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2024 Audit Summit Agenda

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North Dakota State Auditor's Virtual Audit Summit

Wednesday, July 24, 2024 | 8:30 AM - 3:30 PM CST | Microsoft Teams
8:30 AM		Welcome! | State Auditor Joshua Gallion, MBA
8:35 AM		What are the Important Laws for Government Accounting? | Daniel Cox, CPA
		In this session, we will highlight critical regulations that professionals in government accounting need to be mindful of at the state level. We'll explore state-specific statutes governing budgeting, financial reporting, and fiscal management practices tailored to individual jurisdictions.
9:15 AM		Break
9:30 AM		Budget Season, Your Favorite Season | Heath Erickson, CPA
		This session will be diving into various topics of the budget process that relate to various local governments. You will be given some explanation on the state supplied budget file located on our website, reasons why it’s important to have a well-documented budget, and helpful tips and tricks when preparing your own. This session will also have some examples to help you through some common issues that many local government’s face while preparing a budget.
10:15 AM		Break
10:30 AM		Hot Audit Topics: Component Units, Inventory, Support Documentation | Michael Scherr
		In this session, we will go over important topics that could affect your audit. The first topic we will discuss is regarding the various questions surrounding component units such as: What qualifies as a component unit? Do you need to be including a component unit within your audit report? How do I found out if I do need to include a component unit? Stick around for our next topic which is surrounding inventory: What qualifies as inventory? Do you need to be including inventory within your audit report? What do you need to do to keep track of inventory? Finally, we will cover the important topic of support documentation: why is supporting documentation important? What qualifies as supporting documentation? What are some tips and tricks to do throughout the year to make maintaining support easier?
11:15 AM		Break
11:30 AM		Common Deficiencies in Single Audit | Lindsey Slappy, CPA
		Single Audit has many different programs and requirements. We are going to discuss some of our commonly found deficiencies in Single Audits.
12:00 PM-1:00 PM		Lunch Break
1:00 PM		Upcoming GASB Standards Coming to a Local Government Near You | Alex Bakken, CPA
		The world of Governmental Accounting is constantly changing. New Standards are continuously being released that will need to be worked into your financial reporting process. This presentation will help guide you in implementing two of the latest GASBS: GASB 100 and GASB 101. GASB 100 is a standard aimed at enhancing reporting requirements for accounting changes and error corrections. GASB 101 updates the recognition and measurement requirements for compensated absences.
1:45 PM		Break
2:00 PM		Get What You Need with Public Procurement | Sherry Neas, Central Services Division Director, Office of Management and Budget
		Government entities obtain needed goods, services, and construction through public procurement processes. It is important to know the laws that apply to the type of purchase being made. A well written solicitation and contract are essential to ensure a fair procurement process and successful outcome. Cooperative purchasing contracts can save time and money using a contract established by another entity. Understand the cooperative purchasing laws and overview some common cooperative purchasing consortiums. Learn about government sources of supply that can be used without requiring a competitive bidding process, including state contracts, Rough Rider Industries, State Surplus Property, and Work Activity
2:45 PM		Question and Answer Panel
		Bring all your burning questions that you'd like to ask our team.

 

 

 

 

Speaker Biographies

	Joshua Gallion, MBA Josh was elected in November of 2016 to serve as North Dakota’s 17th State Auditor. Originally hailing from Spokane, Washington, he served in the United States Air Force at the Minot Air Force Base from 1998 to 2002. His education includes an Associate degree from Bismarck State College, Bachelor of Science degrees in Accounting and Business Administration from Dickinson State University, and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of North Dakota.
	Dan Cox, CPA  As the Director of Audit Services at the North Dakota State Auditor’s Office, Dan is responsible for ensuring our own audits meet the government audit standards in addition to the audits done by private firms. He oversees the quality of the audits of the state agencies, the university system, and all local governments across the state. Dan has worked for the North Dakota State Auditor’s Office for over 25 years and is a CPA. He has worked extensively with both the financial and performance auditing standards.
	Heath Erickson, CPA  Heath Erickson is a Certified Public Accountant and an audit manager with over 16 years of experience at the North Dakota State Auditor’s Office. Heath earned his accounting degree from the University of Jamestown and his CPA license from the North Dakota State Board of Accountancy. Heath’s main area of expertise is with local governments enjoys helping them on a variety of topics.
	Michael Scherr  Mike Scherr is an Audit Manager on the Local Government Division with over 5 years of experience preparing financial statements and auditing local governments. Mike received his education from Dickinson State University double majoring in Accounting & Finance. Mike’s favorite part about his job is being able to work with various entities throughout the state and help improve local governments.
	Lindsey Slappy, CPA, MAcc  Lindsey has held a variety of roles in her 14 years at the North Dakota State Auditor’s Office including – Staff Auditor, Audit Manager, Quality Assurance Manager and now Director of Quality Assurance. In each of these roles she has utilized her unique passion for auditing and accounting standards and enjoys spending time researching and ensuring proper implementation of both standards. In her current role, Lindsey is responsible for ensuring the quality of both performance and financial audits completed by NDSAO. She also assists in contracting of private firms for auditing of state agencies, is involved with the peer review process for the NDSAO team, and leads the audit of the state’s Annual Comprehensive Financial Report. Her background includes a master’s in accountancy from Southern Utah University and a bachelor’s in accountancy from the University of Mary.
	Alex Bakken, CPA, MAcc  Alex is a Quality Assurance Specialist at the North Dakota State Auditor’s Office. He has been with the office for over nine years. For the first seven years, Alex was an auditor on the local government team and worked with many local government officials during his tenure. Within his current position, Alex oversees a wide range of projects including performing a quality control review of local and state financial audits as well as the state single audit, training staff, researching current and upcoming standards, and assisting local governments with their everyday questions. Alex graduated from the University of Oregon in 2014 with a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting. He furthered his education and received a Master’s degree in Accounting from North Dakota State University in 2015. After graduating, Alex began his career at the North Dakota State Auditor’s Office and enhanced his skills in 2017 when he became a CPA.
	Sherry Neas, Office of Management and Budget  Sherry Neas was raised in Lark, North Dakota. She graduated from the University of South Carolina, and began her career in procurement as a Civil Service employee working for the Navy and Marine Corps. Sherry completed General Services Administration training to become a federal contracting officer. Sherry returned to North Dakota in 1995, and she left federal civil service to become the Purchasing Manager for the North Dakota Department of Transportation. In 2000, Sherry became the Office of Management and Budget State Procurement Manager. In 2009, Sherry became the Director of Central Services Division, which was renamed Shared Services Division in 2023. Shared Services Division has oversight of state procurement, state and federal surplus property, state print and mail, state supply, and the central mailroom. Vendor registry was transferred to OMB Fiscal in the Spring of 2022. Sherry is retired from the Army Reserves. Sherry is active in the National Association of State Procurement Officials and has served on the NASPO Board of Directors, State and Federal Relations Committee, Survey of the States Chairman, and liaison to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.