By: William A. (Billy) Morehead, Ph.D., CPA, CGFM, Chair, Division of Accountancy, CIS, and Finance, Delta State University; AGA National President-Elect
It seems to me that most of our respective conversations over the past two months, at all levels of government, have in part included some aspect of the monies in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).
There have been, and will continue to be, a number of very healthy conversations among many governmental entities regarding the accountability aspects of distributing, using, and accounting for the hundreds of billions of dollars involved in ARRA. An excellent dialogue between federal and state governments occurred this past week at the National Association of State Comptrollers meeting in Annapolis, MD—what a GREAT meeting! I am quite proud of our governments who are focusing on the accountability aspect of ARRA funding. I hope and pray the “theory” in our discussions becomes the “reality” we see when the monies “hit the street” in coming weeks and months.
Rightfully so, there has been some reluctance on behalf of many state and local governments to begin drawing down monies contained in ARRA due to the absence of specific accountability criteria and guidelines – even editorial cartoonists have called attention to this in Mississippi—see Marshall Ramsey’s editorial cartoon in The Clarion Ledger on Tuesday, March 24, 2009.
I applaud those at the federal government level who are working fast and furiously to establish appropriate criteria and guidelines. I don’t recall, in my 25-year career in government, any time when I have seen the federal government agencies and the state and local government offices working so closely together as they are now to achieve the performance outcomes and accountability goals desired with ARRA. I applaud you all!
As AGA continues to “trumpet” Intergovernmental Partnerships, accountability professionals throughout all levels of government must remember to use our positions wisely and exercise great leadership at this time in our nation’s history. We are responsible for ensuring that these monies are distributed, used, reported and accounted for wisely and appropriately.
Let’s look into this “Era of ARRA” with accountability and stewardship as our key focus! AGA can, and as well we should, lead the way!
Let’s “Think
Big! Act Courageously! Make a Difference!”