Training for Budget Professionals

AGA is pleased to offer new virtual courses for budgeting professionals.

Course Information

Course Title: Designing Effective Budget Tables and Charts
- Course description: This session introduces the basic principles that will enable attendees to design tables and charts that effectively communicate budget data. It will also provide practical guidance on designing tables and charts that clearly convey your intended message.
- July 22, 2025, 11:00-3:00 p.m. ET
- $160 per person
- Register here
- Deadline to register or cancel — July 20, 2025

Course Title: Budget Execution in the Federal Government
- Course description: This training introduces students to the federal budget execution process. It describes how appropriation laws provide budget resources, how agencies develop budget execution plans at the beginning of the fiscal year, how they monitor budget execution during the fiscal year, and internal and external execution reporting.
- September 10, 2025, 11:00-3:00 p.m. ET
- $160 per person
- Register here
- Deadline to register or cancel — September 8, 2025

Course Title: Budget Justification
- Course description: This training introduces students to the basic principles of effective budget justification. It describes the seven key questions that an effective budget justification must address, and provides practical techniques that may be incorporated into both internal and public budget justification documents.
- October 9, 2025, 11:00-3:00 p.m. ET
- $160 per person
- Register here
- Deadline to register or cancel — October 7, 2025

Course Title: Congressional Budget Process
- Course description: This course will introduce students to the congressional budget process. It will discuss the budget resolution process established by the 1974 Budget Act, as amended by subsequent legislation. It will explain how mandatory funding is adjusted through the budget reconciliation process and how discretionary funding is enacted through the work of appropriations committees. It assumes no prior knowledge of the federal budget process.
- November 7, 2025, 11:00-3:00 p.m. ET
- $160 per person
- Register here
- Deadline to register or cancel — November 5, 2025

Important Details

Registration and payment: Registrations are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis until 7 days before the class start date. Space is limited. Payment is required by credit card at the time of registration. POs are not accepted.
Cancellation deadline: The cancellation deadline for each session is 7 days before the start date. Refunds, less a $25 processing fee per registrant, will be granted for cancellation requests received in writing by this date. If the registrant does not attend the presentation, AGA will not issue credit toward any future training. If the class is cancelled by AGA due to low enrollment, a full refund of the course fee will be issued.
Login instructions and connectivity: The course will be taught via Zoom. Upon registration, participants will receive a separate email with a link.
CPE credit: During the opening remarks of each presentation, AGA will explain how you can receive your CPE certificate. In compliance with NASBA, AGA employs an attendance monitoring system. You MUST be able to view the PowerPoint slides on a device to verify your attendance.

Instructor

This training will be conducted by Andrew Pavord.

Andrew Pavord is the founder and CEO of the Federal Consulting Alliance, a service-disabled veteran-owned small business. As a government executive, he led budget processes for the D.C. government, the U.S. Small Business Administration, and the U.S. Department of the Treasury. He also managed headquarters operations for the U.S. Department of the Treasury and served as chief of staff to the chief financial officer of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. As a consultant, he focuses on the development and implementation of budget systems. Over the past ten years, he has led implementation efforts at multiple federal agencies. He currently serves as the training coordinator for the Budget Line of Business. In the last three years, he has led the development of classes on over sixty budget topics and delivered instruction to over 10,000 students. In July 2024, he was elected president of the American Association for Budget and Program Analysis. He retired as a colonel in the Army Reserve after a 32-year career that included deployments to Desert Storm, Bosnia, and Afghanistan. He earned an MA in economics from George Mason University and a Ph.D. in political science from the Johns Hopkins University.

CPE Information

Course Title: Designing Effective Budget Tables and Charts
- Learning objectives:
  - Identify leading resources that provide guidance for designing effective tables and charts
  - Understand the visual perception of quantitative information
  - Understand the basic principles of designing effective budget tables and charts
- Program level/prerequisites/advance prep: Basic/None/None
- Delivery method: Group internet-based (virtual)
- Advance prep: None
- CPE credit: 4
- Field of study: Communications and Marketing

Course Title: Budget Execution in the Federal Government
- Learning objectives:
  - Understand the timing of the federal budget process
  - Discuss the purposes of federal budget execution
  - Learn key terms used in the budget execution process
  - Discuss the importance of operating plans
  - Understand apportionments and warrants
  - Understand agency allocations and allotments, and their importance to funds control
  - Describe monthly and year-end reporting
- Program level/prerequisites/advance prep: Basic/None/None
- Delivery method: Group internet-based (virtual)
- Advance prep: None
- CPE credit: 4
- Field of study: Finance

Course Title: Budget Justification
- Learning objectives:
  - Understand the importance of budget justification
  - Describe the purpose of a value proposition for a requested budget
  - Describe how to align budget requests with stakeholder priorities
  - Describe how evidence may be used to create a reasonable belief that the requested funds will produce desired outcomes
  - Understand how to communicate the full cost of a budget request
  - Describe how to communicate the return on investment for a budget request
  - Discuss how to describe risks and how they will be mitigated
  - Discuss how the budget justification will sell the request to stakeholders
- Program level/prerequisites/advance prep: Basic/None/None
- Delivery method: Group internet-based (virtual)
- Advance prep: None
- CPE credit: 4
- Field of study: Finance

Course Title: Congressional Budget Process
- Learning objectives—you will understand:
  - the constitutional foundation of the congressional budget process
  - the legal framework of the congressional budget process
  - how the budget resolution process is intended to set the framework for appropriation and reconciliation laws
  - the role of appropriations committees in the House and the Senate
  - the omnibus and minibus appropriations bills
  - the earmark process
  - continuing resolutions
- Program level/prerequisites/advance prep: Basic/None/None
- Delivery method: Group internet-based (virtual)
- Advance prep: None
- CPE credit: 4
- Field of study: Finance

AGA is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its website: www.nasbaregistry.org National Registry of CPE Sponsor ID: 104201.

If you have questions or concerns, please contact AGA at 800.242.7211 ext. 316 or email cgfm@agacgfm.org.