State and Local Government Strategic Briefing – 2008/2009

Frank W. Crawford, CPA. president of Crawford & Associates, P.C., Certified Public Accountants.  Crawford & Associates is a 15-person firm with its lead office located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.  The firm specializes in providing auditing, consulting and accounting services solely to state and local governmental entities.  Crawford & Associates has performed over 800 financial statement audits and financial related audits, along with a variety of other services including both the planning and execution of GASB 34 implementation plans for all sizes of governments, fraud investigations, internal control analysis, accounting policy and procedure development, contract internal auditing, quality assurance reviews, training, fixed asset record development and expert witness testimony in litigation and labor arbitration matters.

Mr. Crawford is currently the Chair of the Oklahoma Society of CPAs Government Accounting and Auditing Committee and has also been involved in a number of AICPA committees and task forces as they relate to governmental accounting and auditing, including the former AICPA Governmental Accounting and Auditing Committee, the former AICPA Government and Not-For-Profit Expert Panel, the AICPA Governmental Expert Panel, the AICPA GASB 34 Audit Guide Revision Task Force, and the AICPA Government Performance and Accountability Committee. 

Mr. Crawford has also formerly chaired the AICPA GASB Liaison Task Force, an appointed group of seven individuals designated by the AICPA to interact with the Board during the accounting standard-setting process. 

Mr. Crawford was also a member of the GASB's advisory group for the first Implementation Guide of Statement 34, and assisted and audited several local governments that implemented Statement 34 as far back as June 30, 1999.  In addition, Mr. Crawford, at the request of the USDA Graduate School, developed GASB 34 implementation plans for many of the U. S. territories and commonwealths such as the governments of Guam, Palau, Saipan, Pohnpei, the Government of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, American Samoa and the U.S. Virgin Islands.  Frank most recently lead the project team that successfully assisted the CNMI in their implementation of GASB 34 for fiscal year 2002, consulted with the Government of Guam on their GASB 34 implementation efforts for fiscal year 2002, and is currently assisting the American Samoa Government, the Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia in their GASB 34 implementations.

Frank is a frequent lecturer, trainer and discussion leader for numerous groups, firms and State Societies, and has appeared in several AICPA continuing professional education videos and live satellite broadcasts related to governmental accounting and auditing. 

Commonly known as Frankie to clients, friends and family, Mr. Crawford has two children, 13 year-old daughter Madison and 8 year-old son Blake, and also has the good fortune to be married to Cindy Crawford.

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Mary M. Foelster, CPA is a Director at the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Washington, DC, where her primary responsibility is to address governmental auditing and accounting matters. She oversees the activities of the AICPA Governmental Audit Quality Center and staffs both the AICPA Governmental Audit Quality Center Executive Committee and the State and Local Government Expert Panel. She also previously staffed the AICPA State & Local Government Audit and Accounting Guide Task Force that was responsible for the issuance of the Audit and Accounting Guide, Audits of State and Local Governments and the AICPA Single Audit Working Group that developed the AICPA Audit Guide, Government Auditing Standards and Circular A-133 Audits.

In addition to managing the activities of the Center and various technical projects, Mary is also responsible for monitoring and analyzing federal regulatory and legislative developments affecting auditing or accounting in governmental environment. Prior to joining the AICPA staff in 1993, she was in public accounting practice for six years.

Mary is a graduate of the University of Maryland and is a certified public accountant.

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Wesley A. Galloway is a project manager at the Governmental Accounting Standards Board in Norwalk, Connecticut.  His responsibilities include business-type activities issues and nonexchange transactions.  Since joining the GASB staff in 1996 Mr. Galloway has worked on numerous projects, including Statement 34 and the implementation guides, and is the principal author of the GASB’s Statement 34 Training Course.  Currently, Mr. Galloway manages the Pollution Remediation Obligations project.

Before joining the GASB staff Mr. Galloway served in the Technical Services arm of the Washington State Auditor’s Office developing audit and accounting guidelines for local governments and training auditors and accountants.  His audit experience includes cities, towns, schools, special purpose and fire districts, counties, governmental utilities, and state government.

Mr. Galloway is a graduate of Brigham Young University and is a member of the AICPA.

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John F. Hudson, CPA is the President of Hudson Consulting Group, LLC. Prior to founding Hudson Consulting Group, LLC in 2002, John was one of the original founders of CPA2Biz, Inc., the exclusive marketing agent of the American Institute of CPAs. John has more than 25 years experience in the practice of public accounting, business strategy, product development and entrepreneurship.

Hudson Consulting Group, LLC, provides business & product strategy consulting services to CPA firms and organizations serving the CPA profession. Previously, John served in a number of senior capacities at CPA2Biz, Inc. including leading corporate strategy, managing a multi-million dollar business unit, and leading the organization's corporate marketing and communications efforts. Prior to CPA2Biz, John served as the Chief Knowledge Officer and in various senior business and technical roles at the AICPA. He also spent 15 years at KPMG, one of the nation's leading accounting and consulting firms.

An authority on the evolution of the accounting profession and the challenges faced by CPAs, John regularly speaks on issues of concern to CPAs. He has been quoted in leading business publications, including The Wall Street Journal, The Wall Street Journal - Europe Edition, The Cleveland Plain Dealer, Bloomberg Business News and virtually every trade publication addressing the CPA profession.

John is a member of the American Institute of CPAs and a former member of the U.S. delegation to the International Accounting Standards Board and the Journal of Accountancy Editorial Advisory Board. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Graduate School of Business at Florida State University

John is a Certified Public Accountant [CPA] and holds a Master of Business Administration [MBA] degree from Florida State University and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of West Florida.

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