Association of Government Accountants – Boston Chapter
Professional Development Conference
Preliminary Program
Date:
Location:
CPE:
Cost:
General Registration Deadline:
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Bentley University, Waltham, MA
8 CPE Hours
Member – $155; Non-member - $170
Friday, March 1, 2013
Early Bird Registration Cost: Member – $110; Non-member – $125
Early Bird Registration Deadline: Friday, February 22, 2013 (This deadline is not negotiable.)
Time
Track
Description
Presenter(s)
7:45 AM to
8:15 AM
Registration and Continental Breakfast
8:15 AM to
8:20 AM
Welcome, Color Guard and National Anthem, and
Presentation of Chapter Awards
Ernest Almonte, CPA, CGFM,
AGA Boston Chapter President
Accountability to Transparency to Ethics – A discussion of
government accountability at all levels of government and the
influence of financing at National/Federal level and how it affects
the State and Local levels. What really constitutes transparency in
financial and performance reporting and what we can do in our
work to enhance the effectiveness of the process. As stewards we
are inheritors of an awesome responsibility to be accountable to the
American public, the citizens we all serve.
Evelyn Brown, AGA National
President
Our Professional Journey – Paths to Success – A look at the
career path of government financial managers and how to reach
your highest potential. Topics reviewed include networking,
evaluations, extracurricular activities, ethics, and “telling your
story.” Learning objectives:
Evelyn Brown, AGA National
President
8:20 AM to
9:10 AM
Keynote
9:20 AM to
10:30 AM
1A
(Choice of 1
concurrent
session – pick
a 1st and 2nd
choice.)





How to acquire adequate skill sets for career development
The importance of participation with determining career paths
How to plot goals and objectives at different levels in an
individual’s career path and the importance of flexibility
Technical skills for financial management
Human resource management skills
2A
The Leader Within - Understanding different leadership styles,
characteristics, and skills as well as the ability to adapt those styles
to specific situations is the foundation of Situational Leadership.
This session will focus on utilizing the various styles, facilitating
and improving communication between supervisor and employee
as well as provide tools for forming agreements and foster
employee development.
Linda Gover, AGA Northeast
Regional Vice President
3A
Social Media as an Investigative and Administrative Tool –
TBA
TBA, TBA
4A
Ethics – During this session, we will discuss an ethical framework
for everyday life. How to better understand ethical concepts and
Daniel Bonnette, Director,
Page 1 of 4
Time
Track
Description
how to apply those concepts in everyday life.
Presenter(s)
McGladrey & Pullen, LLP
5A
Statistical Sampling – Attendees will learn to apply simple
random sampling techniques to select random samples. They will
learn the principles of random selection and the sampling
distribution. They will understand situations where stratified,
multistage (cluster), and other sampling techniques may be used
and the positives and negatives of sampling in various situations.
Lee Giesbrecht, Director,
Statistical Operations, US VA
OIG Audit Division
6A
Ripple Effect: the Federal Government's Financial Position –
The current financial position of the Federal Government and
projections of its future receipt and expenditure levels could have
significant implications for many state and local governments.
This session, will examine the financial position of and key
projections for the U.S. Government, as discussed in the 2012
Financial Report of the U.S. Government.
Robert Scott Bell, US Treasury,
AGA Senior Vice President
7A
Intro to CAATS–The Basics – The use of computers and
information technology for doing business is taken for granted, so
why should auditors talk about something special called CAATS?
Joseph Valchuis, CGFM,
Supervising Auditor, MA
Department of Elementary and
Secondary Education
Performing audits without using information technology is hardly
an option. When all the information needed for doing an audit is on
computer systems, how can one carry out an audit without using
the computer?
This course will provide basic information on Computer Aided
Auditing Techniques; the use of certain software that can be used
by the auditor to perform audits and to achieve the goals of
auditing; discuss past, present and future infinitives on CAATS;
areas for CPE concentration: Auditing, Accounting, Fiscal IT
Management.
10:30 AM to
10:45AM
10:45 AM to
11:55 AM
(Choice of 1
concurrent
session – pick
a 1st and 2nd
choice.)
Break
1B
Our Professional Journey – Paths to Success – Repeat of Track
#1A
Evelyn Brown, AGA National
President
2B
The Leader Within – Repeat of Track #2A
Linda Gover, AGA Northeast
Regional Vice President
3B
Social Media as an Investigative and Administrative Tool –
Repeat of Track #3A
TBA, TBA
4B
Ethics – Repeat of Track #4A
Daniel Bonnette, CPA,
Director, McGladrey & Pullen,
LLP
5B
Statistical Sampling – Repeat of Track #5A
Lee Giesbrecht, Director,
Statistical Operations, US VA
OIG Audit Division
6B
Ripple Effect: the Federal Government's Financial Position –
Repeat of Track #6A
Robert Scott Bell, US Treasury,
AGA Senior Vice President
7B
Intro to CAATS–The Basics – Repeat of Track #7A
Joseph Valchuis, CGFM,
Supervising Auditor, MA
Department of Elementary and
Page 2 of 4
Time
Track
Description
Presenter(s)
Secondary Education
12:00 PM to
12:50 PM
Lunch
12:50 PM to
1:00 PM
Presentation of Chapter Awards and Chapter Election
Ernest Almonte, CGFM, AGA
Boston Chapter President and
Suzanne Bump, AGA Boston
Chapter President-Elect
1:00 p.m. to
1:30 pm
Keynote
TBA – TBA
John Lenihan, CEO, Zoo New
England
1:30 p.m. to
2:30 pm
Plenary
Keynote
DCAA’s Audit Efforts in Ever Changing Environments –
CONUS and OCONUS – Mr. Meldonian will outline DCAA’s
FY 2013 goals and priorities emphasizing the importance of
internal communications within all levels of the organization and
external communications with the Agency’s stakeholders. He will
highlight the Agency’s accomplishments which resulted in over
$4B in savings to the Department that in turn will provide the
additional goods and services required by the Warfighter. Mr.
Meldonian will also discuss the continuing challenges of DCAA’s
audit staffs in the Middle East.
Ronald Meldonian, Regional
Director, Senior Executive
Service, Northeastern Region,
Defense Contract Audit Agency
2:35 PM to
4:50PM
(afternoon
break is 3:30
PM to 3:45
PM)
8
Online Surveys and Standardized Data Collection Techniques
– Attendees will learn about designing, implementing, and
analyzing web-based surveys as part of an audit. They will
understand the importance of standardized data collection in
reducing errors in survey data. And they will learn about the
positives, negatives, and considerations of implementing online
surveys for various populations.
Lee Giesbrecht, Director,
Statistical Operations, US VA
OIG Audit Division and Irene
Barnett, US VA
9
Transportation Infrastructure and Security – An up close look
at land, sea, and air transportation infrastructure and security.
Chief MacMillan, MBTA;
Michael Dinning, Volpe
Transportation Center; Dennis
Treece, MassPort
10
Gaming – During this session, a former Chief of the Nevada
Gaming Control Board’s Audit Division will discuss gaming
regulatory models used in various jurisdictions and the challenges
faced by regulators in carrying out their duties. The session will
also address the importance of internal controls in mitigating the
risks common to gaming environments.
Lynda Hartzell, CPA,
McGladrey & Pullen, LLP
11
Risk Assessment – TBA
TBA, TBA
12
Single Audit Update – Learn more about the latest single audit
update.
Tammie Brown, US HHS
(invited)
13
Learning About Your Learning Style – Think of the various
ways you have successfully learned in the past. Think of a workrelated learning experience you enjoyed. How did you go about
becoming proficient? Did you jump right in or did it make more
sense to collect more data? Did you treat learning as a problem to
be solved?....or a situation to be pondered?
Robert Carnegie, R. Carnegie
Associates, Inc.
This workshop will identify your preference for not just learning,
Page 3 of 4
Time
Track
14
Description
but for how you like to process information-how you intake data,
how you make sense of it, how you disseminate information. A
short self-assessment will be the foundation for identifying your
learning style, and then we'll look at the pros and cons of your style
and how you can apply this knowledge at work or in your personal
life.
Presenter(s)
Citizen-Centric Reporting – AGA's Citizen-Centric Government
Reporting Initiative is intended to foster innovative means of
communication between governments and their citizenry. AGA's
Citizen-Centric Reports detail government finances in a visually
appealing, clear and understandable four-page document. AGA
also offers a Certificate of Excellence in Citizen-Centric Reporting
for entities that prepare and distribute high-quality Citizen-Centric
Reports.
Craig Hall, MPA, AGA Boston
Chapter Director of
Accountability; William
Kilmartin, Director, Accenture;
Relmond Van Daniker,
Executive Director, Association
of Government Accountants
Due to the seating limitations, sign-up for specific sessions will be on a first come/first served basis. Using the Track Numbers, please indicate your
first and second choices for the morning (one from the A concurrent sessions and one from the B concurrent sessions) and afternoon sessions. The
morning B concurrent sessions are a repeat of the morning A sessions so please pick a different number.
MEMBER REGISTRATION POLICY: Members must provide their AGA membership number when registering for the PDC.
EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION POLICY: Registrations by February 22, 2013 will receive a discounted Early Bird Registration. This deadline is
not negotiable.
CANCELLATION POLICY: Cancellations received up to March 1, 2013 are fully refundable. Substitutions can be made at any time up until the
day of the conference. Individuals who do not cancel on or before March 1, 2013 are not eligible for a refund. No-shows will be individually
responsible for full payment.
NOTE: In case of inclement weather conditions, contact Bentley University at (781) 891-2020 for an updated, recorded message regarding campus
closing.
Page 4 of 4