Fraud in government is not just a theoretical risk - it is a measurable, ongoing threat with significant financial, operational, and public trust consequences. This session examines how fraud occurs in the public sector through the lens of the Fraud Triangle - pressure, opportunity, and rationalization—and why weakened or poorly designed internal controls are often the critical gateway that allows fraud to take root.

Participants will explore how opportunity, driven by control breakdowns such as lack of segregation of duties, ineffective oversight, and system vulnerabilities, creates the conditions for fraud—even among otherwise trusted employees. The session will connect theory to practice, demonstrating how internal control failures translate directly into fraud risk across finance, payroll, procurement, and treasury functions.

The session also provides a data-driven view of the scope of the problem. Government-wide estimates underscoring the magnitude of risk to public resources and the importance of proactive fraud prevention and detection. Beyond the financial loss, the session highlights the broader impact of fraud on:

• Communities, where diverted funds reduce resources for essential services such as education, public safety, and infrastructure
• Stakeholders, including taxpayers, governing boards, and oversight bodies, who rely on transparency and accountability
• Government operations, where fraud erodes fiscal stability, increases scrutiny, and damages organizational credibility

To bring these concepts to life, the session features a detailed case study of the Santa Cruz County Treasurer embezzlement, where over $38 million in public funds was stolen over a 10-year period through a sophisticated scheme that exploited control weaknesses. The case demonstrates how control overrides, lack of monitoring, and inadequate segregation of duties created sustained opportunity for fraud.

Attendees will leave with a deeper understanding of how fraud develops in government environments, how control weaknesses can escalate risks, and practical insights for strengthening internal controls to prevent, detect, and respond to fraud.

Learning Objectives:

• Explain the fraud triangle and its relevance in government environments
• Identify how internal control deficiencies create opportunities for fraud
• Understand current government fraud trends and financial impacts
• Evaluate the organizational and community consequences of fruad

The Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB) serves the public interest by improving federal financial reporting through issuing generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and providing guidance after considering the needs of external and internal users of federal financial information. In this session, we will provide an overview of FASAB and present a general update on FASAB projects, recently issued guidance, and stakeholder engagements.

Learning Objectives:

• Discuss the FASAB GAAP hierarchy and identify how FASAB meets financial statement user needs through its due process
• Identify and discuss the status of FASAB’s active projects and recently issued guidance
• Identify and discuss the ways that FASAB engages with stakeholders when developing new guidance and helping apply issued guidance

This session will provide a high level overview of the GASB pronouncements that become effective in the coming fiscal years. The main focus of the session will be to provide an update on the current status of projects on GASB’s current technical and research agenda.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the effective dates of recently issued GASB standards.
• Understand the purpose and current status of project's on the GASB's technical and research agenda.

Single audits continue to be a hot topic for state and local governments. This session will cover (1) key information in the 2026 Compliance Supplement, (2) specific program updates of relevance to governments, (3) other single audit updates and reminders, and (4) Governmental Audit Quality Center (GAQC) and AICPA resources.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify new elements of the 2026 Compliance Supplement
• Distinguish where new guidance applies to your 2026 audits

Participants will receive an update on the Yellow Book standards including implementation guidance for a system of quality control. Additionally, the Standards for Internal Control also know as the Green Book will be covered with a focus on the changes and how these standards may impact Federal and single audits.

Participants will learn  about the ASB standards with recent and upcoming effective dates, including the new Quality Management Standards (SQMS) effective December 15, 2025, exposure drafts, and the 2026-2027 workplan.

This session demonstrates how simple data analytics can support the research and development (R&D) phase of an audit by helping auditors identify higher-risk grantees. Using a case example, we illustrate how the two audits born from this R&D resulted in significant findings.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify data sources that can be used to review and organize Federal funding data.
• Recognize simple data quality checks that affect risk identification.
• Identify steps used to prioritize grantees with higher potential risk.

Auditors and governments have navigated a rapidly changing environment in recent years, and those conditions will continue to impact audits in 2026. Government auditors face a range of practice challenges, making it difficult to perform effective and efficient audits while maintaining the level of quality expected by stakeholders and the profession. Learn about the latest developments affecting state and local government financial statement audits and how to respond to them in practice.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify how the current environment is impacting state and local government audits and practitioners, including, but not limited to, the COVID-19 funding cliff, cybersecurity, and staffing shortages
• Identify considerations when auditing implementation of GASB Statements No. 103 through 105
• Identify the impact of other factors on governmental audits such as legislative and regulatory developments and other GASB projects

Government
organizations continue to face growing challenges in attracting, developing,
and retaining accounting and finance professionals. At the same
time, changes in CPA licensure pathways, workforce expectations, technology,
and labor market dynamics are reshaping the future talent landscape.

This session explores current
talent and workforce development trends affecting the accounting profession and
examines their impact on government financial leadership. Participants will
gain insights into emerging CPA pipeline data, candidate and employer trends,
and initiatives designed to strengthen the profession's workforce. The session
will also highlight findings and recommendations from the AICPA and NASACT Public
Sector CPA Resources report and the Government Performance and
Accountability Committee (GPAC) three-part series, which focuses on
recruitment, retention, succession planning, and leadership development within
the public sector.

Attendees
will leave with practical strategies and actionable ideas to help attract
future talent, strengthen employee engagement, develop emerging leaders, and
build a sustainable workforce for government accounting, auditing, and finance
functions.

Learning Objectives:

• • Recognize current trends affecting the accounting profession's talent and workforce pipeline, including factors influencing CPA candidates and employer behavior.
• • Identify workforce challenges impacting government accounting, auditing, and finance organizations.
• • Recall key findings and recommendations from recent public-sector talent and workforce development research.
• • Identify leading practices for attracting, developing, and retaining accounting and finance professionals in government organizations.

This session will provide a fast-paced overview of the latest regulatory changes impacting Single Audits in 2026, including key revisions to Uniform Guidance and the Compliance Supplement. Participants will gain insight into common challenges and frequently asked questions observed in practice, along with practical strategies to support compliance, strengthen audit quality, and effectively execute Single Audit engagements.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify updates and regulatory changes impacting Single Audits, including key revisions
• Understand common challenges and frequently asked questions related to Single Audits
• Discuss practical strategies to ensure compliance in the performance of Single Audit engagements

The effective date for designing and implementing a system of quality management has passed. What should auditors and audit organizations be doing now?

Join GAO to explore the ongoing evolution of an audit organization's system of quality management, including preparations for internal and external reviews.

Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing how audit teams plan, perform, document, and evaluate audit procedures. This session will explore practical ways AI can be used as an audit tool in governmental audits, including examples related to risk assessment, document review, data analysis, audit documentation, and quality control. Participants will also discuss key considerations for responsible AI use, including professional judgment, data security, reliability of outputs, and documentation expectations.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify practical ways AI tools can support common governmental audit activities, including planning, risk assessment, data analysis, and documentation.
• Evaluate key risks and safeguards associated with using AI in audit engagements, including confidentiality, accuracy, professional skepticism, and audit evidence considerations.

In this session, participants will learn the key requirements of SAS 149 for group audits, how to apply group audit concepts in governmental audit environments, and the required audit evidence and reporting implications for group audits.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify key requirements of SAS 149 for group audits – Participants will be able to identify key changes to group audit requirements. Participants will be able to identify the roles and responsibilities of the group engagement team, including the group engagement partner, and distinguish the responsibilities of component auditors in a group financial statement audit.
• Apply group audit concepts in governmental audit environments - Participants will be able to apply SAS 149 requirements to governmental and Single Audit contexts, including assessing component materiality, evaluating risk at the component level, and determining appropriate involvement with component auditors under Government Auditing Standards.
• Evaluate audit evidence and reporting implications in group audits - Participants will be able to evaluate the sufficiency and appropriateness of audit evidence obtained from components and determine the impact on the group auditor’s opinion and reporting, including situations involving limitations, multiple auditors, or modified opinions.

Will focus on providing suggestions for facilitating impactful audit reports and communications

Learning Objectives:

• Useful recommendations for designing impactful audit reports and communications

This session will provide a deep dive into GASB Statement No. 103, Financial Reporting Model Improvements, and an overview of other recently issued GASB standards and implementation guidance. The session will focus on key presentation, disclosure, effective date, and implementation considerations for preparers and auditors.

Learning Objectives:

• Analyze the key financial statement presentation and disclosure changes introduced by GASB Statement No. 103.
• Determine the scope, effective dates, and transition requirements for recently issued GASB standards and related implementation guidance.
• Assess implementation and audit considerations for operationalizing the new requirements, including data-gathering needs, financial statement format changes, note disclosures, and coordination between preparers and auditors.

Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing how accounting and auditing work gets done. It can summarize documents, identify anomalies, draft reports, analyze trends, and accelerate routine tasks. But in government accounting and auditing, the ethical stakes are especially high because the work affects public resources, public accountability, and public trust.

This session examines the ethical risks that arise when AI enters the workflow, including overreliance on AI output, inaccurate or incomplete analysis, confidentiality concerns, bias, lack of transparency, weak documentation, and unclear accountability. Participants will explore realistic government-focused examples and discuss how to apply professional judgment, skepticism, and ethical reasoning when using AI tools.

Attendees will leave with practical questions they can ask before relying on AI-assisted work and strategies for balancing innovation with responsibility.

This session will provide a high level overview of the GASB pronouncements that become effective in the coming fiscal years. The main focus of the session will be to provide an update on the current status of projects on GASB’s current technical and research agenda.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the effective dates of recently issued GASB standards.
• Understand the purpose and current status of project's on the GASB's technical and research agenda.

Single audits continue to be a hot topic for state and local governments. This session will cover (1) key information in the 2026 Compliance Supplement, (2) specific program updates of relevance to governments, (3) other single audit updates and reminders, and (4) Governmental Audit Quality Center (GAQC) and AICPA resources.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify new elements of the 2026 Compliance Supplement
• Distinguish where new guidance applies to your 2026 audits

Since it isn't possible to attend every session of the conference, participate in this session to hear summary-level highlights of the key points from every conference session! Also, have the chance to get your questions answered!

Learning Objectives:

• Identify answers to attendee questions.
• Identify key takeaways from the conference's sessions.