Governmental Accounting & Auditing Conference (E2507010)

Christine has 23 years of experience in Family Offices, including Head of Financial Operations for a large New York City Family Office. In private practice, she has helped attorneys defend clients under investigation/indictment for alleged white-collar financial crimes. She works with counsel in conducting internal investigations by documenting/quantifying financial losses from employee embezzlements, vendor fraud schemes, and misappropriation of company assets. In civil litigations involving shareholder disputes and business divorces, she provides technical expertise by determining economic damages, preparing business valuations, expert witness reports and refuting opposing expert’s computations.

Kevin Dans is the Chief Operating Officer of Netwolf Cyber Group. He has over five years of experience providing managed IT and security services for some of the tri state's premier financial, law, and healthcare firms. In addition to managing Netwolf’s day to day client facing operations, he has spearheaded numerous projects to further secure and enhance the performance of client networks and data centers

Kara Deiana is an assistant project manager with the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) in Norwalk, Connecticut. She is currently working on GASB projects related to revenue and expense recognition, the classification of nonfinancial assets, the post-implementation review of Statement 87, Leases, and GAAP utilization research.

Before joining the GASB in June of 2022, Kara spent ten years working at the Office of the New York State Comptroller. She spent three and a half years working for the Bureau of Financial Reporting and was responsible for the preparation of the state’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report and the implementation of Statement 87, Leases. She also spent over six years working for the Division of Local Government and School Accountability where she provided accounting and financial reporting guidance to local municipalities and worked with municipal auditors to ensure audits were conducted audits in accordance with Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards (GAGAS).

Kara is a graduate of The State University of New York at Albany and is a New York State Certified Public Accountant.

Jeff is a frequent lecturer on economics, finance, international development, digital and financial technologies, sustainability, and artificial intelligence from a transformational and business context.

Jeff’s practice areas include strategy development and implementation; corporate and global finance and treasury; financial institutions and markets; risk management and re-engineering; technology deployment and sustainability. He has worked worldwide for a variety of multinational companies.

As a business owner, serial entrepreneur and financial strategist with over 15 years of experience Sam works with businesses to optimize profitability and reduce financial waste. He has focused his career on working with businesses of varying sizes, ranging from start-ups and midsize organizations to those generating hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue per year.

Dave is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants and the Registered Municipal Accountants Association. Dave has also received accreditation as a Certified Municipal Finance Officer. A graduate of Rowan University, Dave has over 15 years of public accounting experience and in 2020 partnered with Michael Holt to form Holt McNally & Associates, Inc. Dave possesses a wealth of knowledge and has over 13 years specializing in local governmental audit, accounting and consulting.

Jennifer O'Neal, CPA (Canada) is a quality management expert with over 25 years of experience in audit and assurance. She led early adoption of Canada’s new quality standards and now helps U.S. firms navigate their own implementation. As CEO of Tilaus.io and an author for CPA Canada, Jennifer specializes in practical tools and strategies that support small and mid-sized accounting practices in delivering high-quality, compliant services.

Amy Perrone joined the Governmental Services Department of the Firm in 2010. Her areas of expertise include audits of municipal governments, school districts, port authorities, fire districts and federal and state financial assistance programs. Mrs. Perrone earned her B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting from Drexel University. She is licensed to practice as a Certified Public Accountant, Registered Municipal Accountant, and Public School Accountant. In addition, she has also been certified by the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, Division of Local Government Services as a Certified Municipal Finance Officer.

Alexandria (Alex) Romero, CPA, is a nationally recognized expert in government finance and leadership training. As a former CFO and Finance Director, she blends public sector expertise with ATDcertified instructional design methods. Recognized with top industry awards, Alex specializes in high-impact training to enhance government financial management and develop future leaders.

Lexi is a senior manager with Bowman & Company, LLP, within the Governmental Services Department of the firm. Her areas of focus include the audits of authorities, bridge commissions, municipalities and school districts. Most of these audits are subject to the requirements of the Single Audit Act and various other regulatory and statutory conditions. Lexi is one of her firm’s representatives on the BDO Alliance Governmental Niche roundtable, serves on the NJCPA Emerging Leaders Council and is an upcoming member on the Southwest Chapter board. In addition, Lexi serves as a mentor for accounting students at Rowan University and through the NJCPA Mentor Program, and has also worked to develop and present continuing education courses at her firm.