May 17, 2012

Continuing Education Credit

The Association of Inspectors General is a sponsor of the  National Registry of CPE Sponsors, which is a program offered by the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) to recognize CPE program sponsors who provide continuing professional education (CPE) programs in accordance with nationally recognized standards. Therefore, the presentations and workshops at the AIG conferences qualify for CPE credits. For each of its members, AIG maintains an individualized CPE and certification transcript which documents attendance.

The conference presenters include both members and outside experts, who offer professional and technical training as well as up-to-date information about emerging develops in inspection and oversight at the local, state and Federal levels.

Panel Objectives

Session 1:        Creating an Office of Inspector General – From an Elected Official’s Perspective

  • Attendees will understand the thought process of an elected official in deciding whether to establish an inspector general office within his/her jurisdiction.
  • Attendees will learn the political complications and considerations in deciding whether to create an inspector general function.
  • Attendees will learn the legislative and/or executive process in establishing an inspector general.
  • Attendees will learn what an elected official looks for in finding the appropriate individual for the position of Inspector General.
  • Attendees will learn from the elected official’s perspective what the working relationship should be between the elected official and his/her inspector general.
  • Attendees will learn how the elected officials perceive how an inspector general office should function.

Session 2:        Creating an Office of Inspector General – The International Experience

  • Attendees will learn the political complications and considerations in another country and continent (Africa) how it is decided whether to create an inspector general function.
  • Attendees will learn the legislative and/or executive process in establishing an inspector general in another country/continent.
  • Attendees will learn from an inspector general’s perspective what the working relationship should be between the elected official and his/her inspector general.
  • Attendees will learn what an inspector general from another country/continent perceives how an inspector general office should function.
  • Attendees will learn the differences in how inspectors general function and work together in another country/continent.

Session 3:        Health Care Fraud

  • Attendees will learn about health care fraud and the different ways there are to commit this fraud.
  • Attendees will understand what the enforcement agencies are doing to combat the fraud with prevention and detection methods.
  • Attendees will learn about the various criminal statutes that are used to charge those committing the frauds.
  • Attendees will learn how the various enforcement agencies work collaboratively to fight health care fraud.
  • Attendees will learn how this fraud affects the overall economy and costs for health care for all Americans.

Session 4:        Fighting Public Corruption in New Jersey

  • Attendees will learn what the US attorney in New Jersey has done over the last few years in investigating and prosecuting public corruption.
  • Attendees will understand investigative and prosecutorial tools and strategies in investigating public corruption.
  • Attendees will learn how various law enforcement agencies worked together to investigate and prosecute these corruption cases.
  • Attendees will understand the political implications of these corruption cases and how these cases affect the public.
  • Attendees will learn the common difficulties in bringing these public corruption investigations to conclusion.
  • Attendees will learn the economic and political implications of the public corruption cases that were brought in New Jersey.

Session 5:        Asset Forfeiture – Federal and State Application

  • Attendees will learn how to apply the asset forfeiture laws in both federal and state public corruption and fraud against the government prosecutions.
  • Attendees will learn the legal and prosecution strategies in utilizing the asset forfeiture laws.
  • Attendees will understand what investigative steps are needed and what financial records needed to be obtained to successfully utilize asset forfeiture.
  • Attendees will learn what the benefits are in using asset forfeiture.
  • Attendees will learn how inspectors general and other law enforcement agencies can benefit from utilizing asset forfeiture.

Session 6:        Contractor/Vendor Responsibility

  • Attendees will learn the law and procedures surrounding when contractors/vendors are determined to be non-responsible
  • Attendees will learn the process that New York City adheres to in determining the responsibility of a contractor/vendor
  • Attendees will come to understand the various steps in the rehabilitation process for those contractors/vendors that have integrity issues before they are eligible for award of new contracts
  • Attendees will learn about the NYC Vendex System that is administered by the NYC Mayor’s Office of Contracts and the benefits the system provides to the procurement community and Inspectors General.

Session 7:        Inspectors General, Integrity Monitors, Prosecutors Working Together on Construction Fraud – Case Study/Testwell Labs

  • Attendees will learn how various components of the law enforcement community and private investigative community worked collaboratively to investigate a complicated construction related matter successfully.
  • Attendees will learn how the investigation into fraud was conducted utilizing various investigative tools, including: search warrants, subpoenas, asset forfeiture, forensic engineering, computer analysis, etc.
  • Attendees will learn how the evidence was analyzed
  • Attendees will understand now the investigation resulted in an indictment
  • Attendees will learn how the investigation was prepared for trial against the main defendants
  • Attendees will learn what the elements of the various crimes were that were charged

Session 8:        An Independent Study on Government Oversight

  • Attendees will learn about POGO, a private not-for-profit organization that exists to provide the public with an independent, objective evaluation on government oversight and the agencies that perform that oversight.
  • Attendees will learn about the various investigations and reports issued by POGO that pertain to the Inspector General community
  • Attendees will understand the weaknesses that POGO has identified in the government oversight programs that they studied
  • Attendees will learn about the Federal Contractor Misconduct Database and the benefits it provides
  • Attendees will learn how POGO interacts with the federal government and Congress to bring change to government oversight

Session 9:        Mortgage Fraud

  • Attendees will learn what Mortgage Fraud is.
  • Attendees will learn how mortgage fraud affects the public and the national economy.
  • Attendees will learn about the various schemes that are employed to defraud mortgages.
  • Attendees will learn the various criminal statutes utilized to prosecute violators.
  • Attendees will understand the investigative techniques used to investigate such crimes.

Session 10:      Fraud Prevention Programs on Construction Projects

  • Attendees will learn the various components of a successful fraud prevention program and how to implement the program for any construction project.
  • Attendees will understand how government officials managing construction projects and the private contracting community performing the work can work collaboratively with the Inspector General community to prevent fraud.
  • Attendees will learn about various internal control weaknesses in a construction project that could allow for fraud and ways to strengthen those weaknesses.
  • Attendees will understand how fraud prevention techniques and fraud detection techniques are used to combat fraud on construction projects.
  • Attendees will learn what investigative and forensic audit techniques are used in preventing and detecting fraud in construction projects.

Session 11:      Procurement Fraud – An Update on the National Procurement Fraud Task Force

  • Attendees will learn what the goals and objectives were of the National Procurement Fraud Task Force when it was established.
  • Attendees will learn what the Task Force has accomplished since its creation.
  • Attendees will learn the various procurement fraud schemes that have been uncovered by Task Force members.
  • Attendees will learn the criminal statutes utilized to prosecute the violators.
  • Attendees will understand the reforms recommended by the Task Force to reform the government procurement process to assist in preventing fraud.

Session 12:      Honest Services Crimes

  • Attendees will learn what the current state of the law is pertaining to the federal Honest Services Crimes
  • Attendees will learn how the law went through a recent challenge in the federal courts and the implications of those changes
  • Attendees will learn how to utilized the Honest Services Crimes in investigating and prosecuting public corruption cases.
  • Attendees will learn the legal strategies for gathering evidence of Honest Services Crimes.
  • Attendees will understand prosecution and defense tools and strategies in Honest Services Crime prosecutions.

Session 13:      Pension Fraud

  • Attendees will learn what the various fraud schemes employed to compromise and steal from the pension systems.
  • Attendees will learn what both New Jersey and New York law enforcement and prosecutorial agencies have done to detect these schemes and reform the pension system.
  • Attendees will understand what legislative actions need to be taken to reform the pension systems.
  • Attendees will learn the affect this type of fraud has had on the economy and government budgets.

Session 14:      Ethics Reform in New Jersey and New York

  • Attendees will learn the current state of ethics reform in both New Jersey and New York.
  • Attendees will learn what the various steps that were implemented over the last number of years so transform ethics in both states.
  • Attendees will understand the political complications in reforming ethics, and in particular pertaining to elected officials themselves.
  • Attendees will learn what are some of the legal components of the ethics laws in both states.
  • Attendees will learn the importance of strong ethic laws in regulating the behavior of elected officials and government employees.

Session 15:      Inspectors General Doing More with Less

  • Attendees will learn how the economy is affecting the way inspectors general are carrying out their responsibilities.
  • Attendees will learn various methods and means of how inspectors general are fulfilling their responsibilities with less resource.
  • Attendees will be presented with various alternatives on how to operate an inspector general office more efficient.
  • Attendees will be presented with proven examples of how inspectors general are performing their functions efficiently with less resource.