2016 – The Many Faces of Fraud Annual Seminar – Ernie Almonte, Jennifer Carrion, Eric Berman

Ernie Almonte Related seminars and products: 1

RSM US LLP

Summary of Experience
Ernie is a partner at RSM and is a firm-designated government, not-for-profit, litigation support, and higher education specialist with more than 37 years of experience. Ernie works in the Boston Not-For-Profit/Public Sector Industry team. He has managed the audits of numerous public sector and not-for-profit organizations, and has provided technical assistance on accounting and financial reporting issues to these organizations. Ernie is a frequent speaker on industry related topics.

Prior to joining RSM, Ernie spent 16 years as the R.I. Auditor General where he was responsible for the State of Rhode Island financial, performance and fraud audits, In that role, Ernie was responsible for the $8 billion dollar CAFR and overseeing the audits of the quasi public agencies and municipalities. Ernie provided training nationally on topics such as the Yellow Book, GASB and FASAB accounting standards, and fraud risks for federal, state and local professionals serving government, not-for-profit and higher education clients. He has served in numerous positions as Chairman of audit committees including universities and the Department of Defense Audit Advisory Committee at the Pentagon.

Professional Affiliations and Credentials

• Certified Public Accountant
• Certified Fraud Examiner and Certified in Financial Forensics
• Certified Government Financial Manager
• Chartered Global Management Accountant
• American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
• Rhode Island Society of Certified Public Accountants
• Government Finance Officers Association
• Association of Government Accountants
• Former Rhode Island Auditor General
• Former Chairman Department of Defense Audit Advisory Committee

Education

• Bachelor of Science, Bryant University
• Master of Science in Taxation, Bryant University, Honorary Doctorate, Bryant University
• Senior Executives in State and Local Government, Harvard Kennedy School of Government

Ernie has extensive experience with federal, state, and local financial and IT solutions for government entities.

• As Auditor General, oversaw the compliance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) for all state and local government entities. I actually was responsible to set accounting standards for all government agencies and entities in the State of Rhode Island.
• Responsible for the overall audit of the State CAFR and the Federal Single Audit
• Provided training to all Rhode Island state and local finance personnel on finance, internal controls, and IT related issues for over 16 years/
• Advisor to the Comptroller General of the United States of America on all generally accepted government auditing standards (GAGAS)
• Assisted several Mayors and Municipal Councils on finance decisions regarding complex transactions and adverse financial situations.
  • City of Central Falls – assisted the receiver in the city receivership and bankruptcy
  • Worked with the rating agencies and governmental entities regarding bond issues, five year plans to resolve financial distress, oversight over compliance with laws, regulations, bond covenants, and state restrictions.
  • Worked with the Rhode Island Cities of Providence, Woonsocket, Cranston, Newport, and East Providence the towns of Johnston, Cumberland, and several others on negative financial situations. Developed plans to avoid bankruptcies and put the communities on a path to financial success.
• Provided training to newly elected state and municipal officials on government finance, audits, budgeting, and compliance with financial laws and regulations for over 16 years
• Audited federal, state, local and quasi-public entities finances for over 35 years.
• Advisor to Governors and Mayors on government finance, audit, fraud risks and budgeting issues.
• Investigated government financial transactions and testified in trials.
• Conducted extensive work on government pension plans and funding models.

Jennifer Carrion Related seminars and products: 1

Office of the Staff Judge Advocate, U.S. Air Force

Eric Berman Related seminars and products: 1

Eide Bailly LLP

Eric S. Berman, MSA, CPA, CGMA, has over 26 years of governmental accounting and auditing experience and is a partner with Eide Bailly LLP. Previous to Eide Bailly LLP, he was a quality control principal with a public accounting firm in California. His public sector experience includes being a Deputy Comptroller for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts from 1999 to 2010, and the Chief Financial Officer of the Massachusetts Water Pollution Abatement Trust from 1994 to 1999. Eric is a licensed CPA in Massachusetts. He obtained an M.S. in Accountancy from Bentley University. Eric recently represented the Association of Government Accountants (AGA) as the Vice Chairman of the Government Accounting Standards Advisory Council to GASB. He was the previous chair of the Financial Management Standards Board and is the Chairman of the AGA’s Audit Committee as well as President of the Boston Chapter. He also is a previous chair of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Governmental Performance and Accountability Committee and is a former member of the AICPA’s State and Local Government Expert Panel. He was recently named to the GASB’s Financial Reporting Model task force. 

Eric writes the entire governmental accounting and auditing library for CCH including the Knowledge Based Audits – State and Local Governments, Governmental GAAP Guide, Governmental Practice Manual, Governmental Update Service and Knowledge-Based Audit Tools.

Eric is frequently called upon to consult and train state and local governments throughout the country on governmental accounting and auditing.