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Highlights
Call for Performance
Reports!
Publicly Reporting Performance
Information in State or Local Government? Reserve Your Space
NOW for participation in the AGA's Certificate of Excellence in the
Service Efforts and Accomplishments (SEA) Reporting Program's
Implementation Phase (October 2004 through February 2005). Limited
space available.
Click here for more information about participating in the SEA
Program.
Reviewing and Improving Performance and Accountability Reports (PARs)
Volunteer reviewers for AGA’s Certificate of Excellence in Accountability
Reporting (CEAR) Program are invited to attend a training session that
provides information and tools to aid reviews and to help identify ways
to improve federal agency Performance and Accountability Reports (PARs).
The session is set for 2 to 4 p.m. Nov. 29 at the 1st Floor Auditorium of
the U.S. Department of Education at 400 Maryland Ave. SW, Washington,
D.C. Event leaders are John Hummel, CGFM, director, Federal Assurance
Practice, KPMG LLP and Chair, CEAR Program Board; and Harold I.
Steinberg, CGFM, technical director, CEAR and SEA Programs. Attendees
will receive two CPE hours in management for their participation. Click here to
download the Reviewer’s Information Guide for the professional experience
prerequisites that apply to CEAR reviewer service. Contact
Craig Galloway at 800.AGA.7211, ext. 212, with questions.
First-Time CEAR Recipients—The
Last in a Series
AGA shines the spotlight on the three agencies that received the
Certificate of Excellence in Accountability Reporting (CEAR) for the
first time this year: the Department of Education, the Federal Aviation
Administration and the General Services Administration (GSA). We asked
staff from the three agencies to tell us what receiving the CEAR meant to
them and how AGA’s program helped performance and accountability
reporting efforts. In this final installment, we hear from Donzell
Jackson, CGFM, division director, Financial Consulting and Analysis
Division, Office of the Chief Financial Officer, at GSA. Read all three
articles in the upcoming issue of the Journal of Government Financial
Management.
 AGA: Please tell us how
you first learned of the CEAR Program and why you believe it is important
to participate.
Donzell Jackson, CGFM, responds on behalf of GSA: GSA
first learned about the CEAR program through AGA and through
communications with the Chief Financial Officers Council.
Click here to
read the rest of the article about GSA's journey to the CEAR.
Spotlight on AGA
Professional Corporate Partner PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
PricewaterhouseCoopers serves the Federal Government through our
Washington Federal Practice (WFP). Drawing upon the national
resources of the firm, WFP leverages commercial best practices in
advisory and assurance services to serve government clients. We
help government agencies, including the Department of Defense, solve
complex business issues, manage risk and add value through our
comprehensive service offerings in financial management, program
management, operations improvement, and security and data management, all
of which are delivered seamlessly through the world.
PricewaterhouseCoopers has a 75-year history of
serving our Federal Government clients with quality and integrity.
Timothy G. Morgan
Partner
1301 K Street, NW, Suite 800W
Washington, D.C. 20005
PH: 202.414.1847
tim.morgan@us.pwcglobal.com
www.pwcglobal.com
Chapters Can Sponsor AGA Training Program
How can your chapter offer some high-quality, inexpensive CPEs and help
CGFM candidates study for the CGFM Examinations? Sponsor AGA's Government
Financial Manager (GFM) training program! Worth 48 CPE hours, this unique
onsite program provides a foundation in all areas of government financial
management and deals with all levels of government—federal, state and
local. It also helps candidates prepare for all three CGFM Examinations.
Contact Pete Rose at 228.239.9383 for more
information.
The National Office Staff extends best wishes to the
entire AGA family for a safe and happy Thankskgiving holiday!
In observation of the holiday, the National Office will
be closed Nov. 25 & 26. |
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Volume 43: Issue 23,
November 22, 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
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From the National President
Bobby A. Derrick, CGFM
Have you ever been to Albuquerque, New Mexico? If
not, and you want to see and feel the warm sunshine and have a wonderful
time, I suggest that you plan a visit to New Mexico as soon as you can.
Albuquerque combines a unique blend of multiple cultures, natural beauty,
profound historic attractions, spectacular climate with four distinct
seasons, museums, galleries and shopping to create a distinct and
unforgettable visit. Click here to read more about President Derrick's trip to New
Mexico.
 Spotlight on
AGA's CGFM Program—Celebrating a Decade of Success
When Jeffrey C.
Steinhoff began planning for his 1993–1994 term as AGA National
President, a new certification program was not on his priority list.
Steinhoff, who is managing director of the Financial
Management and Assurance Team at the Government Accountability Office,
testified quite often before congressional committees at that time. One
particular hearing stands out.
 “During the hearing, Senator James Sasser, the chairman,
really asked a lot about my professional credentials and made a pretty
big deal about me being a CPA, and that added a sense of greater
reliability, and greater reliance on whatever I was saying,” Steinhoff
recalled. “I really didn’t think those skills and that exam I passed
quite some time before that was all that applicable to the issues I was
discussing at the hearing.”
Chairman Sasser had unknowingly planted a seed that
would bloom into AGA’s CGFM Program, which is celebrating its 10th
anniversary this year. Click here to read more about the CGFM Program's decade of success.
Getting Ready to Take the Exams?
New CGFM Offers Tips for Success
John Savash, CGFM, sounds a bit like a professor
before a roomful of students when he talks about how he passed the three
rigorous CGFM Examinations.
“My advice would be, ‘You’ve got to put the time in to
these exams if you want to pass them,’ “ he said. “On-the-job experience
won’t get it done.”
Savash, who is an assistant professor of Accounting at
Elmira College in Elmira, NY, knows something about studying and taking
exams. As a CPA with a master’s degree in finance and four years of local
government experience, Savash turned to the CGFM as a way to learn more
in-depth information to share with his governmental accounting students.
Because the CGFM preparatory classes were offered far
from his home base, Savash decided to study on his own using the two CGFM study guides for
Exams 2 and 3.
He took AGA’s online Governmental Environment course to prepare for
Exam 1. Along the way, he developed some strategies that worked well
for him, helping him to pass the three examinations on the first try and
earn his credential in September. Click here to read more of Savash's tips for success.
 AGA’s Professional
Certification Board Welcomes Richard Bunce, CGFM
Dick Bunce, CGFM, sees the CGFM certification as
a kind of Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval for accounting and auditing
professionals.
“The certification demonstrates a significant level of
professional competency, knowledge and commitment,” he said. “Our clients
may not know all the details involved in obtaining the CGFM, but they do
recognize that we have obtained a certification established by experts in
the field, so the CGFM provides us with some instant credibility. That
allows us to quickly move beyond the question of whether we know what
we’re talking about, to the real issues of solving problems for our
clients.” Click here to read more about Dick Bunce and his plans for his PCB
tenure.
CGFM Profile: Teresa Barth
Teresa Barth had 25 years of banking experience
behind her, but it wasn’t enough to understand the particulars of working
in a government environment.
College courses, a few temporary positions and
conversations with a U.S. Department of State budget analyst, who
carpooled with Barth, were about the extent of her exposure to the world
of government financial management.
When Barth’s employer announced that the bank would
move its financial functions to Chicago, she decided to take a different
path. She began the new phase of her career as a senior consultant with
Booz Allen Hamilton seven years ago, and now works with the General
Services Administration, preparing their monthly income and expense
statements. Click here to read more about Barth's journey to the CGFM.
Congratulations to the
New CGFMs!
Gary Bruggenthies, CGFM, Scott County, Jordan,
MN; John D. Cewe, CGFM, CDFM, U.S. Department of Defense, Fairfax
Station, VA; Roberta C. Creamer, CGFM, State of Maine, Augusta, ME;
Charles O. Egu, CGFM, CPA, U.S. Department of Homeland Security,
Washington, D.C.; Cheryl D. Hall, CGFM, U.S. Department of Air Force
Civil Engineering, Peterson AFB, CO; Wayne Richard Hart, CGFM, School
Board of Polk County, Lakeland, FL; Scott R. Montgomery, CGFM, U.S.
Department of Commerce - NIST, Gaithersburg, MD; John A. Savash, II,
CGFM, Elmira College, Elmira, NY; Joyce A. Stroschein, CGFM, City of
Pocatello, Pocatello, ID; Rosemarie T. Sullivan, CGFM, U.S. Department of
State, Washington, D.C.; and Lyn J. Tontz, CGFM, Riverside County,
Riverside, CA.
TOPICS is brought to you by AGA
Corporate Partner 
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business-like activity
Click here to learn more. Enroll today!
2004–2005 Recruitment
Campaign—Leadership for the Future
AGA National President Bobby A. Derrick, CGFM, is
challenging every member to recruit at least one new AGA member before
the close of the membership year, April 30, 2005. And, he is challenging
AGA leaders to do even more—to recruit five new members each before the
close of the membership year, 5 by 5. This leadership group
includes the National Executive Committee, Regional Vice Presidents and
Elects, Regional Coordinators, national board and committee members,
chapter presidents and chapter membership chairs. Are you up to the
challenge? Click here to read more about the fabulous prizes offered to
top recruiters and to view a listing of this year's current top
recruiters.
AGA's Third Annual National Leadership Conference:
Improving Government Performance: Financial Managers Take Center Stage
Make plans now to attend AGA’s 2005 National Leadership Conference (NLC),
February 7 – 8, in Washington, D.C.This conference is a must for top government
leaders and private sector professionals who work to keep our governments
fiscally sound. The NLC is an extraordinary educational and networking event
designed
for government financial managers by government financial
managers. Get ready to take center stage— register today! Click here for
more information.
 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.
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