2025 Governmental Accounting Academy

The GFOAT Governmental Accounting Academy is an intensive introduction to
governmental accounting, auditing, and financial reporting using GFOA training materials.

Who Will Benefit

Accountants, finance officers, and auditors new to the public sector. Finance Directors who want to increase their understanding of the governmental accounting and reporting process.

Program Description

Accountants and auditors new to the public sector face the daunting challenge of familiarizing themselves with the highly specialized rules, guidelines, and practices applicable to state and local governments. This intensive three-day workshop—intended for those who already possess at least a basic knowledge of private-sector accounting—combines lecture, discussion, and exercises to help newcomers make this difficult, but essential, transition. Prerequisites: Basic knowledge of private sector accounting concepts and/or experience working in a local government or public accounting firm auditing local government

Seminar Objectives

  • Those who successfully complete this seminar should obtain a solid basic understanding of each of the following:
  • The unique environmental factors that have led to specialized accounting and financial reporting for state and local governments;
  • Fund accounting;
  • Government-wide financial reporting;
  • How to categorize and measure transactions and events;
  • Budgetary reporting;
  • Elements of an Annual Comprehensive Financial Report (ACFR);
  • How to interpret state and local government financial statements;
  • Specialized applications (pensions, other postemployment benefits, leases, termination benefits, government combinations, financial reporting entity, service concession arrangements, pollution remediation, fiduciary funds) are discussed only at the conceptual level and are considered intermediate or advanced topics; and
  • Internal control and auditing in the public sector is also discussed at the conceptual level without significant detail.

Agenda- Governmental Accounting Academy

Time: 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

  • Monday, April 28, 2025: Bob Scott, CPA, Deputy City Manager, Town of Prosper; and Rebecca Darling, CPA, Partner, Audit Services, Weaver
  • Tuesday, April 29, 2025: Bob Scott, CPA, Deputy City Manager, Town of Prosper; and Diana K. Vaughn, CPA, Chief Financial Officer, City of Carrollton
  • Wednesday, April 30, 2025: Bob Scott, CPA, Deputy City Manager, Town of Prosper; and Bhakti Patel, CPA, Managing Principal, Austin, Texas, CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen LLP)

Instructors:

  • Bob Scott, CPA, Deputy City Manager, Town of Prosper
  • Rebecca Darling, CPA, Partner, Audit Services, Weaver
  • Diana K. Vaughn, CPA, Chief Financial Officer, City of Carrollton
  • Bhakti Patel, CPA, Managing Principal, Austin, Texas, CLA (Clifton Larson Allen, LLP)

Bob Scott is Deputy Town Manager for the Town of Prosper, Texas, a rapidly growing suburb in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex.  Mr. Scott, a CPA began his career with a large CPA firm, auditing and consulting for a variety of clients including State and Local Governments.  For the past 30 years, he has worked in various financial and management capacities.  He is a GFOAT Past President and former member of the GFOA Executive Board as well as former Chair of GFOA’s ACFR Committee.  He has also been active with the AICPA Expert Panel which writes the State and Local Government Audit Guide.  Over the years he has developed an expertise in pensions and OPEB and is currently a Trustee with Texas Municipal Retirement System (TMRS).

Bhakti is the Managing Principal of CLA’s Austin office and leads their state and local government practice in Texas. Her experience includes over 21 years of providing audit, compliance and consulting services to governmental entities and public higher education institutions ranging from small organizations to organizations with over $30 billion in assets. She has supervised audits of some of the largest airports, transit agencies and seaports in the United States. The majority of her clients have received the GFOA Certificate of Achievement in Financial Reporting and her expertise extends to OMB Circular A-133/ Uniform Guidance audits

As an industry expert, Bhakti has devoted her career to ensuring her clients receive exceptional service. She has provided numerous technical trainings and presentations internally and externally on technical topics including the CARES Act, ARPA, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards (“Uniform Guidance”) and GASB pronouncements. Bhakti also previously served on the GFOA Special Review Committee to review ACFRs submitted to the GFOA Certificate of Achievement in Financial Reporting Program.

Bhakti has been recognized as a Top 50 Women Leader of Austin by Women We Admire and a Women in Business Award nominee by the Austin Business Journal.  She serves as a sponsor on CLA’s Women’s Sponsorship Program designed to empower women, drive impact, and support them on their journey to leadership roles at CLA. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Virginia and a Master of Science Accounting Information Systems from Science from Virginia Tech.

Agenda- Internal Controls for Texas Local Government

Time: 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

  • Thursday, May 1, 2025: Bob Scott, CPA, Deputy City Manager, Town of Prosper
  • Description: Internal controls are essential to the effective operation of local governments. Simply put, internal controls are activities or procedures designed to provide reasonable assurance that operations are “going according to plan.”  Bob Scott will present policies and procedures to help strengthen your internal controls and give examples of what has happened when controls are not in place.

Registration Information

Register Here

Cancellation Information

Cancellation & Substitute Policy:  If you are registered and cannot attend, we encourage you to send a substitute.  If you cannot send a substitute, a $100 cancellation fee will be assessed if written cancellation is received by April 4, 2025.  No refunds will be honored after April 4, 2025.

Meeting Information

The meeting will be held at the Bob Bennett Building, located at 3400 Sunrise Road, Round Rock TX.

Continuing Education Credit

Individuals may submit program information to their certifying agency to determine if CEU’s or other credits may be applied. GFOAT does not pre-certify sessions for credit. You may earn up to 24 hours of CPE for the GAA and 8 hours for the Internal Controls for Texas Local Government.

Before You Go

Registered attendees will be sent a link to access PDF’s of the slide decks before the event. Please download or print the slides well in advance because each day’s material has several hundred slides.

The academy dress code is comfortable business casual. Don’t forget your sweater or wrap to ensure comfort in the meeting room.