School District Conference

John M. Lori, CPA
Deputy Auditor General
Department of the Auditor General, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

John M. Lori, joined the Department of the Auditor General’s office in January 2013, as the Deputy Auditor General of Audits.   He manages and leads six (6) audit Bureaus within the Department and over 400 audit and administrative staff who perform over 4,000 audits annually.

Mr. Lori previously served as Deputy Secretary for Business Assistance for the Department of Community and Economic Development, Chief Operating Officer/Chief Finance Officer (COO/CFO) of the Harrisburg University of Science and Technology, Founder and Managing Principal of WFG Capital Advisors and numerous other Central PA businesses.  Mr. Lori’s background demonstrates an extensive and enduring career in the financial field; with over 40 years of experience as a CPA, Controller, CFO, Treasurer, COO, and managing partner of small and medium-sized businesses in Central Pennsylvania.  His experience includes the areas of accounting, finance, tax, auditing, business development, turnarounds, change management, financial and transaction management, strategic planning, venture capital and capital formation.  In addition, he enjoys mentoring and advising aspiring entrepreneurs on finance, strategy and leadership.

Mr. Lori earned his degree in Accounting from Elizabethtown College in 1973 and is a graduate of the National Association of Small Business Investment Companies (Venture Institute).   He is a Certified Public Accountant and was a founder and board member of the Venture Investment Forum of Central Pennsylvania, the Technology Council of Central Pennsylvania, and a founding board member of the Harrisburg University of Science and Technology.  He has also has served on numerous other non-profit boards including the Harrisburg Regional Chamber of Commerce. 

David L. Nester, CPA
Business Administrator
Pottsgrove School District

Mr. Nester is currently the Business Administrator for Pottsgrove School District located in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. Prior to joining the District in 2001, he was a shareholder of Dreslin and Company, Inc., a local CPA firm with offices in East Norriton and West Chester. He was shareholder in charge of Dreslin’s governmental and non-profit audit practice.

David graduated with honors from Kutztown State University. In addition to his membership in the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA), he is also a member of the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials (PASBO) and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). David has served as Chairman of the PICPA Local Government Accounting and Auditing Committee and currently serves on the PASBO Accounting Committee. He has spoken on a variety of topics for these organizations.

Mr. Nester is also actively involved in his community. He has served in various capacities on the Boards of the Visiting Nurse Association of Pottstown and Vacinity, Home Health Care Management, and the Pottstown Area Police Athletic League.

Pamela W. Baker, CPA, CGFM

Partner

Barbacane Thornton & Company LLP

Ms. Pamela W. Baker, audit partner, is responsible for the firm’s development and administration of the nonprofit and governmental client base. She is a 1980 graduate of Lynchburg College and is a certified public accountant licensed to practice in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and North Carolina.

Ms. Baker has, for over thirty years, devoted her career to the governmental field. As a Virginia state auditor, she served on local government unit task force to implement a statewide uniform chart of accounts. Additionally, she was involved in the federally mandated pilot program for implementation of the Single Audit Act of 1984.

Ms. Baker successfully advanced to a supervisory level with the organization, responsible for supervising a six-person audit team conducting financial and compliance audits of major universities, hospitals and cities. Ms. Baker then relocated to a position in public accounting to a North Carolina firm with municipal and nonprofit clients. In her four-year tenure, she was responsible for standardizing the audit department, ensuring compliance with federal, state and local guidelines and for further development of a market niche in government and nonprofits. At the time of her resignation, Ms. Baker had successfully contracted with the county government, including all local municipalities. She successfully assisted the first municipality in the area to secure the Certificate of achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting issued by the Government Finance Officers Association.

Kristen A. Kociolek
Asst. Director, Financial Mgmt. & Assurance Team
Government Accountability Office

Kristen A. Kociolek is an assistant director on the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) Financial Management and Assurance Team.  Ms. Kociolek is a member of GAO’s audit standards team responsible for developing, drafting, and maintaining Government Auditing Standards (The Yellow Book).  Ms. Kociolek also leads GAO’s financial statement audit of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.  Prior to joining GAO, Ms. Kociolek worked as an audit manager with Ernst & Young in Harrisburg, PA, where her work focused on financial audits of state and local governments.  Ms. Kociolek graduated from Elizabethtown College in Elizabethtown, PA with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting.  She is a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Government Financial Manager.  She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Jill E. Gilbert, CPA
Partner
Trout Ebersole & Groff LLP

Jill joined Trout, Ebersole & Groff, LLP after  graduating from Elizabethtown College  with  a Bachelor of Science degree  in Business Administration with  concentrations in Accounting and Finance, and
a math  minor. As a partner,Jill is chair of the firm's Governmental Practice Group and serves on the Employee Benefits  Practice Group. She also serves on the firm's Business Development Committee, Audit  Efficiency Committee, and Quality  Control Committee.

As a professional, Jill is often called upon to speak at various conferences and workshops on both the state and local levels.

Jill is also an active member of the community. She is a member  of the Elizabethtown Rotary Club and the vice-chairman of the Elizabethtown Fire Company  Endowment  Fund.

Jill enjoys activities with  her family, golf, reading, and the beach. She lives in Elizabethtown with  her husband  and two children.

John J. Kaschak, CPA, CISA, GGAP, CGFM
Deputy Secretary for Taxation
Pennsylvania Department of Revenue

John is the Deputy Secretary for Taxation, Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. As Deputy Secretary for Taxation, John is responsible for managing the Bureaus of Corporation Taxes, Motor and Alternative Fuel Taxes, Individual Taxes, and Business Trust Fund Taxes, and also the operations of the Taxpayer Services and Information Center and Voluntary Disclosure Program. He also directs the review of corporation tax reports, motor fuel reports, personal income tax returns, inheritance tax returns, realty transfer tax documents, Property Tax/Rent Rebate claims, sales tax returns, and employer tax returns.

Previous to his current position, John was the Director of the Pennsylvania Office of Budget, Office of Comptroller Operations, Bureau of Audits. The Bureau of Audits is the primary internal audit function within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and is responsible for conducting performance audits of Commonwealth’s agencies and their subrecipients, providing systems development implementation guidance, conducting various desk reviews including those of subrecipient single audit reports, and assisting the Commonwealth’s independent auditors with financial statement and single audit procedures. Immediately preceding his role in the Office of the Budget, John was employed by the Pennsylvania Department of the Auditor General.

Before his dozen years of public service, John spent over four years in the public accounting profession, conducting financial statement and single audits of a variety of state and local government entities in both the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the State of Maryland. The majority of John’s public accounting experience was spent with Ernst & Young LLP.

John holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration-Accounting from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania. He is a Certified Public Accountant, Chartered Global Management Accountant, Certified Information Systems Auditor, Certified Government Auditing Professional, and Certified Government Financial Manager.

John serves on the US Comptroller General, Government Accountability Office, Green Book Advisory Committee. He is currently serving as a member of the American Institute of Public Accountants’ (AICPA) Government Performance and Accountability Committee (GPAC). He is a member of the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ (PICPA) Council, as well as their Legislative and Local Government Committees, and was named to the 2012 class of the “40 Under 40: PICPA Members to Watch.”

Christopher M. Turtell, CPA
Manager
Herbein + Company Inc.

Chris is a Manager who joined Herbein in 2002.  He began his career in the Audit department at Herbein + Company, Inc. upon graduating from Elizabethtown College in 2002.  As a Manager, he is responsible for leading audit engagements with a specialty in local governments including Single Audit Act compliance.

Christopher N. Herr, CPA
Manager
Maillie LLP

Chris is a Manager in the Mont Clare office of Maillie LLP and has over ten years of experience providing auditing services to municipalities and local governments. He is a member of the firm’s Governmental and Not-for-Profit Services Department as well as the Quality Control Department. Chris is responsible for a large number of the firm’s governmental clients, including many school districts, townships, boroughs, counties and various authorities. He is also an instructor in the firm’s continuing professional education programs related to these areas.

Helen A. Weigel

Director, Bureau of School Audits

Department of the Auditor General

Helen began her auditing career as an entry level auditor with the Pennsylvania Department of the Auditor General.  Helen has progressively worked her way up through the ranks to become the Director of the Bureau of Special Performance Audits in 2005.  In April 2015, Helen was appointed as the Director of the Bureau of School Audits while the Bureau was in the midst of a major transition to a risk based audit approach and the implementation of new, performance-based audit objectives.  Helen’s nearly 30 years of performance auditing experience has been instrumental in leading the Bureau through the transition and in focusing on objectives in those areas of greatest public concern.

Helen’s government auditing experience includes program results audits of various government programs such as the Opportunity Grant Program and the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and performance audits of universities, prisons, mental hospitals, youth development centers, forestry camps, and state schools.   In addition, Helen directed the Department’s first special performance audits of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board, the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency, the State Employees Retirement System and the Public School Employees Retirement System.   

Helen earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Michael A. Wolf 
Managing Director
Boenning & Scattergood, Inc.

Mr. Wolf began his Investment Banking career in 1985, after fifteen years of professional practice in City and Regional Planning.  Mr. Wolf has worked closely with township, county and state officials and specialized in public facilities, highways and bridges, mass transit, ports, airports, and solid waste management.  Mr. Wolf is a member of The Municipal Bond Club of Philadelphia. His B.A. is from Temple University and he received his Master's Degree in City Planning from the University of Pennsylvania.

Mr. Wolf has recently assisted the Tredyffrin-Easttown School District, as well as the Townships of Upper Merion, Tredyffrin, Westtown, Willistown, Easttown, Skippack and East Whiteland with general obligation and revenue bond issues.  Mr. Wolf has assisted numerous municipalities with financing for open space purposes including:  East and West Vincent, Charlestown, East Nottingham, Highland, West Sadsbury, Skippack, East Brandywine, East Marlborough, Buckingham, Plumstead, Upper Makefield and Concord.