Association of Local Government Auditors

Greetings ALGA Friends!

Fall is here!  Time to take off the shade screens, spray down the patio furniture, plant a garden, and throw open the windows!  As an Arizona native, I've learned to live in harmony with the desert.  I keep oven mitts in my car and anything chocolate out of my car, I don't waste space in my closet for sweaters or umbrellas, and I watch most major sporting events inside a cool, covered stadium (burrow).  Given the national weather reports from July, many of you non-desert dwellers endured record heat as well; 134 degree heat index in Moorhead, Minnesota?  Crazy!  Nevertheless, the seasons have now changed, school is back in session, and our audits are well underway.

As you can tell by the great articles in this issue, ALGA members are also fully engaged in many productive ways, and sharing their knowledge about detecting fraud is only one of those ways.  All of the ALGA committees are up and running for the new fiscal year.  The committee chairs are in place and are excited about the opportunities ahead.  With the dividing of the Communications Committee into the Publications Committee and the Online Resources Committee, we have even more opportunities for ALGA members to make a difference.  Please contact me, a board member, or a committee chair to begin the process of serving on an ALGA committee.  We need you!

I would like to send a hearty thank you to those of you already working diligently to make ALGA an exceptional resource for its members.  Your efforts do not go unnoticed.  I would also like to thank you for allowing me to serve as President for this fiscal year.  Getting to know so many of you has been very rewarding.  I am constantly learning new techniques that impact my auditing career in a positive way.  I would like to especially thank Beth Breier and Amanda Noble, ALGA's presidents from the last two years.  They have different leadership styles, yet both were very effective, and each pushed the organization higher in her own way.  I tried to learn as much as I could from them. 

I am enthused about several initiatives that are underway and will make a difference for ALGA members.  For example, ALGA Member Services is now supporting the ALGA website.  We are working closely with them to give the site a fresh, new look, as well as added functionality.  Work continues on other technology fronts in the areas of on-line learning, and alternatives to the Listserv. 

The ALGA Board will hold its next meeting in November.  If you have any ideas or suggestions how to improve ALGA, please send them to me at rtate@mail.maricopa.gov.

Sincerely,

Ross Tate

ALGA President, 2011-12