Russell W. Hinton of Atlanta and Peter Hughes of Orange County, Calif., are the 2010 recipients of the American Institute of CPAs Outstanding CPA in Government Award.
Hinton received the state award and Hughes the local award. Robert Harris, AICPA chairman, presented the awards Monday at the Institutes 27th Annual National Governmental Accounting and Auditing Update Conference in Washington, D.C. The awards recognize CPAs working in federal, state and local government who have contributed significantly to increased efficiency and effectiveness of government organizations and to the growth and enhancement of the CPA profession.
Hinton, the state auditor of Georgia, provided a critical separation of accounting and auditing duties by creating the State Accounting Office, which is independent of the states department of audits and accounts. He formed the Office of Quality Assurance, which resulted in the creation of one of the first independent offices in the United States dedicated to ensuring compliance with government auditing standards.
Hinton has served as president of the Atlanta Chapter of the Association of Government Accountants and as the AGA southeastern regional vice president. He completed a three-year term on the AGA National Executive Committee in 2003. Hinton was recipient of the AGA National Presidents Awards for promotion of Certified Government Financial Manager Certification and his leadership as chair of the Financial Management Standards Board in 2003 and 2006, respectively.
Hughes, director of internal audit for Orange County, Calif., saved county taxpayers $250 million when his review of a contract led the countys board of supervisors to block approval of the contract. The review revealed that the vendor failed to record millions of dollars of loans on its books and failed to establish the necessary reserve funds in order for the county to meet its contractual obligations. He received a public commendation from the board of supervisors for his work. Hughes has led over 100 reviews of business processes in most of the departments in the county. As a result, the county has implemented over 2,000 business process improvements.
Hughes is an adjunct professor of accounting at California State University at Fullerton. He currently serves on the board of research and the education advisory committee for the Institute of Internal Auditors and the editorial board of advisors for the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.
The AICPA did not make an Outstanding CPA in Government Award to a federal employee this year.
