• President-Elect Deborah Jenkins, City of Bowling Green, KY.
• Treasurer Doug Jones, Johnson County, KS.
• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer Anu Sidhu, King County, WA.
• At-Large Member Jennifer Folliard, Milwaukee County, WI.
• At-Large Member Daniel Genz, City of Dallas, TX.

ALGA now has an online store where you can buy ALGA merchandise and share your love and pride for local government auditing.

In our new Etsy storefront , browse and buy various ALGA-branded items including shirts, beanies, drinkware, notebooks, and more. 

All items are sold at cost and are shipped directly to your home.

LIMITED-TIME OFFER: Celebrate the 2024 ALGA Annual Conference this May with exclusive items branded with this year’s theme of Sound Auditing . Even future auditors-in-training can get in the spirit with their very own onesie!

Make your purchases today, so they can arrive in time for the conference!

SHOP NOW 

Videos from past webinars had been temporarily limited in recent months, as members of the Education Committee and Digital Strategy Committee (with support from Member Services) worked to migrate these videos to a new, long-term storage solution.

Access to monthly webinars and ALGA’s webinar archive remains free to members as part of ALGA member benefits. Nonmembers can purchase access to recordings at the regular price of $50 per webinar.

Not yet a member? Join today!

Although our video storage has improved, there’s no difference in the process to view a past webinar. Search the online store for a webinar of interest, add the item to your cart, and checkout. Once you complete the transaction (at no cost to members, $50 for nonmembers), you will receive an email with instructions on how to view the recording.

All viewings can be self-certified to earn CPE credit.

If you have issues in trying to access a particular webinar, please call ALGA Member Services at (859) 276-0686.

See the full slate of candidates here.

The election will take place in early May, when all full members will be emailed a virtual ballot on May 1. Voting closes at 11:59 p.m. PT on May 10 — and the winners will be announced during the annual business meeting on May 16.

Click to register to attend the annual business meeting.

Given the number of candidates seeking an at-large board seat this spring, this will be the first year ALGA members will use the ranked-choice method to vote for their preferred candidates during the board election. Voters in last year’s election cycle approved the ranked-choice method as the means to decide all future contested elections of more than two candidates.

HOW DOES RANKED-CHOICE VOTING WORK?

Instead of voting for a specific candidate, members will rank all eligible candidates in order of preference. In this year's case, members will rank all candidates for at-large board member in order of preference — from first to sixth.

This one-minute video from MPR News illustrates how ranked-choice voting works:

Visit our election FAQ page to learn more about ALGA's nominations and elections process.

If you haven't heard from us in a while, fill out this brief form with your name and email address to make sure you're on our mailing list. This ensures you'll receive:

• The Monthly Member Update featuring the latest on what's happening throughout ALGA and how you can get involved.
• The weekly CPE Connection featuring upcoming webinars, regional trainings, and conferences where you can earn CPE credits.
• Occasional email alerts with important news and announcements relevant to you and the local government auditing profession.

If the form responds that you’re already signed up but you know you're not receiving emails from ALGA, the issue may be your organization's spam filter.

ADD ALGA EMAILS TO YOUR 'SAFE SENDER' LIST

Most email clients allow you to mark email as "not spam" or to mark certain emails and domains as "safe" to receive. Check your email provider's resources for specific instructions.

Make sure your "safe senders" include emails from “@nasact.org” and “@algaonline.org," which are the two domains that ALGA emails may come from.

Stay tuned for updates!

All full ALGA members should have received an email from Member Services on May 17 with a unique voter ID number and secure link to vote on two proposed changes to ALGA's governing bylaws.

If you are a full ALGA member and did not receive an email from Member Services with instructions on how to cast your ballot, please check your spam folder or otherwise contact Member Services to ensure you can duly participate.

The two proposals for members' consideration could change how ALGA nominates and elects future candidates to serve on the Board of Directors.

• Proposition 1A would allow for popular elections of board officers and board members, beginning in 2024.
• Proposition 1B would have the membership elect board officers and board members by ranking them in order of preference, also beginning in 2024.
  .

GET INFORMED

Review our comprehensive Voters Guide, which details what these two proposals would do, including the specific language they would amend in ALGA’s governing bylaws.

VOTE

Access your individual ballot by clicking on the link in the email you received and entering the unique voter ID number you were given. Complete your ballot no later than 11:59 p.m. PT on Friday, May 26, 2023.

Your voter ID number is unique to you as a full ALGA member; do not share it. You must provide this unique voter ID number for your ballot to be counted. Ballots that do not include a voter ID number are invalid and will not be counted.

Your voice matters in determining the outcomes of this election.

MORE DETAILS

Only full ALGA members in good standing are eligible to vote in the election. “Full members” are those who work for local government audit organizations — regardless of whether they are career service, appointed, or elected — and whose primary job involves audit responsibilities for the local government entity. “Good standing” means membership dues are current.

Although Proposition 1A and Proposition 1B both relate to ALGA’s nominations and elections process, they are not dependent on one another. Neither is contingent on the other passing.

In order to be adopted, a proposed change to ALGA’s governing bylaws requires two-thirds’ support of those members participating in the vote. The results of the bylaws election will be announced in the coming weeks, after the end of the voting period.

HAVE QUESTIONS?

• For questions about Proposition 1A and Proposition 1B, take part in the dedicated forum discussion.
  
• For questions about procedures related to the elections, email Immediate Past President Justin Anderson.

This one-hour virtual meeting will begin at 1 p.m. ET (10 a.m. PT) on Tuesday, May 16. You must register in advance here to attend.

Check out our 2023 Voters' Guide for more information about the upcoming board elections — and the subsequent email vote on two proposals that could significantly affect how we nominate and elect board candidates in future years.

* The meeting is open to all but only full ALGA members in good standing are eligible to vote in the election. “Full members” are those who work for local government audit organizations — regardless of whether they are career service, appointed, or elected — and whose primary job involves audit responsibilities for the local government entity. “Good standing” means membership dues are current.

Each spring, full ALGA members decide who our leaders are and what direction the organization takes. This year’s important elections will take place in two, discrete parts: 

• A vote at the annual business meeting on May 16 to fill open positions on the ALGA Board of Directors for 2023-24.
• A subsequent vote by email on two proposed changes to ALGA’s governing bylaws that would affect the nominations and elections process for future years.

Our members' voices matter in determining the outcomes of these votes.

2023 VOTERS' GUIDE: Browse our complete voters' guide by selecting the link here to learn more about the candidates for the board, read detailed information about the two proposed bylaws changes, and find out how to participate in each vote.

HAVE QUESTIONS?

ALGA values transparency. Our members have the right to be informed and engaged voters in determining the outcome of this year’s board election and the two proposed bylaws changes.

We're here to answer your questions.

• For questions about the current nominations and elections process as it applies to this year’s board candidates, email Nominating Committee Chair Rebecca Takahashi.
• For questions about either Proposition 1A or Proposition 1B, take part in the dedicated forum discussion.
• For questions about the 2023 annual business meeting or questions about procedures related to the elections, email ALGA President Justin Anderson. 

This year's honorees are:

• David Givans, internal auditor, Deschutes County, Oregon.
• Van Lee, audit manager, City and County of Honolulu, Hawai'i.
• Sharron Walker, retired city auditor, Scottsdale, Arizona.

Join us for the 2023 ALGA Annual Conference. We are pleased to offer a second-consecutive hybrid experience for you — with options to attend either in person in Baltimore, Maryland, or virtually from wherever you are in the world.

Get up to 14 hours of CPE during the two-day conference at a cost of less than $33 per CPE credit when you take advantage of our early-bird member rate. Earn bonus CPE with our pre- and post-conference workshop offerings — details below!

View the Registration Brochure — and Click Here to Register!

KEY INFO

Conference: May 8 and 9. Workshops: May 7 and 10.

Choose how you’ll attend when you register: In-person OR virtual livestream.

Reserve your room at the Baltimore Hilton Inner Harbor hotel before April 14. The room block may sell out — so book early to take advantage of the conference rate.

Join us at the ballpark: All in-person attendees will get a free ticket to the Baltimore Orioles game as part of the Monday night buffet dinner and networking event at Camden Yards.

ALGA LISTENS: WHAT’S NEW THIS YEAR

Last year’s conference in Dallas was our first-ever hybrid event. We took the lessons learned from that to make this year’s conference experience even better. It’s part of how we’re striving to be more for you, our members.

SIMPLER ATTENDANCE TRACKING TO RECEIVE YOUR CPE

You will choose your attendance type when you register — either in-person or virtual livestream for remote attendance. Your attendance type should be based on the location where you will physically be when you attend the conference. That is, if you’ll be in Baltimore for any portion of the conference, register for in-person attendance; if you won’t be traveling to Baltimore, register for virtual attendance.

This delineation is key as it not only simplifies attendance tracking for you — it dictates how you’ll get your CPE. We’ll provide more details closer to the conference on how the process for requesting and receiving CPE will be different this year depending on whether you attend the conference in person or virtually.

FLEXIBILITY FOR WEST COAST ATTENDEES

Good news, West Coast friends! You won’t have to get up at 6 a.m. your time to start your conference day. Sleep in that extra hour and catch the virtual rebroadcast of the morning general sessions on May 8 and 9 after the concurrent sessions wrap up both days. They’ll feature live Q-and-A with the speakers, so you’ll still earn full CPE.

PICK YOUR SESSION PREFERENCES IN ADVANCE

As you did with prior in-person conferences, we’re asking you to choose your preferred concurrent sessions when you register. This helps us plan accordingly; you can change your mind later! Note: Roundtable sessions and some workshops are accessible only to in-person attendees. Browse the registration brochure for full details on which sessions will be available virtually.

WORKSHOPS

You must register for the full conference to participate in our workshops. Pre-registration is required. Space may be limited, and spots fill up fast!
 

SUNDAY, MAY 7

WS#1. Peer Review Workshop
8 CPE | 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. ET | $300
Attendance Type: In-person only.

WS#2. Indexing and Referencing Audit Reports
4 CPE | 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. ET | $150
Attendance Type: In-person and virtual livestream.

WS#3. Making Audit Reports Irresistible
4 CPE | 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. ET | $150
Attendance Type: In-person only.

WEDNESDAY, MAY 10

WS#4. Building Continuous Risk Assessment on Financial and Process Data
4 CPE | 8 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. ET | $150
Attendance Type: In-person only.

WS#5. 10 Plain Language Strategies to Better Communicate Your Audit Findings
4 CPE | 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. ET | $150
Attendance: Virtual livestream only.

WS#6. Managing, Understanding, Quantifying, and Auditing Fraud in Government Programs
4 CPE | 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. ET | $150
Attendance: Virtual livestream only.

QUESTIONS?

Call Member Services at (859) 276-0686.

Because of the complexity of pension standards, the survey may take one to two hours to complete. Access the survey by clicking here.

GASB recommends you review the survey before responding. You can download it in its entirety from the first page of the survey. You also can save your survey answers once you have started the survey and return to complete it later.

The deadline to complete the survey has been extended to Friday, Jan. 20. 

1. Determine whether the statements are accomplishing their stated purpose.
2. Evaluate the statements’ implementation and continuing compliance costs and related benefits.
3. Obtain feedback to improve the standards-setting process.

Further information about the research effort can be found on the GASB website.

Email questions to GASB Supervising Project Manager Jialan Su at jsu@gasb.org.

We’re giving four lucky members free access to an upcoming webinar in weekly drawings through Dec. 8. Don’t miss out! Click here to log in to your ALGA member record and update your personal information. (Complete step-by-step instructions are also available below.)

We strongly encourage members to voluntarily provide their demographic information — such as age, race, ethnicity, gender identity — so that ALGA can accurately understand who its members are and how best to effectively serve them through more equitable and inclusive strategies, policies, and practices.

ALGA’s privacy policy protects how we use your data. Your personal details are not visible in your member profile, and you may select “choose not to disclose” for any details you wish not to share with ALGA.

The sooner you enter your responses, the more chances you have to win! If you’ve already provided your information, then you’re already entered! We’ll notify the recipients by email and announce them in the weekly CPE Connection, starting Nov. 10.

For technical questions and assistance updating your member record, please contact Member Services.

Help Make ALGA More Equitable — How to Fill Out Your Demographic Data

As auditors, we know data allows us to measure progress and evaluate effectiveness. Without data, it’s difficult to know what’s really happening and even more difficult to know how to effectively address issues or create meaningful and positive change. That principle applies to ALGA and its membership, too — that’s why we need YOU to fill out your demographic profiles, so we have a better picture of who our members are and how best to serve them.

How you exactly do you fill out your demographic information? Follow these steps — and read more here about why your participation in this effort matters:

1. Sign in to algaonline.org.
2. Click on the “My Profile” link at the top right of the home page.
3. Click the “Edit” button at the top right of your profile.
4. Select the appropriate response to the demographic questions.
5. Click “Save Changes” at the bottom of the page.

• Develop your leadership skills.
  
• Discuss and deepen your auditing knowledge.
  
• Share and connect with auditors outside your organization.
  
• Learn more about diverse business operations and agencies.
  
• Build community and friendship — widen your network!
  
• Prepare the next generation of local government auditors.
  

The commitment to mentoring with ALGA can be as little as 30 minutes a month. ALGA’s mentoring program has no strict requirements — you and your mentee can develop your relationship in whatever way works best for you.

Ready to get started? Contact Yadira Huerta by email or call (213) 486-6041.

ABOUT OUR MENTORISHIP PROGRAM

The ALGA mentoring program was established to provide auditors with the opportunity to have regular conversations with a more experienced auditor from outside their organization. Mentors volunteer their time to discuss career goals and paths, technical issues, organizational or interpersonal challenges, and other areas of interest.

Click here to learn more about ALGA’s Mentorship Program.

As you know, Treasury has recently issued the final rule governing the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, which includes many enhancements to the simplicity, flexibility, and administrability of the program, especially for the many small units of local government across the country who are receiving funding under the program.

As this is the first fiscal relief program to grant funds directly to tens of thousands of non-entitlement units of local government (NEUs), Treasury and OMB are working together closely to find ways to streamline the administration and oversight of the program across the board, while maintaining high standards of transparency and accountability.

We very much value the input we have received from the American Institute of CPAs and the National Association of State Auditors, Comptrollers and Treasurers with respect to the capacity of the U.S. audit community to perform full single audits on more than 30,000 recipients of SLFRF monies. Treasury and OMB intend to work closely together in the coming weeks to issue further guidance, in consultation with stakeholders, clarifying and streamlining the audit process in alignment with the final rule.

Most notably for smaller recipients, the final rule has introduced a “standard allowance” for revenue loss, allowing all recipients to spend up to $10 million of their allocation on “government services” in lieu of using the more complex revenue loss formula. We anticipate that this change will allow us to specify a simpler, more practical approach to compliance and oversight, including the Single Audit process.

We look forward to continued partnership on this issue, and hope to issue additional guidance in the coming weeks.

• President-Elect
• Secretary
• Strategic Plan Officer
• Two At-Large Board Member positions
  

Read more here about each position.

Interested in nominating a colleague for Board service? Please complete the Call for Nominations form.

Interested in Board service yourself? Please complete the Nominee Qualifications form. You do not have to be nominated by a colleague; submitting your qualifications form acts as a self-nomination.

Note: All prospective Board Members must complete the Nominee Qualifications form for their nomination to be complete, regardless of whether they self-nominate or are nominated by someone else.

Learn more about ALGA’s nominations and elections process by reading our new FAQ page. Have other questions? Please contact Nominating Committee Chair Justin Anderson.

Learn more.

In this archived webinar you’ll learn how to use relationship-building skills like rapport and reciprocity to improve your interview capabilities.

All archived webinars are free for members, and you can self-certify your CPE. Check out this archived webinar today!