Financial Management Program Graduates Employees from 24 State Agencies
The intricacies of budgeting and governmental accounting were only a few of the concepts the recent graduates of the Vinson Institute's State Financial Management Certificate Program strengthened their expertise in this year. The Institute presented certificates to 47 state employees from 24 agencies and hosted a graduation ceremony in Atlanta on August 18 to celebrate their completion of the program's Primary Accounting Series during fiscal year 2011.
The State Financial Management Certificate Program was created by request of the 1992 State Financial Management Task Force, which wanted to ensure that the state's accounting personnel were trained according to the high standards of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB). The Primary Accounting Series, the first certification level of the program, consisted of four classes in FY11—two introductory and two intermediate governmental accounting courses.
Since 1993, almost 2,150 state employees have graduated from the Primary Accounting Series. 2011 graduate Said Tlemcani, a benefits recovery financial analyst from the Department of Community Health, said that his experience in the program was "very crucial in understanding how our state government fiscally operates and gets held accountable for its expenses and expenditures."
A number of dignitaries addressed the graduates and their guests at the ceremony, including Vinson Institute Financial Management Training Manager Tracy Arner; Becky East, President of the Georgia Fiscal Management Council; State Auditor Russell Hinton; Travis Kennedy, Chair of the State Financial Management Training Committee; Vinson Institute Interim Director Laura Meadows; State Accounting Office Deputy Director Alan Skelton; and David Tanner, Deputy Director of the Governor's Office of Planning & Budget.
Graduates for FY 2011
Frank Allen, Georgia Technology Authority
Asa Barnard, Department of Defense
Michael Brooks, Department of Community Health
Susette Bullock, Department of Revenue
Deborah Butts, Department of Corrections
Michelle Calhoun, Council of Superior Court Judges
Korey Castleberry, Employees' Retirement System of Georgia
Eugenia Chiscop, Georgia World Congress Center Authority
Stanley Cooper, Department of Early Care & Learning
Tanita Daniels, Department of Community Health
Natasia Dyer, Department of Public Safety
Vickie Fluellen, Department of Human Services
Ariam Ghirmazghi, Teachers' Retirement System of Georgia
Dawn Goins, Department of Behavioral Health & Developmental Disabilities
Inez Greggs, Department of Behavioral Health & Developmental Disabilities
Allison Halron, Georgia Environmental Finance Authority
Monica Hickman, Department of Transportation
Pamela Hintze, Department of Agriculture
Arlisa Hope, Department of Transportation
Paula Hopper, Department of Education
Sheila Hudlin, Department of Early Care & Learning
Thomas Jackson, Department of Human Services
Darcell Johnson, Carl Vinson Institute of Government
James Johnson, Department of Labor
Michelle Jones, Department of Community Health
Deby Law, Department of Agriculture
Sandra Long, Department of Community Health
Kay McCorkle, Department of Early Care & Learning
Darlene McMillan, Georgia Firefighters' Pension Fund
Rachelle Paramore, Department of Juvenile Justice
Mamta Patel, Department of Community Health
Kathy Sidwell, Department of Juvenile Justice
Albert Smith, Department of Corrections
Connie Smith, Department of Corrections
Donna Swearingen, Department of Corrections
Anita Tate, Department of Juvenile Justice
Michelle Taylor, Technical College System of Georgia
Said Tlemcani, Department of Community Health
Virginia Tyrell, Department of Community Affairs
Jackie Vandroff, Department of Transportation
Terence Washington, Department of Education
Tracy Whitesides, Department of Banking and Finance
Lishonda Williams, Department of Behavioral Health & Developmental Disabilities
Sabrina Williams, Department of Behavioral Health & Developmental Disabilities
Tracy Wilson, Department of Community Health
Carla Woodham, Department of Corrections
Jacqueline Word, Department of Labor
