Sheraton Waikiki Hotel
Honolulu, Hawaii
August 22 - 24, 2007

2007 Pacific Emerging Issues Conference/RPDI a Huge Success!

The 14th biennial Pacific Emerging Issues Conference/RPDI held August 22 to 24 at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel was a huge success attracting a record turnout of 302 paid registrations and 375 overall, including speakers, coordinators and exhibitors. The conference was jointly sponsored by the Hawaii Chapter of the Association of Government Accountants (AGA), the Aloha Chapter of the American Society of Military Comptrollers (ASMC) and the Western Intergovernmental Audit Forum (WIAF).

The conference was especially well received by attendees and 94% of those responding to an evaluation question indicated that they will attend the PEIC/RPDI in 2009. Several among those indicating “no” to the question said that they will be unable to attend since they would not be in Hawaii attendees, including speakers and exhibitors, also indicated that they would return in 2009. In addition, many volunteers said that they would volunteer again in 2009.

After the conference opened with the posting of the colors, Hawaii State Auditor Marion Higa got the conference off to an excellent start with her opening address on “Managing and Evaluating Public Service”. The highlight of the conference was the outstanding keynote address by Comptroller General of the United States David M. Walker speaking on “Transforming Government, Management and Accountability”.

Over the three days, there were many outstanding speakers, panel discussions, and breakout sessions featuring a first class program developed with the help of national program advisors, Bill Broadus (W. A. Broadus, Jr., CPA, PC), Clif Williams (Grant Thornton LLP), Dick Willett (Thompson, Cobb, Bazilio & Associates, PC), John Raines (ASMC), Brian Estes (WIAF) and Arnold Kishi (State Department of Accounting and General Services). There were 53 local, regional and national speakers who made presentations on the latest issues and developments affecting government financial management.

The conference also provided an excellent environment for socializing and networking. At the end of the first day, many attendees enjoyed a sponsored reception with great food and live Hawaiian music on the lawn between the Sheraton Waikiki and Royal Hawaiian hotels. The Hawaiian luau at the Hale Koa Hotel was well attended and a special golf outing was held on Tuesday before the conference.

Other highlights of the conference included:

Attendance by participants, speakers and exhibitors from Hawaii, various parts of the mainland United States, American Pacific Governments (Guam, Northern Marianas, Micronesia and Marshall Islands), Japan/Korea/Okinawa and Alaska.

• The participation by national executive directors and other leaders of both AGA and ASMC.
• Outstanding exhibits, featuring nine national and local firms and organizations, plus AGA and ASMC.
• An upgrade in corporate sponsorships.
• An outstanding conference website, which was updated regularly for program, speakers and other matters
• For the first time, on-line automated conference registrations were used.
• An excellent meeting of the WIAF, which preceded and complemented the conference.
• The AGA Pacific Rim Leadership Meeting and Roundtable at which many excellent ideas were provided on how to improve programs and services to the professionals in the Pacific Rim region.
• The ASMC again conducted CDFM training and testing in relation to the conference.
• A special presentation by the AGA national executive director to students and faculty at the University Of Hawaii School Of Accountancy.
• Due to the many right people and parties present at the conference, there were some important formal and informal discussions on various matters.

Congratulations and Mahalo to co-chairs Shayna Dorris (Army Audit Agency), Clarence Kuwahara (Retired), Spencer Lum (Office of the State Auditor), Karen Morinaga (U. S. Navy) and Linda Warrick (Kaneohe Marine Corps Base Headquarters) who led a joint AGA/ASMC team of many dedicated volunteers and executed the outstanding conference

Conference Information

• Conference Program
• Conference Speakers
• Speaker Bios
• Conference TEAM
• Conference Evaluations
• Conference Sponsors
• Conference Exhibitors

Conference Presentations

August 22, 2007

Keynote Address “Transforming Government, Management and Accountability” (B)

Concurrent Sessions (C)
“What’s New in Accounting and Auditing?” (C1)
“Trends – Technology in Government” (C2)
Concurrent Sessions (E)
“Governmental Accounting Standards Board Update” (E1)
“Outsourcing/Franchising Governmental Services – Pros and Cons” (E2a) (E2b)
“DoD Decision Support” (E3)

General Session “Are Government Purchase Cards Here to Stay?” (F)
General Session “AGA and ASMC Initiatives that Help Advance Government Accountability” (Ga) (Gb)

August 23, 2007

Concurrent Sessions (I)
“GAAS (Generally Accepted Auditing Standards) Update” (I1)
“Fraud: Strategies and Techniques for Detection and Prevention” (I2)
“Fiscal Year 2008 Defense Budget” (I3)
“Financial Management Systems – Is A New Improved One Worth the Headache?” (I5)

Concurrent Sessions (J)
“2007 Yellow Book Revision” (J1)
“Fiscal Law – DoD Update” (J3a) (J3b) (J3c)
“Current Issues in Internet Security – More than ID Theft” (J4a) (J4b) (J4c)
“Financial Management Systems – Is A New Improved One Worth the Headache?” (I5)

Luncheon Talk “DFAS Transformation-The Journey Continues” (K)

Concurrent Sessions (L)
“Single Audit Issues Update” (L1)
“ERP ( Enterprise Resource Planning) Update” (L2)
“Jump Start Your DoD Financial Management Career” (L3)
“Scoring Financial Management & Oversight – 2007 Annual AGA CFO Survey” (L4)

August 24, 2007

Workshops (N)
“How Audit Offices Can Promote Effective Performance Measurement and SEA Reporting”
(N1a) (N1b) (N1c)
“DoD, Jan 09: Miles to Go Before We Sleep!” (N2)
“The Toughest Job: SUPERVISOR as ‘Mama’ and ‘Motivator’” (N3)
“Integrating Performance Measurement” (N4)

Workshops (O)
“GAAS (Audit Risk Assessment)” (O1)
“GASB 43 and 45 Other Postemployment Benefits (OPEB)” (O3)
“Tools for Today’s Five Generation Work Force” (O4)

Luncheon Talk “Are You Ready for the Human Capital Transformation?” (P)

Workshops (Q)
“Federal Grants - Strategies to Get the Most Bang for the Bucks” (Q1)
“Deployed Comptrollers” (Q2a) (Q2b)
“Retirement: Finding Purpose and Direction for the ‘Second Half’” (Q3)

Workshops (R)
“Yellow Book CPE Requirements” (R1)
“The USMC Road to CFO Act Compliance” (R2)
“Retirement: Finding Purpose and Direction for the ‘Second Half’” (Continuation Q3) (R3)