Governmental Accounting and Auditing Conference

An Audit Manager in the Washington, D.C. practice of Cherry Bekaert, Zach has been with the Firm for five years and provides accounting and assurance services to local governments, technology companies, and not-for-profit organizations. He has considerable experience with the Uniform Grant Guidance, as several of his local government and nonprofit organizations receive federal funding.

Zach's responsibilities in relation to the audit process include performing planning procedures to obtain an in-depth understanding of his client's situation, including their operations and internal control environment. From this, Zach works directly with the partner to develop an overall risk assessment and the respective audit procedures. In addition, Zach oversees all work performed by the audit team. He also plays a significant role in drafting the audit deliverables, including the financial statements and required audit communication letters.

Melisa Galasso is the founder and CEO of Galasso Learning Solutions LLC. A CPA with nearly 20 years of experience in the accounting profession, Melisa designs and facilitates courses in advanced technical accounting and auditing topics, including not-for-profit and governmental accounting. She also supports essential professional development, audit level training, and train the trainer efforts.

Melisa is a Certified Speaking Professional, a Certified Professional in Talent Development (CPTD), and has earned the Association for Talent Development Master Trainer™ designation. Her passion for instructional design and adult learning techniques is one of the differentiators that set her apart from other CPE providers.

Within the industry, Melisa serves on the FASB's Not-for-Profit Advisory Committee (NAC), AICPA Council, and the VSCPA's Board of Directors. She previously served on the AICPA's Technical Issues Committee (TIC) and is a past-Chair of the NCACPA's A&A committee. Melisa also authors the AICPA's State and Local Government Guide and serves as a SME for the Center for Plain English Accounting.

Roberta is a Senior Project Manager with the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (Norwalk, CT) 1999. Her current project assignments are the conceptual framework project on recognition and the financial reporting model reexamination. Her major technical projects have included capital asset, infrastructure, and note disclosures issues for various GASB Implementation Guides; note disclosures, impairment of capital assets, service concession arrangements, postemployment benefits, and the conceptual framework: definitions and measurement of elements of financial statements.

Prior to her position with the GASB, she served for four years as Chief Accountant for the State of Nevada Controller's Office with responsibility for preparation of the comprehensive annual financial report. Her previous experience includes seven years with the Reno, Nevada office of Deloitte performing financial and compliance audits of state and local governmental entities.

Roberta received a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from the University of the Pacific and a Master of Public Administration degree from Columbia University. She is licensed as a certified public accountant in the state of Nevada.

Kevin B. Huffman, CPA, CGFM, CFE, is a Deputy Chief Investigator with the State of Tennessee, Comptroller of the Treasury, Division of Investigations in charge of the middle Tennessee area. Kevin is responsible for overseeing and directing investigations involving fraud, waste and abuse in local governments, state agencies, and other publicly funded entities in support of the Department of audit. A 28-year veteran of the Comptroller's Office, Kevin has worked as an auditor in the middle Tennessee area, and in contract audit and audit review. Kevin has taught training classes for the Tennessee Department of Audit and has taught accounting and taxation as a member of the adjunct faculty for Columbia State Community College. Kevin received his Master of Accountancy from the University of Tennessee at Martin. Before state employment, Kevin served four years in the United Stated Marine Corps including service in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Kevin is married and has four children, and four grandchildren.

Jessica Hannah, CPA, CFE, has been an investigator for the Tennessee Comptroller's Office in the Middle Tennessee region for the past four years. She is responsible for investigating allegations of fraud, waste, and abuse in government and publicly funded entities. She also works closely with law enforcement and prosecutors on criminal allegations. She received two bachelor's degrees in accounting and human resources from Tennessee Tech. She is a Certified Public Accountant and Certified Fraud Examiner. Before working for the Comptroller's Office, she worked at a small public accounting firm, where she conducted audits on local cities, towns, utility districts, and nonprofit organizations.

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, Certified Government Financial Manager, 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 22 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. She is a member of AGA, and the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE). Jean is a graduate of Lead Tennessee, the Tennessee Government Management Institute, and the Tennessee Government Executive Institute.

Lee Ann West, CPA, CGFM is the Audit Manager in West Tennessee for the Comptroller of the Treasury's Division of Local Government Audit. Lee Ann supervises a team of 20 auditors and is responsible for the annual audits of 23 counties in West Tennessee.

Lee Ann has worked for the Comptroller's Office for 26 years beginning her career as a field auditor. Lee Ann holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from Freed-Hardeman University, and she is a graduate of LEAD Tennessee and the Tennessee Government Management Institute. She and her husband, Richard, live in Henderson, Tennessee, and they are the parents to two children, Brent and Anslee.

Megan serves as the Finance Director for Henderson County, TN. Megan has a double degree in Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with concentrations in Accounting and Finance from the University of Tennessee at Martin. She is a CCFO and has served in multiple roles within the Henderson County Finance Department for the last 12 years. She is in her 3rd year as the Finance Director for Henderson County and leads a team of five employees. Henderson County adopted the County Financial Management System of 1981, so she has an extensive knowledge of the yearly audit process from both the County Government and the Board of Education perspective.

She is a member of the Tennessee Government Finance Officers Association (TGFOA), the Association of Government Accountants (AGA), and the Tennessee Association of School Business Officials (TASBO).

Megan is actively involved with the Lexington Rotary International Organization and volunteers with various other local groups that all benefit the Henderson County community. She has a passion for planting vegetable gardens, helping on the family farm, and watching the Atlanta Braves.

Dr. Glenn L. Helms was the Arthur Young Fellow in IT Auditing at the University of Houston and has served as Director of Certification for the International Certified Information Systems Auditor program. He has served on numerous national and international academic and professional committees, including the American Institute of Certified Public Accountant's Auditing Standards Board's Computer Auditing Subcommittee and its Specialized Accreditation Board.

He has recent and numerous years' experience in public accounting and serves as a consultant to various organizations. He has provided consulting services to Fortune 100 firms, Big Four CPA firms, and financial institutions throughout North America, Europe, and the Pacific Rim. Some of his experience includes assisting a publicly held company in establishing an IT auditing department, performing audits of local governments, and designing accounting systems for a variety of types of entities

He has presented over 2,000 professional seminars and conferences. He has published over 50 articles in a wide range of practitioner and academic journals. He has served on the editorial advisory boards of several national and international journals. His over twenty-five books address security, fraud, and internal controls (for small and public entities) in a variety of systems, including Cloud based and E-commerce systems. His recent works include several books on forensic accounting.

Glenn is a multiple year recipient of the outstanding Discussion Leader Award from the AICPA. He has received similar awards from several state societies and universities.

Kathleen is a highly respected and accomplished professional with over 20 years of experience in the field of grants management. Her exceptional skills and expertise have made her a trusted leader and advisor to her team and clients alike. As the Grant Management Solutions Lead in Cherry Bekaert's Risk and Accounting Advisory industry group, Kathleen leads the advisory team for grant administration and compliance engagements, providing clients with comprehensive grant lifecycle management solutions.

Kathleen's professional competency in the full lifecycle of grants management is demonstrated through her certification as a Certified Grants Management Specialist. Her expertise covers a wide range of areas, including risk assessment and gap analysis, subrecipient monitoring and compliance audits, 2 CFR 200 Uniform Guidance compliance, internal controls, grant reconciliations, workflow analysis, and creating effective processes through digitalization.

Kathleen began her career in grants management working for the North Carolina Department of Correction, where she quickly rose to become the Grants Accounting Manager. She later worked for the Northwest Indiana Planning Commission, where she continued to hone her skills in accounting and grants management. Kathleen then became the Reporting and Compliance Manager for local government, where she was responsible for overseeing all aspects of grant accounting from pre-award to post-award monitoring and compliance. Her experience in this role allowed her to develop a deep understanding of the complexities of grant administration and compliance. Kathleen is highly regarded for her knowledge of ARPA compliance and reporting.

In addition to her work in grants management, Kathleen has extensive experience in accounting and financial management. Kathleen is also an accomplished speaker and presenter. She has presented on grants management compliance and internal controls at the NGMA Annual Grants Training and GPC GrantSummit conferences. She also leads a grants management podcast for Cherry Bekaert, sharing her insights and expertise with a wider audience.

Shannon Burger is the Chief Executive Officer at Cempa Community Care, a federally qualified health center and infectious disease specialty practice based in East Tennessee. Recently, Shannon earned a Doctor of Science in Health Administration from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Additionally, she holds a master's in business administration, is a Certified Public Accountant, and is a graduate of the Leadership Tennessee Signature Program.

Over the past eight years, Shannon has led Cempa Community Care through significant transformations, enhancing financial stability and fostering a culture of innovation and growth. Under her leadership, the organization has achieved remarkable milestones, redefining the standards of community healthcare provision. One of her most cherished accomplishments is the expansion of various service lines to address the diverse needs of the community. Initiatives under her tenure include launching the organization's first community pharmacy, establishing a walk-in clinic in partnership with Metropolitan Ministries, opening a new dental clinic, and introducing Cempa's Mobile Clinic. These efforts have significantly broadened access to comprehensive healthcare services and have earned the organization numerous awards and accolades.

Driven by an entrepreneurial spirit and a deep commitment to those served by Cempa Community Care, Shannon serves on local, regional, and national boards. She leverages these platforms to educate on compliance and public policy, while also providing mentorship and training opportunities nationwide.