William H. Pugh III

WILLIAM H. PUGH,III

WILLIAM H. PUGH, 60, who served in the U.S. Department of the Treasury ad Deputy Assistant Inspector General for Audit passed away suddenly on February 6, 2006. He was an Arlington, Virginia resident for the lasst 20 years. Mr. Pugh was born on November 18, 1945 in Richmond, VA, son of the late Inez and William Pugh.

Mr. Pugh was educated in the public schools of Richmond, VA. Thereafter he graduated (1967) from the Virginia Military Institute (BA) where he majored in history and from Miami University of Ohio (1972) where he earned an MBA in Accounting. He later became a Certified Public Accountant.

Mr. Pugh had over 33 years of diversified audit experience with the federal government and private industry. He started his professional career with Arthur Young (now Ernst and Young) in 1972 as a

Staff Accountant in New York City. Later he was assigned to the Arthur Young offices in Jakarta, Singapore, and Fort Worth, Texas. Mr. Pugh became

a full partner in 1984 and was assigned to Tokyo,

Japan office until 1987. Here he audited and advised companies in a broad range of industries and supervised a full range of client services to affiliates of U.S. and multinational companies in Japan. Upon returning to Washington, DC in 1987, Mr. Pugh assumed audit responsibility for a variety of commercial and not-for-profit organizations and was also active in working with foreign investors in the U.S. and with domestic companies seeking to establish foreign operations.

Mr. Pugh joined the U.S. Department of Commerce in 1991 where he implemented a highly successful incremental audit strategy for financial statement audits required under the Chief Financial Officers and Government Management Reform Acts. In 1995, he went to work for the Department of the Treasury's Office of the Inspector General. Mr. Pugh was the lead on the treasury audit for a number of years and was a key player in ushering in Treasur's accelerated reporting processes. He received numerous awards throughout his federal career. He was a highly respected member of the federal financial management community and greatly admired by his colleagues.

Mr. Pugh served in the U.S. Army in Japan as a lieutenant in military intelligence from 1968 until 1970 and in the U.S. Army Reserve from 1970 until 2004, when he retired as a full Colonel.

He is survived by his wife, Akiko, of Arlington, VA; his sister, Margaret "Peggy" Boyt of Alexandria, VA; a niece, Jennifer Wheeler of Salt Lake City, UT; and cousins, Leigh Pugh of Arlington, VA, George Harvey of Chesterfield, VA and the High family of San Antonio, TX; and many devoted friends and colleagues.

Contributions in memory of Mr. Pugh may be made to the VMI Academic Scholarship Fund in Lexington, VA and to the House of Ruth in Washington, DC.

Mr. Pugh's memorial service with Full Military Honors will be held on Tuesday, April 4, at 1 p.m. in the Fort Myer Old Post Chapel. Interment will occur immediately thereafter in Arlington National Cemetery.