Ranks of Fed Accoutants too Thin?

The federal government may be left vulnerable to mission failure as 60 percent of its workforce approaches retirement age over the next 10 years, including its most experienced and skilled financial managers.

That’s the take-home message from an Association of Government Accountants' study, 21st Century Financial Managers: A New Mix of Skills and Educational Levels.

Among the group's recommendations to improve the capacity and capability of the federal financial management workforce:

• Require professional and administrative federal financial managers to attend continuing professional education programs;
• Urge the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants to include basic federal accounting questions on the CPA examination, along with existing questions relating to state and local government accounting. Including these would encourage colleges and universities to include a "Federal Accounting 101" course in their curriculum, the group says.