AICPA awards honor CPAs in government

Wendy M. Payne, CPA, executive director of the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB) in Washington, received the Institute’s Outstanding CPA in Government Career Contribution Award, which recognizes significant career-long contributions to the efficiency, effectiveness, or innovative service delivery of a local, state, or federal organization over the length of a career.

Payne manages the research staff supporting FASAB deliberations, chairs the Accounting and Auditing Policy Committee, led FASAB through the complex and controversial Reporting Entity project, and has been a driving force in improving and advancing the federal government’s financial reporting. Before joining FASAB, she worked in consumer advocacy and corporate financial planning, and she has served as an auditor, expert witness, and financial forecaster.

The AICPA also announced that Leah L. Nikaidoh, CPA, Jacob Flournoy, CPA, CGMA, and Anne Harty, CPA, received Outstanding CPA in Government Impact Awards, which recognize CPAs working in federal, state, and local government who have contributed significantly to increased efficiency and effectiveness of government organizations and to the growth and enhancement of the CPA profession. (Current or recent accomplishments, within the past three to five years, are the focus of these awards.)

Nikaidoh, who received the federal-level award, is the national single-audit coordinator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Inspector General in Cincinnati.

She has served on national work groups convened by the Office of Management and Budget to update and consolidate circulars related to grants and has presented at various seminars and conferences related to single audits and grants compliance.

Flournoy, who received the state-level award, is the internal audit director for the University of Arkansas System, where he established the Internal Audit Department and worked with the board of trustees and senior management to develop charters for the university system’s Audit and Fiscal Responsibility Committee and the Internal Audit Department. He also created the university system’s fraud hotline and developed a risk-based audit universe for the system.

Harty, who received the local-level award, is the CFO/municipal clerk for the city of Rock Hill, S.C., where she oversees the Divisions of Accounting, Risk Management, Customer Services, and Records Management and serves on the city’s budget committee. She previously served as the city’s performance manager and customer services manager. She currently serves on the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) Committee on Accounting, Auditing, and Financial Reporting and is co-chair of the GFOA Women’s Public Finance Network.