Orientation Briefing

The Partnership for Intergovernmental Management

and Accountability

May 2008Martin Benison

Comptroller of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Partnership Co-Chair

History

• June 24, 2007 Executive session at AGA Professional Development Conference (PDC)

• Key participants: AGA, OMB leadership• Discussion through 4 breakout sessions focused

on:– problems, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities,

threats, vision/clearinghouse, strategic objectives/outcomes/goals, framework/operating model/guiding principles

History (con’t.)

• Strengths: AGA as catalyst; state coordination; private/public partnering; cohesive state, local elements

• Weaknesses: too many regulations; lack of flexibility; increased efficiencies, decreased jobs at states

• Opportunities: streamline standards across state/local/fed; develop integrated framework; include congressional decision makers; develop program to communicate lessons learned

• Threats: lack controls; lack communication channels

History (con’t.)

• How to organize:– Create steering committee– Rotating Chair– All three levels of government– No standing representation– Keep size to 20 members or less

History (con’t.)

• Created by AGA in concert with OMB• First meeting: October 12, 2007• Defined a “Purpose”• Discussed and created:

– Goals– Structure– Criteria for selecting projects– Process for prioritizing projects

Steering Co-Chairs

Martin Benison, CGFM, Comptroller Commonwealth of Massachusetts

Thomas N. Cooley, CFO and Director, Office of Budget, Finance and Award Management, National Science Foundation

Danny Werfel, Acting Controller, Office of Federal Financial Management, US Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President

Partnership Goals

• Enhance ability to serve citizens

• Improve communication among stakeholders

• Facilitate the adoption of a solution-oriented agenda developed by consensus

• Help promote development and dissemination of valid, reliable and useful financial information for decision-makers

Partnership Goals (Con’t.)

• Develop approaches and best practices to improve performance and accountability using the following objectives:– Strengthen internal controls;– Streamline grants management;– Reduce administrative costs; and– Develop common terminology.

Partnership Goals (Con’t.)

• Clarify roles and responsibilities for programmatic and financial improvement activities;

• Develop training programs for officials at the federal, state and local levels of government;

• Agree on a common approach to determining and measuring program outcomes.

Partnership Philosophy

• Informal

• Operates by Consensus

• Think Creatively

• Nothing Off the Table

• Balance Between Steering Committee Guidance and Work Group Creativity

• Proxies/Designees Discouraged

Project Selection Criteria

• Related to Government

• Mutual interest to all affected levels of government

• “Cross cutting”, i.e., applicable to more than one program area

• See website for more detail: http://www.agacgfm.org/intergovernmental/index.aspx

Initial Projects Approved by the Steering Committee

• Intergovernmental Alert (Issued January 15, 2008)

• Streamline the Statewide Cost Allocation Process (A-87) – 12 Month Duration

• Leveraging Single Audits – 18 Month Duration

Project:

Streamline the Statewide Cost Allocation Process

Streamline Cost Allocation Process

• This work group will identify how the process of preparing, submitting and negotiating Statewide Cost Allocation Plans (SWCAPs) in accordance with OMB circular A-87 can be made more efficient and effective.

• The primary goal of any project should be to create value, rather than to “divide up the pie” differently.

Streamline Cost Allocation Process

• Possible exploration areas:

- Streamline the negotiation of Statewide Cost Allocation Plans

- Improve dispute resolution between federal award agency and other

governmental units

- Evaluate funding working capital reserves

Project:

Leveraging the Single Audit/ Strategies for Reducing Erroneous

Payments

Leveraging the Single Audit

This work group will determine how all levels of government (federal, state, local, and nonprofit organizations) can work smarter to leverage audit resources, including the Single Audit Act (SSA) and the Improper Payments Information Act (IPIA).

Work Group Co-Chairs

• A-87 Work Group– Ted Mueller, Director, Indirect Cost Group, US

Department of Education CFO– Merril Oliver, Deputy Director, Maryland Governor’s

Grants Office

• Leveraging Single Audits Work Group– Terry Ramsey, CPA, Office of Federal Financial

Management, OMB– George Strudgeon, Audit Director, Social and Medical

Services, Virginia Auditor of Public Accounts

Future Projects

• Steering Committee will prioritize potential future projects based on:

- anticipated timeframe (long-term, medium, and short-term) and,

- interest/ impact (high, medium, and low)

Interest/Impact

High Medium LowTimeframe

Long •Erroneous Payments•Data Sharing MOU•Promoting XBRL

•Purchasing Consortia

Medium •Single Audit Process•Federal pmt. systems

•Disaster Internal Controls

Short •Consistent cost allocation policies•Intergovernmental pilots•Intergovernmental Alert

Categorization of Potential Future Projects

Activities at PDCFirst PDC Session:Executive Session on Sunday, July 27

Will have three main parts:1) Background on the Partnership - How we

came to be/goals/process for selecting projects. (The Co-Chairs to preside.)

2) Update on Work Groups - Explain each work group’s charge/status/plans and gain input from attendees. (Work Group Co-Chairs to preside.)

Activities at PDC – Executive Session (Continued)

3) Wrap up (last ½ hour) – Explain prioritization (using slides) of future projects/obtain input/are projects still valid/attendees write suggested future topics on piece of paper that they leave with us at the session’s end. Helena will summarize information received in this manner for Monday’s meeting. (Work Group Co-Chairs to preside.)

Activities at PDC(continued)

Second PDC Session:

Partnership Meeting on Monday, July 28

• Steering Committee will meet in the afternoon. We will hold the morning open for work groups, in case they decide to meet. After a work group call or two, the work group co-chairs will be better equipped to make a decision about meeting in conjunction with the PDC.

Activities at PDC(continued)

Third PDC Session:

Panel on Tuesday, July 29

• After the meeting on Monday, Helena will work with the leaders to update the leaders’ slides, so that they can be used by Marty, Danny and Dave Bennett for the panel.

Steering Committee Members• Co-chairs

– Martin Benison, CGFM, Comptroller Commonwealth of Massachusetts

– Thomas N. Cooley, CFO and Director, Office of Budget, Finance and Award Management, National Science Foundation

• Cheryl Atkinson, Administrator, Office of Workforce Security, Employment and Training Administration, US Department of Labor

• David R. Bennett, CGFM, CPA, Assistant County Mayor and Finance Director, Blout County Government, Tennessee

Steering Committee Members (Con’t.)• Sheila O. Conley, CGFM, CPA, Deputy CFO,

US Department of Health and Human Services• Stephen Gordon, CPPO, FNIGP, Ph.D.,

Director of Procurement, City of Alexandria, Virginia

• Clark Partridge, CGFM, CPA, State Comptroller, Arizona

• Anthony H. Rainey, CFO, District of Columbia Courts

• Richard T. Rasa, CGFM, Director, State and Local Advisory Assistance, Office of the Inspector General, US Department of Education

Steering Committee Members (Con’t.)

• Clark Partridge, CGFM, CPA, State Comptroller, Arizona

• Anthony H. Rainey, CFO, District of Columbia Courts

• Richard T. Rasa, CGFM, Director, State and Local Advisory Assistance, Office of the Inspector General, US Department of Education

• Diana Jones Ritter, CGFM, Commissioner, Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, State of New York

Steering Committee Members (Con’t.)• Jessica Shahin, Deputy Associate Administrator,

Food Stamp Program, USDA Food and Nutrition Service

• Jim Heist, Assistant Inspector General for Audit, Department of Housing and Urban Development

• Gwendolyn Sykes, CGFM, MPA, CFO, Yale University

• Kim Wallin, State Comptroller, Nevada• Danny Werfel, Acting Controller, Office of Federal

Financial Management, US Office of Management and Budget, Executive Office of the President

To Participate in the Partnership:

Contact Helena Sims

hsims@agacgfm.org

850-668.0625

To Visit the Web Site

http://www.agacgfm.org/

intergovernmental/index.aspx