AGA TOPICS Newsletter

AGA Presents Certificates of Excellence to 10 Federal Agencies

With black-tie splendor, AGA presented its prestigious Certificate of Excellence in Accountability Reporting (CEAR) to 10 federal agencies on Wednesday, Sept. 14, which was also the 55th anniversary of the Association's incorporation.

"The CEAR Program now stands as one of AGA’s hallmark endeavors and one of our most significant contributions to advancing government accountability," said AGA National President Sam M. McCall, MPA, CGFM, CPA, CIA, CGAP. "I remain tremendously proud of the good work the program continues to accomplish. AGA is honored to work in partnership with agencies committed to continuously improving service to the American people."

AGA presented certificates to the Departments of Education, Energy, the Interior and Labor as well as the Federal Aviation Administration, General Services Administration, Government Accountability Office, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Patent & Trademark Office and Social Security Administration.

"The CEAR Program continues to hold special appeal to those of us motivated by service, inspired by the potential for excellence, and fueled by the principles that transcend agency boundaries," McCall said, noting that this is the seventh year AGA has presented the CEAR awards.

Clay Johnson, deputy director for management, U.S. Office of Management and Budget, delivered the evening's keynote address and assisted in the presentation of the awards. Johnson noted the direct correlation of AGA's CEAR Program to the President's Management Agenda, which calls for improved reporting to the citizenry. "The theory is that if past efforts had been successful, we wouldn't be doing all that we are now" to make improvements," Johnson said.

Each of the five areas of the President's Management Agenda highlights ongoing challenges within the federal government, Johnson said, pointing to the long delays in the federal hiring process, $45 billion in improper payments and the inability to report on the government's real property. "We cant' report on our own real property because we don't know what it is," Johnson said. "We are laying out goals and holding people accountable and we are doing more than we said we were going to do by giving the American people an idea of where the money goes."

He said the goal of transparency is at the heart of all these efforts. "Transparency has an unbelievable impact on people's clarity of purpose," he said, adding that we think of as transparency today will no doubt be considered pathetic in a few years.

What performance reporting does, he said, is say  "Let's hold you responsible for the things you said you were going to do." Performance reporting gives a clear, accurate summary of how we are doing relative to that. "The basic principles are much more important than the secondary or tertiary," Johnson said. "That's what we are here to celebrate."

Johnson congratulated all the CEAR recipients for the hard work that led to each of the 10 awards. But, he said, the journey continues. "As good as we are now, we're going to get even better."

AGA Executive Director Relmond P. Van Daniker, DBA, CPA, noted that 21 agencies participated in the review of Fiscal Year 2004 Performance and Accountability Reports. "By their very participation, these agencies are demonstrating their commitment to performance reporting as well as their accountability to the American people," Van Daniker said.

 By: Marie Sullivan Force

Add your agency's name to the prestigious list of CEAR recipients! Participate in the next CEAR cycle! FY 2005 PARs are due to AGA on December 15, 2005. Click here for more information or contact Julie V. Bryant, CGFM.

Sam Mok, CGFM, CFO, Department of Labor, accepts his
agency's award.

Social Security Commissioner Jo Anne B. Barnhart (second
from left) and Chief Strategic Officer Myrtle S. Habersham
receive the CEAR Award on behalf of SSA, the only agency
to receive the award in each of the program's seven years.
Shown to the far left is Clay Johnson, deputy director for
management, OMB, and (far right) AGA National President
Sam M. McCall, CGFM.