Leading Insights: Integration of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Capabilities and Potential Challenges
This is a reprint of an article that appeared in the July 2024 AFERM Newsletter. Integration, as it relates to the maturity of agencies’ Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) programs, has been a hot topic recently. According to the Chief Financial Officer’s (CFO) Council and Performance Improvement Council (PIC), Playbook: Enterprise Risk Management in the U.S. Federal Government (ERM Playbook), “Successful integration of ERM into agencies’ day to day decision-making and management practices enables agencies to leverage opportunities and avoid, mitigate, and transfer risk, resulting in more resilient, effective, and efficient programs.”
Building and Maintaining Positive Client Relationships
Let’s take a minute and think back to the beginning of your relationship with your best friend or significant other. What makes your relationship work? Why is your relationship strong? What makes you feel comfortable around them? Are there specific traits that come to mind?
A Government View on Contracting Officer Staffing Levels
Through the first three quarters of fiscal year 2018, the federal government has obligated approximately $758 billion on new and existing contracts (including acquisition of assets via contract).
Using Value to Drive ERM Adoption
ERM allows agencies to detect risks across the full spectrum of strategic, operational, compliance, and reporting objectives, ties them directly to mission delivery, and then engrains risk management processes into the fabric of the organization.
Agile Provides a Quicker Time to Value for Federal Analytics Organizations
Analytics Organizations should focus on becoming Adaptive Organizations that can leverage Agile to increase productivity, focus on the Federal customer, shorten time-to-value delivery, and thereby increase value in Federal mission operations over time.
Eye on the Future: An Out of This World Challenge
In 2020, COVID-19 flipped the world on its axis. Travel slowed drastically, and the economy shifted, disrupting the supply chain and more. Worldwide, people made difficult decisions to balance their well-being with family and community health and safety. In May, NASA Space Apps, an international forum for individuals of all ages and disciplines to use publicly available data from NASA and other sources to solve real-world problems, issued its COVID-19 Challenge to learn from the pandemic.
AGA Report on the Status of RPA in Federal Financial Management
The Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic has necessitated the transfer of office-only positions to remote-enabled ones, which means many manual processes should be examined for ways to decrease the time and effort needed to accomplish those tasks. The Financial Management (FM) environment across the Federal Government is large and complicated, as are the systems that support those processes, and this is where Robotic Process Automation (RPA) comes into play.
NIST SP 800-53 Rev. 5: Straightforward Changes with Complex Solutions
As technology continues to advance, so must the controls that support the development of secure and resilient Federal information systems. Do you know what the new NIST SP changes mean for you and your organization?
Three Practical Recommendations to Secure Robotic Process Automation (RPA) in a Federal Information Technology (IT) environment
As technology advancements continue at a rapid pace and agencies face the challenge to increase efficiency across their operational processes, the use of RPA is becoming more prevalent across the Federal Government. This article provides three overarching recommendations for RPA Program Teams to support the successful implementation and operation of the program.
With So Much RPA, Why Don’t We Have More RPA?
Government agencies and companies alike are implementing automation processes to optimize performance and increase productivity, among other benefits.
Bridging the Communication Gap
In this article, we will discuss factors pertaining to social styles, generations, and technology, as well as how they impact our daily work lives. Additionally, we will examine how people must understand and acknowledge these various factors that change the way we communicate with coworkers and clients since today’s social climate is ever-evolving due to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).
Overcoming the Valleys of Change to Get to the Summit
The journey of venturing beyond the status quo and reaching for new heights may go as planned or entail some unplanned bumps along the way. This is like the experiences of many individuals when implementing organizational change.
Enriching the CPA Candidate Pool: Skills and Tips for Future CPAs
The future of the accounting profession is changing.
Best Practices for RPA and Financial Systems Implementation
Implementing a financial system can be a challenging exercise that is critical to the success of a financial institution. Robotics Process Automation (RPA) technology offers the promise of reducing time and cost from this process and helps improve its quality.
G-Invoicing – Are You Ready?
Are you tired of losing Interagency Agreements (IAA) through lengthy e-mail communications? If so, then good news! On October 1, 2022, Federal agencies will be required to implement the new Department of Treasury (Treasury)-developed system, G-Invoicing, to execute any new IAAs.
Management’s Responsibility for Enterprise Risk Management and Internal Control
While the idea of fraud can be daunting, Federal agencies must know their responsibilities to prevent/mitigate it.
How the DoD Can Accelerate Becoming a Treasury Disbursing Office
In order for DoD to implement an effective FBWT reconciliation, it must first fix its decades-old disbursing process, which has plagued its ability to identify and resolve FBWT issues.
G-Invoicing Shortcomings – How Federal Agencies Can Succeed
G-invoicing is not an all-encompassing solution; there are areas in which G-invoicing falls short, such as designing Internal Controls related to Intergovernmental Transactions (IGT) buying and selling, receipt and acceptance, and practical applications of G-Invoicing. Agencies will need to focus on key areas, including data element review, interface requirement review, and updates to Internal Control and process documentation, for G-Invoicing to be successful.
Keep Datasets Clean Using Data Quality Assessments
The Information Age has created a universe of data requiring rapid organizational change. The volume, velocity, and variety of the data has resulted in disjointed systems, siloed repositories, and a lack of communication around common challenges. As data degrades over time, the amount of organizational effort required to correct it grows exponentially.
Obsolescence in Opportunity – How Accountants Can Make Transformative Organizational Impacts
The world’s business environments are constantly changing, and technology gives today’s accountants a chance to break free from the confines of their traditional roles. Tomorrow’s accountants could be beacons for transformative change, resulting in positive impact for their organization and clients.
The Conundrum of Embracing the Future While Maintaining our Foundation
Innovation forces the workforce to grow and adapt, not only to meet changing legislation and emerging requirements, but also because leadership and accountants alike must take action to reskill current employees on applications and technologies to maintain relevancy. Innovation will continue to drive the future of the accountant’s position. Ultimately, the institutional and technical knowledge accountants hold will have to be harnessed to couple new technology appropriately and keep resources upskilled on day one.
AGA Intergovernmental Forum: Managing and Overseeing Pandemic Relief Funds
Delivery of pandemic relief benefits required workarounds and innovative approaches under daunting circumstances. This experience led to the recognition of the need to invest in systems, technology, and streamlined but controlled processes to deliver benefits timely and accurately in the future.
Authorizations and Audits: Cloud Services with FedRAMP JAB P-ATOs, What’s Next?
To pass an audit, an agency must provide auditors with evidence from both FedRAMP and the agency’s authorizing official that supports the agency’s understanding of the shared responsibility for security controls, as well as the key roles of both a P-ATO and an agency‑issued ATO in maintaining effective implementation and use of a CSO.
No Inherent Trust?
The ingenuity of cyber-attacks is increasing every day, and each organization must have that same thought process when conceptualizing a Zero Trust environment.
Tableau Capabilities to Improve Federal Agency Oversight and Monitoring
Creating effective dashboards allows oversight and monitoring to move more quickly and gives the ability to focus on areas of concern that matter to stakeholders.
Evolving PMOs to be Future-Ready
The future Project Management Office (PMO), if structured and scoped correctly, can bring greater focus and agility to accomplish organizational goals.
