Governmental Accounting and Auditing Conference

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.

Christy N. Tennant is Deputy Director with the Tennessee Comptroller's Division of Investigations. Christy is responsible for overseeing and directing investigations involving fraud, waste and abuse in local governments, state agencies, and other publicly funded entities. Christy has worked with the Comptroller's Office for over 23 years. She has directed investigations, resulting in the discovery of fraud, waste and abuse and the prosecution of public officials and employees. Christy has also worked closely with the TBI, the FBI, local District Attorneys General and local law enforcement groups. A graduate of Tennessee Technological University , Christy is also a Certified Public Accountant, Certified Financial Government Manager and a Certified Fraud Examiner. She provides training to professional groups related to internal controls and fraud.

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.

Teryn McNeal, CPA is the Manager of Standards, Research, and Compliance for the State of Tennessee, Comptroller of the Treasury, Division of Local Government Audit. In her role as manager, she assists the division in developing professional compliance procedures and monitoring the division's quality performance under GASB, AICPA, OMB, and GAO accounting and auditing standards. Teryn also assists the division in supervising the peer review process and responding to professional public comment documents.

During her 15 years with the division, Teryn has served as an auditor, senior auditor, and training instructor. Teryn holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from the University of North Alabama and a Master of Business Administration from Tennessee State University. She lives in Hendersonville with her husband and their three children.

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.

Mr. Lieman currently heads his own consulting firm, Lieman Associates LLC, in Owings Mills, Maryland. He provides consulting services, contractual assistance services, and training to CPAs, their firms, and their clients. He is recognized nationally as a lecturer for various accounting, auditing, and technology topics and has been quoted in various trade journals.

Since 2016, he has received the Surgent Outstanding Discussion Leader Award because of his consistently high evaluations for knowledge and presentation skills. Mr. Lieman's previous experience included serving as the chief financial examiner for the Maryland Insurance Administration and being a director for Ellin & Tucker, Chartered. He trained staff in many areas of accounting, administration, and consulting. He also served as a senior manager and national trainer with KPMG in Baltimore, Maryland where he developed training materials for staff and instructors.

He was elected Chairman of the Year by the Maryland Association of CPAs for chairmanship of the Computer Resources Committee.

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.

Ben Johnson serves as a Financial Analyst for the Tennessee Comptroller's Office Division of Local Government Finance. He is staff to both the Utilities Management Review Board and Water & Wastewater Financing Board and works with utilities in East Tennessee. Ben also serves as a member of the Comptroller's Legislative team when the Tennessee General Assembly is in session.

Prior to his current role, he worked in the Comptroller's Division of state Audit and was a Forensic Auditor at Deloitte. Ben has two college degrees, one in Accounting and the other in Agriculture Economics. Ben has been married to his wife Amie since February of 2023.