The concept of internal control is not new to the Federal Government. In many ways, the Federal Government has been ahead of the private sector in focusing on the importance of a sound internal control environment. However, with the passage of the Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) Act, for the first time, private sector requirements were significantly more stringent than controls imposed on the Federal Government.

Recognizing that the Federal Government was not likely to remain idle in the face of SOX, and anticipating the potential impact on the Federal Government, Kearney led an Association of Government Accountants' (AGA)-sponsored research project focused on this issue. The resultant report, entitled "Audit Federal Financial Controls: Sooner Rather than Later?" was very well received. A highlighted version, "Beyond a Clean Audit Opinion," was published in the winter edition of the AGA Journal of Government Financial Management. It received the AGA's 2005 Author Award, and we believe was instrumental in OMB's decision to revise Circular A-123 to more closely parallel Sarbanes-Oxley. This article was the genesis of Kearney's book on the revised Circular A-123 entitled: OMB Circular A-123 and Sarbanes-Oxley: Management's Responsibility for Internal Control in Federal Agencies.

At Kearney, our Federal clients benefit from our depth of exper ience, technical expertise and ability to be forward-looking with respect to addressing internal control in the Federal Government. Kearney possesses the leadership coupled with highly skilled staff to meet the challenges of today's issues as well as those of tomorrow, as represented by the engagements that appear to the left.