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Partnership for Intergovernmental Management
and Accountability
AGA has established the
Partnership for Intergovernmental Management and Accountability
(Partnership) to open the lines of communication among
governments with the goal of improving performance and
accountability. Comprised of high-ranking officials from the
federal, state and local levels of government and higher
education, the Partnership is dedicated to identifying and
solving some of the most vexing management and accountability
issues facing governments today.
AGA provides staff support
to the Partnership and serves as a neutral third party in
fostering cooperation and communication among different levels
of government.
Goals of the Partnership
Goals of the partnership
include, but are not limited to:
- Enhancing governments'
ability to effectively and efficiently serve citizens.
- Improving communication among higher
education, the federal government, states and local
governments.
- Establishing relationships that will
facilitate the adoption of a solution-oriented agenda that
is developed through a consensus of leaders representing all
levels of government.
- Developing generally
accepted approaches and best practices for improving the
performance and accountability of intergovernmental
programs. The following objectives are likely to be
instrumental in achieving this goal:
- strengthening internal controls.
- streamlining grants management.
- reducing administrative costs; and
- developing common terminology.
- Helping promote the development and
disseminate of valid, reliable and useful financial
information that decision-makers need to make smart,
informed decisions;
- Clarifying roles and responsibilities for
programmatic and financial improvement activities.
- Developing training programs for
officials at the federal, state and local levels of
government.
- Agreeing on a common approach to
determining and measuring program outcomes.
Partnership Structure
The Partnership is governed by a Steering Committee that is
co-chaired by a federal official and a state official. The
Steering Committee is comprised of the following members:
Co-Chairs:
Clark Partridge, CGFM, CPA,
Comptroller, State of Arizona
David P. Sidari,
Deputy Chief Financial Officer, U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development
Members:
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Martin Benison, CGFM,
Comptroller Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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John Childs,
Chief Operating Officer, Ohio Department of
Education
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Jeanette Franzel,
CGFM, Managing Director, Financial Management
Assurance, U.S. Government Accountability Office
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Douglas Godesky,
Senior Grants Officer/Policy Advisor, Office of
Grants Management, Corporation for national &
Community Services
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Matthew (Matt) A. Jadacki,
CGFM, Assistant Inspector General, Emergency
Management Oversight, U.S. Department of
Homeland Security
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Mike Marsh, JD, MPA, CPA, CFE,
Inspector General, Denali Commission
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Bill Mason,
Internal Control Program Management Office, U.S.
Department of Homeland Security
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Melinda Miguel,
Chief Inspector General, Executive Office of the
Governor, State of Florida
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Merril Oliver,
Deputy Director, Maryland Governor's Grants
Office
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Paul Posner,
Ph.D., Director, Public Administration
Program, Department of Public Administration and
International Affairs, George Mason
University
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Richard T. Rasa, CGFM,
Director, State and Local Advisory Assistance,
Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Department
of Education
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George D. Strudgeon, CPA,
Audit Director, Social and Medical Services,
Virginia Auditor of Public Accounts
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Kim Wallin,
Comptroller, State of Nevada
* Ex-Officio Member: Gary Glickman,
Coordinator, Partnership Fund for Program Integrity Innovation,
OMB
The Steering Committee determines which projects the Partnership
will undertake and appoints special work groups to complete
these projects. The work groups report to the Steering Committee
on a periodic basis.
Current Partnership Projects
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Candidate Assessment Tool for Grants Management
Positions:
According to the Office of Management and
Budget, federal outlays for grants to state and
local governments exceeded $600 billion in FY
2010 and accounted for almost one-fifth of the
federal budget. GAO testimony before a
Congressional subcommittee on June 23, 2011,
indicated that, while federal grant funding has
been increasing, long-standing concerns remain
about the federal government’s grants management
and the lack of effective oversight tools to
reasonably assure that grants are used for their
intended purposes and that risks of fraud, waste
and abuse are minimized.
Just as grants management is getting increased
scrutiny in Washington, AGA is launching a new
project to help identify accomplished grants
managers. The
Partnership’s newest work group is charged with
developing a “Candidate Assessment Tool” for use
by managers at all levels of government in
screening candidates for grants management jobs.
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The Fraud Prevention ToolKit,
is a state-of-the-art online resource will help
officials at all levels of government to
prevent, detect, and deter fraud. Information
within the tool kit will be divided by business
processes, program areas, and fraud type fields.
Previous Projects
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Cooperative Audit Resolution:
This award-winning guide features a
proven process to prevent and resolve audit and
oversight findings. The
Cooperative Audit Resolution and Oversight
Initiative (CAROI) Guide explains how to
identify
the underlying cause of findings and to chart a
course for program improvement. The CAROI Guide
received the Council of the Inspectors
General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE) 2011
award for Excellence in the Special Act
category.
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Federal
Cost Allocation/Improving Implementation of OMB
Circular A-87:
In February 2009, this work group
produced eight products,
including
two questionnaires designed to ensure that the
money goes to stable organizations with
financial and administrative discipline. After
completing its charge, the work group was
disbanded in February 2009.
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Leveraging the Single Audit/Strategies for
Reducing Erroneous Payments:
This work group was charged with determining how
all levels of government can work smarter to
leverage audit resources, including the Single
Audit Act Amendments of 1996 and the Improper
Payments Act of 2002, while improving the
usefulness of both acts to improve program
integrity and reduce improper payments. After
producing
three products,
it was disbanded
in 2009.
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