AABPA members organized and presented two panels at the 2016 annual conference of the Budget and Financial Management section (ABFM) of ASPA in Seattle, WA, October 6-9, 2016.  ABFM is the principal professional organization of academics who teach public finance and budgeting.  The panels provided practitioner perspectives on topics of interest to both academics and practitioners.  ABFM and AABPA are partners in sponsoring the Journal of Public Budgeting and Finance.

“Performance Metrics Through a Paramedic Lens” moderated by Patrick Washington, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office/George Mason University (current member of the AABPA board of directors), discussed performance metrics utilized and assessments performed by Federal agencies.  Panelists included Jon Stehle, MITRE Corporation (current AABPA board member); Karen Kunz, West Virginia University (current AABPA board member); Amy Squires, MITRE Corporation; and Donna Donella, MITRE Corporation.

“The Validity of Government Financial Data in Audits and Financial Statements” addressed financial data and management issues raised in the GAO government-wide audit of the Federal Government for FY2015.  The panel was moderated by Karen Kunz, West Virginia University (current AABPA board member).  The panelists were Melissa Neuman, OMB/GW University (current AABPA board member); Patrick Washington, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office/George Mason University (current member of the AABPA board); and Edward Brigham, Federal Consulting Alliance (current AABPA board member).