Governmental Accounting & Auditing Conference (E1906310)

John D'Amico, CPA, is a Partner within the Professional Standards Group at Marks Paneth LLP, which is responsible for monitoring quality control in the firm as mandated by professional standards. He specializes in pre-issuance reviews and inspections of nonprofit organizations, governments and Single Audits. Mr. D’Amico also provides consultation on accounting and attestation matters and tests and monitors the firm's quality review policies and procedures. He teaches continuing education classes for the firm and on behalf of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) nationally.

As a sought-out thought leader in his areas of expertise, Mr. D'Amico has authored numerous articles pertaining to nonprofit accounting/auditing, governmental auditing standards and Uniform Guidance. He frequently leads training seminars for his clients and is an instructor for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). He has presented at the annual Nonprofit Conferences of the New York State Society of CPAs; the New Jersey Society of CPAs; and the Connecticut Society of CPAs; as well as the annual Governmental Conferences of the Connecticut Society of CPAs and the Michigan Society of CPAs.

In addition to his professional activities, Mr. D’Amico is a dedicated volunteer who regularly donates his time to charitable organizations. He currently serves on several nonprofit boards of directors in a variety of capacities.

Julie is a manager in the RCI group at Anchin with 8 years of experience in investigations, compliance, and monitoring. Prior to Anchin, she gained experience at Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP where she specialized in fraud and investigative services related to construction, government, healthcare, and not-for-profit organizations.

Jacqueline Grama is a CPA, licensed in New Jersey and holds a New Jersey School Business Administrator Certificate. She began her career in 1987 at Arthur Young’s Metropark Office performing audits of state and local government agencies in New Jersey. In 1999, she joined the Department of Education’s Office of Fiscal Standards to develop and implement fiscal policy for the newly established Charter School Program. She currently works in the Office of Fiscal Policy and Planning and is primarily responsible for the development and administration of fiscal policy guiding school districts and for the related provision of technical assistance. She also administers the Special Education Medicaid Initiative (SEMI) in conjunction with the Departments of the Treasury and Human Services. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Rider University in 1987 and her Masters in Public Administration from Rutgers University in 2002. Jacqueline is also an active member of the Association of Government Accountants.

Cynthia Lindsay is the new Assistant Director of LGS. She was the former Comptroller and Assistant CFO for the City of Atlantic City. Within that role she worked alongside State officials in managing the fiscal challenges the City faces. She is also an Instructor for Rutgers, Local Governmental Services teaching the Financial Management Series. Her prior experience is as the Chief Financial Officer and Qualified Purchasing Agent for the Township of Hamilton, in Atlantic County, and former Support Specialist for Edmunds and Associates. She was a former Executive Board Officer of New Jersey’s GFOA .

Montu Patel is a Planning Associate in the Office of Fiscal Policy and Planning. He joined the Department of Education in 2015 and is primarily responsible for the development and administration of fiscal policy guiding school districts and for the related provision of technical assistance. He received his Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Rutgers University in 2006. He holds a CPA license in New Jersey. Prior to working with the Department of Education, his experience includes the audits of profit and not-for-profit organizations.

Roberta Reese 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.

She 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.

Brian is the leader of the firm’s RCI group. He has over 25 years of experience working with businesses on labor investigations, MWBE compliance, fraud investigations, disaster recovery, and business continuity. He has lectured nationally on labor law, business fraud, white-collar crime, and tax fraud and has worked on regulatory compliance and government investigations for groups, including the New York State Surrogate Bench, DOJ, SEC, and the Several Offices of Inspector Generals, NY, CT and NJ CPA associations as well as several bar associations. Brian was honored to be included among the Who’s Who of Forensic Accountants by the Long Island Business News.

Fabian Williams is a Microsoft Office Apps & Services, as well as a Microsoft Developer Technologies MVP, and a Microsoft Solutions Architect / Azure Technical Evangelist. His work with the SharePoint product line dates back to the 2003 release. Fabian holds a Bachelors of Science degree in Computer Information System “Magna-Cum-Laude” from Strayer University, Washington D.C. and his Masters in Computer Information Technology studies at the Johns Hopkins University Carey School for Business in Columbia, Maryland. He holds the following Microsoft Certifications MCSE, MCSD and MCDBA. You may find him on twitter at the @fabianwilliams handle and his blog is http://www.fabiangwilliams.com