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Highlights
Early Registration Rates Extended for AGA's
Performance Conference
Early registration
rates have been extended to March 30 for AGA's Third Annual Federal Performance
Conference.
The conference, worth 15 CPE hours, is scheduled for
April 24–25 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center
in Washington, D.C.
You will hear about:
- Best thinking around best practices.
- Common challenges and how to overcome them.
- Creative solutions for more effective performance
management.
- Structuring data to drive management decisions.
Learn more
about the agenda and speakers.
Get a FREE Registration to AGA’s Federal
Performance Conference!
If you are an AGA member and
government employee, have we got a deal for you! Register two members at
the early registration rate by March 30, 2012, and get a
third registration FREE. The registrations must be e-mailed at the same
time. Write FPC B2G1 Promo on the form
to receive the free registration. For more information, contact Evie Barry or Kia Lor.
Download
the registration form.
AGA CFO Survey Needs Your
Responses
This is your chance to help your professional
community shape financial policies and procedures over the next several
years. Each year, AGA and the National Association of State Auditors,
Comptrollers and Treasurers (NASACT) commission these surveys to better
understand current financial issues from the perspective of those closest
to the implementation of financial policies and procedures. AGA and
NASACT will publish the results of this survey, but your participation is
essential to getting a complete picture.
The survey covers:
- Cutting waste and inefficiencies.
- Measuring performance.
- More timely financial reporting.
- Cloud computing.
- The five fundamental organizational performance
drivers: strategy, structure, culture, process and people.
Take
the survey.
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March 26, 2012 • News from the Profession
AGA Today is
Brought to You by AGA Corporate Partner
CliftonLarsonAllen
 CliftonLarsonAllen is seeking experienced
audit/assurance professionals to join our public sector practice in
Calverton, MD and Arlington, VA. Ideal candidates will have a Bachelors
Degree in Accounting/IT/IS and 2+ years of financial statement and/or IT
audit experience. Duties will include financial/IT/compliance audits of
federal government entities. To apply, e-mail mailto:michael.armstrong@cliftonlarsonallen.com
Federal News
Army Systems Leave Soldiers
Vulnerable to Late, Inaccurate Pay
The Army has major problems
when it comes to matching up the information in its pay system against the
data in its personnel systems. The mismatch is a major threat to the U.S.
Department of Defense's path toward audit readiness. Audit concerns aside,
Congress is concerned that soldiers aren't getting paid what they're owed.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) said that even while the Army
has made some strides toward improving its pay practices, the service is a
long way off from the kind of data integrity independent experts would
need to see in order to green light the systems as audit-ready, GAO found.
—Jared Serbu, Federal News Radio. Read
more.
Congress Approves Bill Requiring
Feds to Post Financial Statements Online
Congress on Thursday
gave final approval to legislation requiring the financial disclosure
reports of some 28,000 federal officials to be posted on the Internet by
August. The Senate voted 96-3 to send the Stop Trading on Congressional
Knowledge (STOCK) Act to President Obama for his signature. The measure
passed the House last month. While the bill's main purpose is to ensure
that lawmakers and their staffs don't use non-public insider knowledge
when dealing in stocks and other investments, it also mandates posting the
disclosure statements—known as Office of Government Ethics (OGE) Form
278s—on a public website. Some 28,000 filers, including presidential
appointees, Senior Executive Service members, and general and flag
officers, would fall under the law. —Sean Reilly, Federal Times.
Read
more.
AGA Today
is Brought to You by Real Asset
Management
 Are you committing one of the 5 Common Failures of Fixed
Asset Management? Get this FREE
whitepaper from Real Asset Management and learn the top 5 common
failures that can occur when managing fixed assets and the resolutions for
each. For more information contact RAM today at solution@realassetmgt.com or
617-457-7838.
State and Local News
Detroit Teeters on Brink of Bankruptcy as State Takeover
Looms
A
state-appointed commission has declared that Detroit is in the midst of a
“severe financial emergency," as city and state officials scramble to find
a way to keep the city from bankruptcy. Facing a budget deficit of $200
million, Detroit is burning up cash reserves for basic services. The
10-member financial commission, appointed by Gov. Rick Snyder, has until
Monday to deliver an action plan, which could include a takeover by state
government. Governor Snyder will have 10 days to make a decision. Although
the city has long been under financial duress, the crisis escalated after
Moody’s Investors Service issued two separate downgrades of the city’s
bond rating. —Mark Guarino, The Christian Science Monitor. Read
more.
Texas City Manager Trims Payroll by
Laying Himself Off
City Manager Dan O'Leary of Keller, TX,
decided that someone from the top management ranks at City Hall had to go.
So the person he laid off was himself. "It's a little unusual for a city
of our size to have three city managers," O'Leary said, referring to his
two assistant city managers, Steve Polasek and Chris Fuller. "There was a
time that was needed, but at this point in time, I don't think we need
three city managers." —Susan McFarland, Star-Telegram. Read
more.
AGA Today is
Brought to You by AGA Corporate Partner Cotton and
Co.
 Cotton & Company LLP, a recognized leader in public
accounting for more than 30 years, is looking for experienced audit
professionals to join our team! Specializing in financial statement,
contract, compliance, and IT audits, we also provide a broad range of
consulting, internal review, and risk assessment services to our federal
clients. Ideal candidates have 3+ years of related experience, a BA/BS in
Accounting or related field, and be a CPA or CPA candidate. To join our
team, please e-mail mailto:lsims@cottoncpa.com
Private Sector News
PCAOB Hears Pros and Cons of Audit Firm
Rotation
The Public
Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) heard testimony from a series
of high-profile auditing experts on the advantages and disadvantages of
requiring companies to rotate their auditing firms on a regular basis. The
testimony came in response to a concept release that the PCAOB proposed
last year on the controversial matter of mandatory audit firm rotation. On
the first day of the two-day hearing, the PCAOB heard from former Federal
Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, along with several former chairmen of the
Securities and Exchange Commission—Arthur Levitt, Harvey Pitt and Richard
Breeden—and the heads of the five largest auditing firms. Volcker came out
in favor of mandatory auditor rotation. However, Pitt, who is now CEO of
Kalorama Partners, said he did not favor the idea. —Michael Cohn,
Accounting Today. Read
more.
Accounting Standards News
GASB
Issues Proposal on Government Combinations
 The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) has
issued an Exposure
Draft for public comment that would provide governments with
accounting and financial reporting guidance on government combinations
(mergers, acquisitions, and transfers of operations) and disposals (sales
and transfers) of government operations. Read the news
release.
Annual ALGA Conference Set for May in
Arizona
The 2012 Association of Local
Government Auditors Annual Conference, worth 15 CPE hours, is set for May
7–8 at the Tempe Mission Palms Hotel in Tempe, AZ. The theme is "The Heat
is on for Local Government Auditing." Topics
include risk assessment, data mining and analysis, social media,
leadership, law enforcement auditing, career development, auditing
standards updates and more. Learn more about the agenda,
registration and travel information.
Upcoming Audio Conferences
April 18: Find
Strength in Numbers: Sampling Techniques to Improve Financial Audit,
Control and Program Performance
May 9: Carlo
Ponzi or Bernard Madoff—Who Was the Bigger Villain?
May 23: Ethical
Dilemmas—Recognizing, Analyzing and Resolving Situations Where There are
Two Right Choices
2012
Audio Conference Schedule
AGA
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