Governmental Accounting and Auditing Conference

Featured Speakers

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  Becky Hammond, CPA, CISA, CITP, CGAP

  Bio

  As an audit and consulting partner in the New Orleans practice unit of Carr, Riggs & Ingram, LLC, Becky utilizes more than 25 years of experience to serve clients in the governmental area. Her audit, accounting, and consulting experience spans a variety of governmental entities, including municipalities, school boards, enterprise funds, special districts, and governmental employee benefit plans. She also has many years of experience serving not-for-profit entities and closely-held businesses. She has issued numerous financial and compliance reports in accordance with Government Auditing Standards and OMB Uniform Guidance for governmental, not-for-profit, and for profit entities, including funding from the Department of Education, Department of Housing and Urban Development, FEMA, COVID-19, and ARPA related funding. She serves as a Government & Public Sector Sub-Line Leader for her firm, currently in the top 25 largest firms in the United States.
  
  Becky earned her Bachelor of Science in Management with an Accounting Major from Tulane University. She is a member of the AICPA and the Louisiana Society of Certified Public Accountants (LCPA). She serves on the LCPA Governmental Accounting & Auditing, Peer Review, and Women's Initiatives Committees. She is also a member of the AGA, the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), the Accounting and Finance Women's Alliance (AFWA), and the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA).

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  Melisa Galasso

  Bio

  Melisa F. Galasso, Charlotte, NC
  Melisa Galasso is the founder of Galasso Learning Solutions, LLC. She has nearly 15 years of experience in the accounting profession including in public accounting, education and industry. She specializes in creating custom training courses that promote genuine learning and drive improved outcomes. Melisa teaches courses in advanced technical accounting and auditing, including not for profit and governmental accounting, as well as courses dealing with essential professional and soft skills. Her goal is to customize each course to deliver exceptional return on investment by leaving each participant with actionable takeaways and clear means to apply what was learned. Melisa monitors regulatory bodies for changes in auditing and accounting guidance and serves as a subject matter expert in implementing the updated guidance. She is a member of and frequent instructor for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants (NCACPA), and the Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants (VSCPA). Melisa served as Past-President of the Board of NCACPA's Charlotte Chapter and is Past-Chair of the A&A Committee for the NCACPA. She was appointed in 2016 to the AICPA's Technical Issues Committee (TIC) which is responsible for monitoring the activities of the various accounting and attestation standard setting boards and submitting comments and recommendations during the due process phase. She was recognized as a Super CPA by Virginia Business Magazine in 2007 and received the 2013 Women to Watch - Emerging Leader Award from the NCACPA and AICPA. She is also a graduate of the 2014 class of the AICPA's Leadership Academy. In 2016, Melisa was honored as one of the 50 Most Influential Women by the Mecklenburg Times and received the Top 5 Under 35 Award from the VSCPA. She received a 5.0 Speaker award from the NCACPA in 2015 and 2016. In 2016, Melisa received the Don Farmer Award from the NCACPA for the highest combined average scores on knowledge, skills, and materials from participant evaluations for all courses taught in a technical area. Melisa received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting and International Business from Georgetown University. Melisa has also completed the Association for Talent Development (ATD) Master Trainer™ Program.

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  Rob Aucoin

  Bio

  Rob has over 8 years in public accounting experience preceded by 7 years of government finance department experience. He has obtained extensive experience in government accounting with various size government agencies, including large parish governments, various proprietary funds, school boards and special purpose governments. Rob has assisted many of his clients in design and implementation of internal controls and has obtained the CRI Level 2 Information Technology Specialist internal certification, which gives him knowledge specific to the effects of information technology on financial accounting and reporting. Rob provides excellent client service throughout the engagement and year-round as needed. He creates valuable relationships and has become a trusted advisor for his clients.
  
  Rob has earned his Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from Louisiana State University. He is a member of the AICPA and the Louisiana Society of Certified Public Accountants (LCPA). He serves on the LCPA Governmental Accounting & Auditing Committee. He is also a member of the AGA.

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  Stephanie Palmertree

  Bio

  Before co-founding Novum with Angela, Jason and Michael, Stephanie served as the Deputy State Auditor and the Director of the Financial and Compliance Division for the Mississippi Office of the State Auditor (OSA), the largest division in the Office of the State Auditor. Under her leadership, the Division conducted and managed financial and federal audits of the State of Mississippi, 134 various State Agencies and component units, 158 school districts and community colleges, and eighty-two counties. Stephanie has led numerous hours of continued professional education and training in the areas of Government Auditing Standards, GASB Standards, Single Audits, school audits, legal compliance, and other auditing and accounting skills to her staff and other governmental auditors around the State and Country. Before her career at the Auditor’s Office, Stephanie served as the Director of Finance and Administration for the Mississippi Museum of Art, Mississippi’s largest art museum. She also worked for Certified Public Accounting firms as a staff and senior auditor and specialized in governmental accounting. Stephanie received her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree from Mississippi College in 2004 and her Master of Professional Accountancy degree from Mississippi State University in 2005. She is a Certified Public Accountant, Certified Fraud Examiner, and a Chartered Global Management Accountant. Stephanie has over eighteen years of governmental and non-profit audit and accounting experience. She has served the CPA community in Mississippi as a Board of Governor, a Governmental Auditing Committee Member, and a Young CPA Board Member for the Mississippi Society of CPAs (MSCPA). She is also the recipient of the AICPA Outstanding CPA in Government Impact Award – State Level for 2020 and served as a Technical Advisor to the AICPA Auditing Standards Board.

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  Tom Chain

  Bio

  Tom is currently the Director of the Technical Assistance Division of the Office of the State Auditor responsible for providing technical assistance and training for state and local government officials. Prior to joining the Technical Assistance Division in 2009 he was employed in public and private industry. Tom holds a Bachelor of Accountancy degree from the University of Mississippi. He is a Certified Public Accountant and is a member of the Mississippi Society of Certified Public Accountants and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.