keeping stateNASACT fiscal officials informed news Volume 33, Number 6 June 2013 State Auditors Hold Thirty-Fifth Annual Conference in California By Glenda Johnson, Communications Manager he National State Auditors Association held its thirty-fi fth accounts and past president of NSAA, and Randy Roberts, senior Tannual conference on June 12-14, 2013, in Monterey, technical director with the Arizona Offi ce of the Auditor General. California. NSAA’s committees met on Tuesday, June 11, just Each has a long list of contributions to NSAA and to the larger prior to the conference. On the opening morning NSAA President state government accountability community. Also, President and California State Auditor Elaine Howle welcomed attendees Howle honored outgoing GASB Chairman Robert Attmore with a and emphasized the theme of the conference sessions, innovation, Lifetime Achievement Award, citing his longstanding support of asserting that auditors can be innovative too! government accountability, transparency and excellence, as well Keynote speakers on Wednesday and Thursday addressed as his long and successful career of service to his fellow state different aspects of innovation as it applies to the state auditors and the broader state government community. government audit community. To kick things off, David Walker, NSAA’s 2013 Excellence in Accountability Awards were also founder and CEO of the Comeback America Initiative and former presented at the conference. Four winners were selected this year: comptroller general of the U.S., discussed “The Nation’s Fiscal Kentucky Auditor of Public Accounts (special project winner); Challenge and a Way Forward.” The national dilemmas outlined Kansas Legislative Division of Post Audit (large performance in Mr. Walker’s presentation are not new and are not ones that audit winner); Illinois Offi ce of the Auditor General (small can be easily or quickly addressed. He said that “government performance audit winner); and North Carolina Offi ce of the has grown too big, promised too much, and waited too long to State Auditor (forensic report winner). Representatives from each restructure” and that the federal government should be more offi ce attended to make a presentation on their winning entry. See innovative and accountable; he also offered his ideas on how page 5 for summaries of the award-winning entries. to realize the potential. On Tuesday, Allen Fazio, VP of global NSAA wishes to thank all those who helped with the business technology strategy with Disney Theme Parks and conference, especially Elaine Howle and several staff from her Resorts, shared with attendees his thoughts on “Innovation to offi ce: Margarita Fernandez, Glen Fowler, Dana Bralley and Enhance Customer Satisfaction.” See page 2 of this newsletter for Edna Aguada. The annual conference is a highlight each year for a complete list of the conference sessions. NSAA, and active involvement by the state audit community is Several awards were announced during the conference the reason for that: thanks to all who participated and attended. including the William R. Snodgrass Distinguished Leadership Last but not least, thanks to this year’s conference sponsors: Award. There were two recipients of this prestigious award ACL, CliftonLarsonAllen, KPMG and TeamMate Audit this year: Walter Kucharski, former Virginia auditor of public Management Systems. Attmore Receives Lifetime Achievement Award resident Elaine Howle presented an NSAA Lifetime Achievement PAward to Robert Attmore, outgoing chairman of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board. Mr. Attmore has been GASB chairman since July 2004 and will retire at the end of June. He is a past president of NSAA and served as deputy comptroller and state auditor of New York from 1986 through 2003. NASACT News June 2013 page 1 June 13.indd 1 6/27/2013 9:36:36 AM 2013 NSAA Annual Conference Recap elow is a complete list of the sessions and speakers from conferences_training/nsaa/conferences/AnnualConferences/2013 Bthe 2013 NSAA Annual Conference. To download the AnnualConference/Materials.cfm. Questions may be directed to presentations or speaker bios, visit http://www.nasact.org/ Sherri Rowland at [email protected]. COMEBACK AMERICA: THE NATION’S FISCAL CHALLENGE GASB AND AICPA UPDATE AND A WAY FORWARD • Robert H. Attmore, Chairman, Governmental Accounting • The Honorable David M. Walker, Founder and CEO of the Standards Board Comeback America Initiative and former Comptroller General • David Bean, Director of Research, Governmental Accounting of the United States Standards Board • David Vaudt, Chairman-Elect, Governmental Accounting DATA ANALYTICS/USING TECHNOLOGY FOR AUDITING Standards Board • Paul Albano, Director, Medicaid and Health Care Audits, Offi ce • Jeff Markert, Partner, KPMG, and Chairman, AICPA State and of the Auditor of the Commonwealth (MA) Local Government Expert Panel • Alexandra Alland, BSI Director, Offi ce of the Auditor of the Commonwealth (MA) STANDARDS UPDATE: CLARITY/GROUP AUDITS, SINGLE • Kleber Gallardo, Consultant, Offi ce of the Auditor of the AUDIT, GREEN BOOK Commonwealth (MA) • Randy Roberts, Senior Technical Director, Offi ce of the Auditor • Paul McLaughlin, IT Director, Offi ce of the Auditor of the General (AZ) Commonwealth (MA) • Tammie Brown, Audit Manager, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services STATE OF THE STATES: STATE FISCAL OUTLOOK • Jim Dalkin, Director, U.S. Government Accountability Offi ce • Scott Pattison, Executive Director, National Association of State Budget Offi cers PRESENTATIONS FROM NSAA’S EXCELLENCE IN ACCOUNTABILITY AWARD WINNERS WEB-BASED REPORTING: INCREASING PUBLIC ACCESS Special Project Winner: Accountability and Transparency for AND GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY Special Districts • Sarah Bragonje, Auditor, Offi ce of the State Auditor (CA) • Adam Edelen, Auditor of Public Accounts (KY) • Jeremy Evans, Programmer, Offi ce of the State Auditor (CA) Performance Audit (Large) Winner: JJA: Evaluating the EMERGING ISSUES ROUNDTABLE Kansas Juvenile Correctional Complex, Part I • Moderator: William G. Holland, Auditor General (IL) • Scott Frank, Legislative Post Auditor (KS) INNOVATION TO ENHANCE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION Performance Audit (Small) Winner: Management Audit of the • Allen Fazio, VP of Global Business Technology Strategy, Dept. of State Police’s Administration of the Firearm Owner’s Disney Theme Parks & Resorts Identifi cation Card Act • William G. Holland, Auditor General (IL) HR ROUNDTABLE: NEW APPROACHES TO RECRUITING • Jim Schlouch, Director, Offi ce of the Auditor General (IL) AND RETAINING STAFF Forensic Report Winner: Investigative Report – North Moderators: Carolina Central University – Historically Minority Colleges • Rebecca Otto, State Auditor (MN) and Universities Consortium • Glen Fowler, Recruiting and Training Manager, Offi ce of the • David King, Director Special Investigations, Offi ce of the State Auditor (CA) State Auditor (NC) • Steve Bass, Assistant Director Special Investigations, Offi ce INVERSITY: A HIGHER EDUCATION VIEW OF INNOVATION IN of the State Auditor (NC) SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS AND DATA • Frank Dziepak, Supervisor Special Investigations, Offi ce of • John Hill, Higher Education Evangelist, LinkedIn the State Auditor (NC) PERSPECTIVES FROM OUR USERS Travel Assistance Requests Due July 12: State • Sen. Dean Florez, Ret., President and CEO, 20 Million Minds auditors wishing to receive travel assistance for the conference Foundation should submit requests by July 12 to Lori Slagle at lslagle@ • Mark Funkhouser, Director, Governing Institute nasact.org or fax by fax to (859) 278-0507. The reimbursement form is available at www.nasact.org/conferences_training/nsaa/ conferences/AnnualConferences/2013AnnualConference/2013 AnnualConference.cfm. 2014 NSAA Annual Conference June 10-13, 2014 Saint Paul, Minnesota ebecca Otto, state auditor of Minnesota and president of NSAA, will host the 2014 NSAA Annual RConference, in Saint Paul at The Saint Paul Hotel. It’s not to early to mark your calendar for next year’s conference! NASACT News June 2013 page 2 June 13.indd 2 6/27/2013 9:36:59 AM Register Now Hotel Cut-Off for NASACT 2013: July 9! Boston 2013 NASACT Annual Conference August 10-14, 2013 Boston, Massachusetts Seaport Hotel Download the registration brochure at www.nasact.org for more details on technical sessions and activities! NASACT President and Host Martin J. Benison Plan Now to Attend NASACT 2013! Comptroller of Massachusetts oin NASACT president Martin J. Benison and our other Massachusetts hosts Jfor the 2013 NASACT Annual Conference in Boston, Massachusetts, this August 10-14. The NASACT Training and Professional Development Committee has lined up an excellent technical agenda. Keynote sessions will include: • The Massachusetts Healthcare Experience • State CFO Panel • Data/Cyber Security: The Redcoats are Coming! • Congressional and Legislative Update • The Muni Market: Views from the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board and the National Federation of Municipal Analysts Co-Host Conference Hotel Suzanne Bump The conference will be held at the Seaport Hotel which is located on the bustling State Auditor of Boston waterfront in the Seaport District and offers dazzling city and harbor Massachusetts views. This year’s conference rate is $185/night plus applicable tax. To reserve your room, call (617) 385-4000 and ask for the NASACT Annual Conference group rate. The deadline to receive the conference rate is July 9. You are encouraged to make your hotel reservations early, as sometimes the room block