|
Highlights
Nominations for National
Officers Due October 29
You Are Invited to Accept the Challenge of AGA National and
Regional Leadership— Nominations must be received by Friday, October 29,
2004
AGA’s National Nominating Committee is now accepting
nominations for volunteer leadership positions as
• National President-Elect
• National Treasurer-Elect
• Senior Vice President for Regional Services—Section III
• Senior Vice President At-Large
• Regional Vice Presidents-Elect
Click here for
complete nomination information.
Nominations for Federal and
State & Local Government Leadership Awards
Awards are presented at the National Leadership Conference and
nominations are due October 29, 2004.
Click here to find the Word
documents with the criteria for each award.
Here is the list of awards:
Federal Government Leadership Awards
- Distinguished Federal Leadership Award
- Elmer Staats Award
- Andy Barr Award
State & Local Government
Leadership Awards
- Excellence in Government Leadership Award
- William R. Snodgrass Distinguished Leadership
Award
- Distinguished Local Government Leadership
Award
- Private Sector Financial Excellence Award
All nominations should be
submitted to Rosanna Ortiz, AGA National Awards
Committee staff liaison.
Fax: 703.548.9367
Mail: 2208 Mount Vernon Avenue, Alexandria, VA 22301-1314
Phone: 800.AGA.7211, ext.131
Photos of nominees must accompany nomination packages!
CGFM Exam 3 Study Guide Now
Available!
Be sure to order the
new Study Guide for CGFM Examination 3: Governmental Financial
Management and Control to help in your preparation for the
examination.
Click here to download the order form.
Spotlight on AGA Corporate Partner Optimum Management Systems LLC
Optimum Management Systems (OMS),
LLC is an 8(a) minority/woman-owned business founded in 1998. Our Mission
Statement is "Partnering with Our clients to Implement Solid Business
Solutions." By teaming with federal agencies we can leverage each others
skills in support of their mission.
OMS provides a superior work force of seasoned federal
financial consultants certified by the U.S. Treasury Department in
Accounting and Reporting. Our IT consultants have the rare combination of
firsthand experience with three of the top JFMIP certified financial
applications: Oracle Federal Financials; AMS' Federal Financial System;
and SAP Public Sector, blended with long operational and management
careers in the federal government. We not only know current systems
technology, we know what the federal government requires of it.
David I. Walkinshaw, CGFM
Senior Vice President
924 West Colfax Avenue, Suite 301
Denver, CO 80204
PH: 303.758.7300
FX: 303.758.8230
dwalkinshaw@omsllc.com
www.omsllc.com
 ORDER NOW!
A Primer on Internal Controls and Auditing: Crucial to Government and the
Economy
By: Wanda A. Wallace, Ph.D., CPA, CMA, CIA
Internal control has never been optional, and now an easy-to-read
resource directed to a wide audience is available to understand both what
is meant by "internal control" and how an “audit” is conducted. Click here to
order your copy.
|
|
Volume 43: Issue 20, October
12, 2004
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.
 From the National President
Bobby A. Derrick, CGFM
I would like to bring your attention to two significant events that have
occurred in the last couple of weeks—the CEAR Awards Ceremony and the
formation of the new Columbus, Ohio Chapter. I have been looking forward
to telling you about them. Neither of these events could have been
possible without leadership.
The CEAR Awards Ceremony
On September 15, thanks to the efforts by
our National Office we held our Fifth Annual Certificate of Excellence in
Accountability Reporting (CEAR) Program Awards Ceremony. We celebrated
the success of those federal agencies that were awarded the CEAR. We had
18 federal agencies voluntarily submit their Performance & Accountability
Reports (PAR) to AGA for evaluation under the CEAR Program. For the first
time this year, the award ceremony was conducted as a luncheon at the
National Press Club in downtown Washington D.C. The luncheon was made
possible due to the sponsorship by AGA Professional Corporate Partner
KPMG LLP. AGA created the CEAR Program in 1997 at the request of the
Chief Financial Officers’ Council (CFOC) to foster excellence in
accountability reporting and to recognize those reports that truly “stand
out from the crowd.” Through the program, federal agencies (and their
components and bureaus) submit their PARs to AGA for a rigorous
evaluation. A team of five experts evaluates the report and develops
detailed recommendations for improving its content and structure. The
team then decides whether the report merits the Certificate of Excellence
in Accountability Reporting. Click here to read President Derrick's complete message.
The Causes of Ethical Collapse
in Individuals & Organizations
November 3, 2004 • 2 CPE Hours
NASACT, in conjunction with AGA, the National Association of Local
Government Auditors, and the National Association of College and
University Business Officers, is pleased to announce the latest in its
series of audio conferences addressing timely issues in government
financial management. We look around us in the business world and see the
collapses of Enron and WorldCom. We learn of their accounting frauds and
shake our heads in disbelief and disapproval. Somehow, however,
those of us in government assume we are immune from the pressures of the
markets that the employees in these companies felt. We look down on their
behavior with a confidence that we would never cross the ethical lines
they did in their quests for success. Click here to learn
more.
 Focus on First-Time
CEAR Recipient: Department of Education
The next in a series on first-time recipients
AGA asked first-time CEAR recipients the Department of
Education, the Federal Aviation Administration and the General Services
Administration to tell us about their journey to the CEAR. In this
article documenting the Department of Education's journey, Clare Banwart,
Deputy Director of the Strategic Accountability Service, answers for the
Department.
Please tell us how you first learned of the CEAR
Program and why you believe it is important to participate.
In 2001 the Department of Education
developed a Blueprint for Management Excellence. The
Blueprint included an action item that the Department would submit its
combined performance and accountability report to the Association of
Government Accountants by March 2003. We completed this action with
our submission of our FY 2002 Performance and Accountability Report.
Click here to read the rest of the Education questions and
answers.
 CEAR Program Topic of "The CFO Viewpoint"
The FAA spotlights their receipt of AGA's Certificate of Excellence
in Accountability Reporting in the September 27, 2004 edition of
Federal Times. Ramesh Punwani, CFO, discusses how the award tops off
a series of performance and financial management achievements at the FAA
and reflects a commitment to responsible reporting. Click here to
read this and other articles related to the CEAR Program.
Ninety SEA Program Reviewers
Trained
More than 90 individuals participated in a half-day training event to
prepare them for evaluating state and local government performance
reports. The "Guidelines" document that served as the foundation for the
training is now publicly available and includes a scoring rubric to help
assess the extent to which the 16 criteria are applied.
Click here to learn more about this pioneering program.
TOPICS is brought to you by AGA
Corporate Partner 
Management Concepts offers courses in
Auditing and Internal Control that help you promote program
accountability.
- Reduce the risk of waste, fraud, and mismanagement
- Develop plans and procedures for organizing program operations
- Achieve organizational goals and objectives
- Overcome performance and management challenges
Click here to find out more. Enroll today!
Improving Government Performance: Financial Managers
Take Center Stage
Make Plans Now to Join Us for AGA’s
Third Annual National Leadership Conference, February 7- 8, 2005, in
Washington, D.C.
Registration is now open. Advance registration
discounts apply to all forms received before January 14, 2005. Click here for more
information.
We look forward to seeing you in Washington!
2005 Conference Marketing Opportunities Are Now
Available
Become an exhibitor, sponsor or advertiser at
AGA's conferences—the ideal time and place to meet key decision-makers!
If you are interested in becoming an advertiser,
exhibitor or sponsor for the 2005 Professional Development Conference &
Exposition or the National Leadership Conference, now is the time to act.
Every year, thousands of government financial management and accountability
professionals make their buying decisions on the Exhibit Hall floor at AGA
conferences and special events. Advertising, exhibiting and sponsoring at
an AGA conference is a great way for your company to promote new products
and services, gain exposure for new programs, show your latest video and
solidify your relationship with the financial management community.
Opportunities exist at every budget level. And, AGA can customize
sponsorship programs to meet your goals.
Click here to learn more about the marketing opportunities
available at upcoming AGA events. For more information, you
may contact Ada Phillips (exhibits & sponsorship) at
aphillips@agacgfm.org or 703.684.6931, ext. 204, or Marie Force
(advertising) at mforce@agacgfm.org or 401.682.2752.
 Attention CGFMs: Are
you Keeping Proper Backup Documentation on your CPE Activities?
CGFMs need to maintain documentation to
substantiate their statements of completed CPE for a minimum of three
years. This documentation may be requested by AGA as part of a CPE audit or
a reactivation process. The proper backup documentation must clearly state
your attendance or completion of the CPE activity. Examples of such
documentation include: a certificate of attendance or completion, a
certificate of CPE hours earned, a grade report or an official letter from
the event sponsor or your employer stating that you have attended the
event. The documentation must also include the following information:
- sponsoring organization,
- location of the activity,
- title of the program,
- your name,
- completion date (or dates attended), and
- number of CPE hours earned.
Click here for
more information on CGFM CPE requirements. From the National Office
AGA's Public Affairs Manager and Webmaster, Jennifer I. Curtin, MPA, recently
relocated from Greenville, SC to Salisbury, MD. As a result, please be
sure to update your "Rolodex" to her new contact information: 724C
Riverside Road, Salisbury, MD 21801, 410.430.1785. |