Tennessee Specific Accounting and Auditing Issues-An Update from the Division of Local Government Audit

John Troyer, CPA, MBA is the Administrator of Standards Research and Compliance with the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury, Division of Local Government Audit. In his role as Administrator of Standards Research and Compliance, he assists the division in developing professional compliance procedures under changing accounting and auditing standards. He assists the division with training, navigating the peer review process and participating in the professional public comment process.

Previously, John has served in public financial leadership roles for cities and counties for more than 33 years. John is a member of the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) and has served as Tennessee’s GFOA President. He has served as the State Representative to the national GFOA for both the State of Tennessee and South Carolina GFOA. John was awarded the GFOA Hero award for professional response to a financial emergency in the aftermath of Hurricane Matthew. He is a member of the East Tennessee Chapter of the Association of Government Accountants (AGA).

John holds both a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.

John lives in Knoxville with his wife Cindy and his Golden Retriever Savannah. John and Cindy have two children who are both grown and graduated from the University of Tennessee. John is an avid sports fan – especially UT. He even owns one share of the Green Bay Packers. You might see him kayaking on Lake Loudon early Saturday mornings.

Lisa Bellar is a Senior Contract Audit Review Specialist in the Tennessee Comptroller's division of Local Government Audit. She is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the division's contract audit review team. In her role she performs technical reviews of audited financial statements for Tennessee's local governments and certain not-for-profit agencies and assists in the review of audit working papers.

Lisa first joined the Comptroller's Office with the division of State Audit after graduating from Austin Peay State University where she majored in accounting and earned a Bachelor of Business Administration. After moving out-of-state, she held accounting positions at a university, equipment rental company, and tile manufacturing company. She returned to the Comptroller's Office in 2005 and has 18 years of service with the Comptroller's Office.

Jean is the contract audit review manager with the Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury, Division of Local Government Audit. She is responsible for the contract audit review process of more than 1,700 entities including municipalities, county-related entities, utility districts, public housing authorities, internal school funds, charter schools, quasi-governments and certain nonprofit and for-profit entities. Her daily responsibilities include providing technical assistance to CPA firms and local government officials regarding accounting and auditing issues, as well as related laws, regulations and other compliance requirements.

Jean graduated from Seoul National University with a B.S. degree in Horticulture and studied accounting at the University of Maryland Baltimore County and the Tennessee Technological University. Jean is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), and Certified Government Financial Manager (CGFM). She is a member of the Association of Government Accountants (AGA), and the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE). She is a graduate of Lead Tennessee and the Tennessee Government Management Institute. She likes to play the piano and make fresh flower arrangements in her free time.