AGA TOPICS Newsletter

CGFM Profile: Kathleen Kimmel

Kathleen Kimmel was paging through a brochure of classes offered by Management Concepts, when she came across a description of AGA’s Government Financial Management training series.

Kimmel, an auditor with Virginia’s Auditor of Public Accounts, was looking for some “nuts and bolts” training because her governmental accounting class in college was too theoretical. When she read the course description for AGA’s three classes, she thought, “Whoa, this applies to everything I do.”

As a Reporting and Standards Team specialist working with local governments, Kimmel reviews Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports (CAFRs) and conducts quality control reviews by checking the documentation of the local CPA firms that do the local government audits.

Kimmel took the three courses in Washington, D.C. over a few months. Her instructor, AGA Past National President Mitch Laine, CGFM, got high praise. “I’m a recent, nontraditional college graduate, so I appreciate a good instructor, and Mitch is a good instructor.” The classes were interactive, with information and discussions stuffed into every minute.

She decided to go a step further and take the three CGFM Examinations. After each course, she used the study materials to review the information for the corresponding exam, taking the review quizzes at the end of each chapter. She received her CGFM credential in August, which earned her a bonus from her employer.

“It has given me a better appreciation for the big picture,” she said. “When you’re new to working in the governmental environment it’s such a strange animal compared to public sector accounting.”

Kimmel, who is also a CPA, worked for a CPA firm during tax season while she was completing her degree. That stint convinced her that government auditing was more to her liking. She began working for the Auditor of Public Accounts soon after graduation.

“I would absolutely recommend it,” Kimmel said of her CGFM experience. She said her office hires a lot of people right out of college who could benefit from the first course at least. “It’s an excellent series just to get people into the right frame of mind working in the governmental environment. I will recommend it always, it’s a good thing.”