The U.S. Comptroller General will discuss GAO’s responsibilities under the CARES Act and issues specific to state and local governments. He will also discuss state and local challenges, international coordination and how we are all adapting to new ways of working as well as to our country’s fiscal condition, challenges in the IG community, and accomplishments attributed to the CFO Act of 1990.

The Federal Audit Executive Council (FAEC) is one of several groups under the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE). FAEC’s role is to coordinate on issues that affect the Federal audit community. Chair, Dr. Brett Baker, leads the FAEC in addressing some recent matters of common interest:

• OIG community cross-cutting projects to address government-wide risks
• DATA Act,
• COVID-19 related audit work
• Financial statement audit
• FISMA
• Data analytics

Learning Objectives:

• 1. Risk areas that the federal audit community is closely monitoring.
• 2. DATA Act audits and coordination efforts with policy makers.
• 3. COVID-19 related audit work in the OIG community.

Performing a single audit that meets all regulatory and audit requirements can be time consuming.  This session covers ways to meet the single audit requirements and tips on how to be efficient in the process.

Learning Objectives:

• Gain tips fo performing an efficient single audit.
• Understand common pitfalls of single audit inefficiency

This session will focus on the latest from the GASB including its response to the coronavirus crisis, recently issued GASB pronouncements (public private partnerships and subscription-based IT arrangements), and the Big 3 proposals (financial reporting model improvements, revenue and expense recognition, and the disclosure framework).  In addition, other GASB topics that will be addressed in detailed during the conference will be highlighted.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify and address important accounting and financial reporting issues associated with the coronavirus crisis.
• Recall insights into proposed changes associated with the GASB’s Big Three—financial reporting model, revenue and expense recognition, and disclosure framework and other projects on the GASB’s technical agenda.

The House Committee on Oversight and Reform has issued a series of ten scorecards, which grade agencies' implementation of FITARA and other IT-focused legislation. This session will cover the Scorecard's history, grading methodologies, potential limitations, and its future. 

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the methodologies and data sources used to grade the House Committee on Oversight and Reform's FITARA Scorecard
• Learn about the intent and limitations behind the grading methodologies

This session will provide an update on the efforts by the Federal Audit Clearinghouse to modify the online repository that federal awarding agencies use to monitor direct recipients of federal funds. Also, provide instructions for retrieving and analyzing information from multiple data collection forms.

Learning Objectives:

• Communicate efforts to modernize collection and dissemination of Single Audit information.
• Learn how to download the complete Single Audit Database.
• Learn how to link the different download files of Single Audit information.
• Learn how to analyze information from multiple Single audits.

This session will address account and financial reporting implementation issues associated with the Statement on leases.  Topics to be covered include the definition of a lease; determining the term of the lease and the release liability and asset for both a lessee and a lessor; and other implementation issues, including those addressed in the accompanying GASB implementation guide.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand what types of contracts meet the definition of a lease.
• Determining the length of a lease for financial reporting purposes.
• Recognize the reporting of a lease liability and lease receivable in the initial year.

The Offices of the Inspectors General (OIGs) aid federal agencies in meeting the demands for better governance and increased public value. Enter the world of these “watchdogs” and their independent audits, evaluations and investigations of programs and operations, including internal control and risk management. Examine how enterprise risk management (ERM) allows OIGs to face unprecedented risks while optimizing strategy setting and performance and fighting fraud, waste and abuse. Understand how OIGs are leveraging ERM to monitoring and/or addressing the impacts of COVID-19.

Learning Objectives:

• ERM implementation and best practices
• Linking ERM, strategy and performance management to optimize mission achievement

Chances are most of you are still dealing with the implementation of GASB Statement 84, while some of us may have already gotten through year one.  Like any new standard, there are apt to be challenges we've surmounted and many things we've learned along the way.  As we continue to implement the standard, understanding these implementation considerations by people who've lived through it would no doubt help all of us as we continue to move forward in better understanding all the nuances this standard might bring.

Learning Objectives:

• Recognize ways in which the implementation of GASB 84 could be made more effective, and perhaps even more efficient
• Use the implementation suggestions and lessons learned to enhance current implementation strategies

This presentation will cover current economic and financials as of early August, 2020. We will discuss key recent indicators in the U.S. economy and banking industry. The presentation will then cover the U.S. economic outlook, as well as some possible risks to the economy.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the current condition of the U.S. economy and banking sector.
• Identify some possible risks to continued U.S. economic growth.

The Pandemic has impacted every government in multiple ways requiring preparers to determine the proper accounting and disclosures for new transactions and unprecedented circumstances.  Preparers and auditors also face the real possibility that  a significant amount of financial statement preparation and the related audit may need to be performed remotely.  This session will discuss applicable accounting standards identified by GASB in their Emergency Toolbox as well as audit related considerations.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify applicable accounting standards and strategies for productively working remotely.
• Strategize audit approaches for specialized accounting and disclosures.

During this session we will discuss recently issued standards for audit and attestation engagements, as well as recent developments at GAO. The session will address recent changes in the Yellow Book and other GAO alerts related to Government Auditing Standards and CPE requirements. The discussion will also include the ASB's active agenda including ongoing efforts to modernize auditing and attestation standards.

Learning Objectives:

• Obtain an understanding of the standards recently issued by the ASB.
• Obtain an understanding of the recent changes and developments from the GAO.
• Obtain an understanding of projects currently underway at the ASB and at the GAO will have future impact.

Innovation is not automagical but it is an essential element for the audit community to tackle complex oversight challenges in a digitally connected world that cannot be fully addressed through conventional approaches alone. What strategy can we adopt to incorporate emerging capabilities - such as artificial intelligence (AI), distributed ledgers, robotic-process-automation (RPA), and cloud computing - and help drive better oversight questions with greater speed, scale, and depth? The Innovation Lab at GAO aims to shape the #FutureOfAudit to help our mission teams as well as a broad ecosystem of stakeholders sail into the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Learning Objectives:

• Understanding the unique duality that auditors face when it comes to emerging capabilities
• GAO Innovation Lab's strategy
• Select examples of transformation projects

The success or failure of a Single Audit can usually be traced back to the planning phase . Planning procedures from risk assessments to major program determination to selecting applicable compliance requirements can set the audit team on the right path to proper engagement execution, if done well. If not done well, it can lead to nonconformity with professional standards and disciplinary action on engagement leaders. Please join us for this session as take a case study approach for what effective single audit planning should look like.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will learn tool and techniques for approach their Single Audit engagements to ensure compliance with professional standards
• Participants will learn common pitfalls that could lead to nonconformity in Single Audits and which should be avoided

The AICPA Professional Ethics Division issued the State and Local Government Client Affiliates Interpretation to provide guidance to auditors of State and Local governments in evaluating  which entities are affiliates of those governments.  This session will go through the background of the interpretation, discuss examples of how affiliates would be evaluated using this interpretation, and preview some tools to assist in the evaluation.  

Learning Objectives:

• Identify new independence standards for government audits
• Apply new independence standards to their government audits

The Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board marked its 30th anniversary and continues to actively pursue improvements to federal financial reporting. Attendees will learn about the challenging issues being addressed and have an opportunity to ask questions. Attendees will leave informed about:

• FASAB’s COVID-19-related efforts, including redesigning technical inquiry web page and developing new webinars
• What’s next for reporting on Leases, Land, Management’s Discussion and Analysis (MD&A), and FASAB’s conceptual Framework
• Reexamining existing standards for relevance, consistency, and usefulness
• Areas for improvement in the federal reporting model and principles that will guide future efforts
• Ongoing efforts in developing a federal agency training and outreach program to share the extensive library of authoritative standards the Board has produced and to assist agency personnel in navigating that guidance 

Learning Objectives:

• Recall the issues the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board views as a priority in the near term and why
• Recognize newly issued standards
• Identify emerging issues

The 2018 Yellow Book revises the requirements on independence, especially as it relates to the performance of nonaudit services related to preparing accounting records and financial statements. This session will help you understand the new independence requirements.

Learning Objectives:

• Provide an overview of the 2018 Yellow Book rules
• Reinforce important concepts using examples
• Discuss best practices and tips for preparing related documentation

Plain English writing is clear and concise, without being overly simplistic. It is the cornerstone of powerful communications and is therefore an important tool across professions and audiences. During the session, we will discuss ways to incorporate Plain English into a variety of communications, which will make your writing clearer and save you time. We will also touch on effective communication strategies for remote work, as many of us continue to adapt our day-to-day responsibilities to a virtual environment. This session is designed for those seeking to improve the efficiency of their internal and external communications.

Learning Objectives:

• Attendees will learn how to adapt the plain English writing style to their professional needs.
• Attendees will learn how to identify common writing errors and ways to avoid them.
• Attendees will learn how to review their work quickly and effectively by following easy editing tips.

This session will be an interactive session with the AICPA's Chief Auditor.  Included will be a discussion of what is driving the standard-setting agenda of the AICPA's Auditing Standards Board (ASB).  The session will focus on the impact of the current business environment and technology on auditing and attestation standards.  Also included will be an update on current ASB projects involving revisions to enable direct examination engagements pursuant to AICPA attestation standards, NOCLAR and quality control.

Learning Objectives:

• Obtain an understanding of how the current business environment impacts ASB project agendas.
• Obtain an understanding of how current ASB standard-setting projects impact potential services to be provided by CPAs in the future.

Enhanced oversight reviews performed by the AICPA as well as quality control reviews performed by auditors of the OIG have consistently cited poor documentation as a common finding in Single Audit engagements which have lead to conclusions of nonconformity. Audit teams can often orally recount the procedures they used and results of procedures, but their work often does not get fully captured. Please join us for this session as we examined this situation. We will look at root causes to poor documentation and then discuss tools and techniques to properly capture the hard work put into the audit process.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will learn common documentation issues in a Single Audit engagement and learn skills to avoid them and achieve high quality results
• Participants will learn best practices for effective documentation in a Single Audit environment to satisfy professional standards and external reviewers of Single Audit Engagements

Since 2003 federal agencies have estimated over $1.7 Trillion in improper payments. Learn how government leaders at the federal levels along with non-profit public interest research organizations are addressing the challenges of improper payments. This session will focus on the areas of greatest risk, advanced auditing techniques, and creativity in developing data analytics to monitor and prevent improper payments.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants will learn about the latest statistics related to government payment integrity and the areas of greatest risk, such as the Medicaid program, which costs more than $600 Billion annually.
• They will hear how: auditors are identifying the root causes of the issues; agencies are developing corrective action plans; IT experts are aiding in the process and intergovernmental task forces are collaborating to bring about needed change.

Chances are most of you are still dealing with the implementation of GASB Statement 84, while some of us may have already gotten through year one. Like any new standard, there are apt to be challenges we've surmounted and many things we've learned along the way. As we continue to implement the standard, understanding these implementation considerations by people who've lived through it would no doubt help all of us as we continue to move forward in better understanding all the nuances this standard might bring.

As the federal government increasingly relies on artificial intelligence (AI) solutions to execute a variety of missions, it is critical that auditors rapidly enhance its evaluative capabilities in considering a range of policy, transparency and accountability issues as well as computational challenges given the speed of continuing technological advancements. GAO is undertaking an effort to develop an AI oversight framework. In alignment with principles promulgated under the Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS), our work will encompass considerations such as assessment criteria, requirements for technical and governance artifacts, and evaluation practices. The overall objective is to assure complete, accurate, and evidence-based evaluation of AI systems.

Learning Objectives:

• Current ecosystem of AI governance
• Current state of AI oversight
• GAO's iterative approach towards developing an AI oversight framework

Single Audits are intended to provide critical information to federal and state agencies that rely upon them about the use of federal funds at the recipient and subrecipient levels. This panel of state and local auditors and representatives from GAO and OMB, will discuss their views on how this goal is being met and whether they believe improvements can be made.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn the extent to which Single Audits are currently being used for grant accountability.
• Identify whether panelists believe enhancements could be made to ensure that Single Audits are providing as much value as possible to those relying on these audits.

Accounting, financial reporting and auditing for GASB pension and OPEBs is a complex area.  This session covers common errors in accounting and financial reporting and tips for auditing the plans.

With disasters of all types occurring with increasing frequency, this session will discuss ways that governments can proactively prepare financially for the unpredictable including both the facilitation of rapid response and accounting strategies to increase the likelihood of reimbursement.  It will also describe the federal resources available for disaster relief and lessons learned from previous idsasters.

Learning Objectives:

• Discuss the proactive strategies for facilitating fast repsonse and maximizing reimbursement.
• Review federal resources available and lessons learned in previous disaster response.