporate Partner Morgan Franklin
 A-123 Invigorated!
You’ve relied on it for years. Yet today’s stewards of
fiscal accountability are forced to accomplish more with less. A
fresh perspective on A-123 is required. Consider this: achieving
A-123 compliance while reducing costs and increasing program
effectiveness must become your standard for success. A-123
Invigorated—Think MorganFranklin. For information on our
Federal solutions call 703-564-7525 x262 or email bill.hughes@morganfranklin.com.
From the National
Office
The Communication Department is pleased
to welcome April Force Pardoe back to the staff as the
part-time Communications Manager. Longtime members will recall that
April was the Association's full-time graphic designer from 1995 to
1998. In her new position, she will assist with the newsletter program,
website maintenance and list management, among other duties. Since she
left AGA, she has worked for an advertising agency and held a number of
event planning positions in the Baltimore area. April and her husband
Rich live in Elkridge, MD, with their two daughters, Abby and Megan.
The staff is pleased to welcome April back to AGA!
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