NASACT Community Loses a Friend and Colleague
Relmond P. Van Daniker, III - 1942-2016
Dr. Relmond P. Van Daniker, III, 74, died in his home on Thursday, November 17, 2016.
Van Daniker was a relentless advocate of government accountability. In his roles as a professor of government accounting at the University of Kentucky and as executive director of both NASACT and the Association of Government Accountants, he suggested dozens of initiatives to motivate and encourage students and government officials to promote excellence in public sector finance.
He was a leader in the creation and ongoing support of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board. He was the principal investigator on the Council of State Government's State Government Accounting Project. His influence helped embed in statutes and policies a progressive approach to improving government. He accomplished this directly by testifying and sponsoring legislation and by providing information and advice to public officials as they pursued legislation. Van Daniker spearheaded several campaigns directed at increasing trust between government and citizens, such as AGA’s Citizen Centric Reporting initiative.
He was a role model for excellence in public sector accountability, and throughout his career consistently identified important issues and trends, and mobilized stakeholders to collaborate for the public good.
During his tenure at NASACT, he positioned the association as a leader among peers. He was a long-time proponent of intergovernmental improvement programs, and dedicated his career to enhancing government procedures and management at all levels. He wrote, and contributed to, numerous books and articles related to government financial management.
Van Daniker’s career as an educator, manager and thought leader left lasting impressions on students, government workers at all levels, and peers in numerous national associations.
Van Daniker's History at NASACT
Van Daniker was hired as NASACT’s first executive director in 1985. He authored an affiliation agreement between NASACT and the Council of State Governments in 1979 and was closely affiliated with NASACT since that time as staff for the State Auditor Training Program and provided technical services for the state comptrollers. He was also involved in coordinating state funding for the Governmental Accounting Standards Board.
Van Daniker became associated with CSG in 1977 when he accepted the position of principal investigator on a National Science Foundation grant to develop generally accepted accounting principles for state governments. After five years of extensive research, “Preferred Accounting Practices for State Governments” was published, representing the largest empirical research effort ever attempted in the area of governmental accounting. He served as executive director of NASACT until 2003.