This event is a combined monthly Lunch 'n' Learn meeting and audio conference of the Association of Government Accountants (Des Moines Chapter).

Please join us for the Lunch 'n Learn as we listen to Margaret Van Ginkel, Iowa State University, talk to us about "Budgeting 101" at 11:30 a.m.  Lunch will be provided by AGA for this meeting! We will be serving pizza and soda pop. And to celebrate CGFM month there will be cupcakes for dessert.  We would like a head count for lunch so please be sure to register and answer the question "Will you be joining us for a complimentary lunch?".

The audio conference will follow with the topic, "Data Mining to Prioritize Investigations of Contract Fraud" at 1:00 p.m. The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) established a Data Mining Group within its Office of Investigations to identify and prioritize probable fraudulent activity in four distinct areas of the Postal Service:  contracts, health care, mail theft and finance. The USPS managed more than $33 billion in contracts in FY2009 and the OIG has previously relied primarily on hotline tips for investigative leads.

Partnering with Elder Research Inc., the USPS OIG has developed a contract fraud data mining tool by combining advanced data mining techniques, data visualization and subject matter expertise to score all USPS contracts for potential fraud, waste and abuse. Though developed primarily for investigations, the USPS OIG believes that this promising anti-fraud tool will also aid auditing, postal business operations and other governmental agencies looking to reduce and minimize fraud, waste and abuse.

To share their knowledge and expertise about data mining are Bryan Jones, director, Data Mining Group, Office of Investigations, Office of the Inspector General, U.S. Postal Service; and Antonia de Medinaceli, director, Business Analytics and Fraud Detection, Elder Research, Inc.

One CPE is offered for the lunch meeting and two CPE are offered for the audio conference (3 CPE total for the event). This meeting will take place in the Knudsen Room of the Jessie Parker Building.

Community Service focus for the month of March is Special Olympics of Iowa.  Attendees may make monetary donations at the March meeting. 

To register, please select the appropriate member status and lunch type.  Please enter your name, organization, email address and lunch selection.  At the bottom of the payment screen, select your payment option.  If you choose to pay by check, select other Payment Option, then Pay By Check.  Please send your check to: Association of Government Accountants, Des Moines Chapter, PO Box 1351, Des Moines, IA 50305  with a copy of your registration confirmation.  Your ticket is not needed for admission into the conference.

For more information, contact Natalie Storm at (515) 281-8047.