Join us to hear from Johana Ayers, Managing Director and Nick Weeks, Assistant Director of U.S. Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) Forensic Audits and Investigative Service Team present “Managing Fraud Risks – How Effective is Your Approach?”

This event will take place in the Piedmont room of Clyde’s Restaurant. Lunch and beverages will be served prior to the training. The Gallery Place parking garage is accessible at 736 6th Street NW. Parking validation at the Gallery Place parking garage (mentioned above) is available at a 50% discount for the first two hours, dropping to 25% after two hours. No discount on validation after four hours. Clyde’s is also a five-minute walk from the Gallery Place Chinatown metro station.

11:45am start time, but doors open at 11:30am.

Registration:  Click in-person or virtual to register.

Bring a Friend: If you have a non-member colleague who might be interested in joining AGA, they can attend in person one time for the same price as a member.

Speaker Biographies:

Johana Ayers is the Managing Director of the U.S. Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) Forensic Audits and Investigative Service (FAIS) team. In this position, she leads GAO’s efforts to support Congress in the fight against fraud, waste, and abuse in federal programs, as well as to help protect Americans from scammers. The team led the development of GAO’s Fraud Risk Framework, which identifies leading practices for use by federal program managers in strategically managing fraud risks, and GAO’s Antifraud Resource, which is an online interactive resource to inform federal officials, Congress, the media, and the public about fraud schemes and how to combat them.

FAIS’s work cuts across a diverse array of U.S. federal government programs administered by Internal Revenue Service, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Department of Homeland Security, among others. The team also handles fraud, waste, and abuse tips received through GAO’s fraud hotline.

Prior to being named Managing Director by the U.S. Comptroller General in 2016, Ms. Ayers served as a Director in GAO’s Defense Capabilities and Management team and an Assistant Director in the Contracting and National Security Acquisitions team. She also served as the head of GAO’s office in Baghdad during two, 7-month periods, first in 2008 and again in 2010, enabling GAO to provide first-hand analysis and assessments of the U.S. government’s efforts to stabilize and rebuild Iraq.

In recognition of her efforts during her more than 25 years with GAO, Ms. Ayers has been the recipient of numerous awards, including a Distinguished Service award and two Meritorious Service awards and the Richard J. Hillman Human Capital Management Award. She received her bachelor’s degree from the American University in international studies and her master’s degree in international affairs from the George Washington University.

Nicholas Weeks serves as an Assistant Director in the U.S. Government Accountability Office’s Forensic Audits and Investigative Service team.  Since joining GAO in 2008, he has led or contributed to numerous performance audits examining a wide range of federal programs.  Mr. Weeks has produced findings and recommendations that have helped strengthen federal agencies’ fraud risk management practices and improve the integrity of government operations.

He served as the project lead for several key GAO initiatives, including the guide for evaluating and adapting anti fraud efforts, the government-wide fraud estimate, and the Antifraud Resource.  His work supports GAO’s mission to prevent, detect, and respond to fraud across federal programs.

Mr. Weeks earned both his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Economics from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.  He is also a Certified Financial Crime Specialist.

Audience: Finance, auditing, and accounting professionals working in or supporting the federal government

Program Level: Basic (no prerequisites or advanced preparation required)

Learning objectives: TBD

Field of Study: TBD

CPE Credit: AGA members can receive 1 NASBA CPE credit with confirmed in-person and virtual attendance. Credits will be granted based on a 50-minute hour. CPEs may or may not meet the criteria required by your state CPA governing body for continuing professional education. All attendees should check with their licensing boards on whether these will be accepted for continuing professional education credit.

Registration Questions:

All registration questions should be directed to Chad or Alexis.

• In-Person: Chad Willhite – cwillhite@kpmg.com
• Virtual: Alexis Alfaro – asalfaro@kpmg.com