2025 Accounting & Auditing Conference - Both Days- In Person (Formerly LAAC and GAAC)

Michael Waguespack

Michael J. Waguespack was elected Legislative Auditor on April 19, 2021. Mr. Waguespack, a Louisiana native, has had a long and varied career. He graduated from LSU in 1987 with a bachelor’s degree in accounting and accepted employment with PricewaterhouseCoopers (then Coopers & Lybrand) in Houston, TX. Mr. Waguespack transferred to the firm’s New Orleans office and worked there until he started his own accounting firm in 1993. In 1999, Mr. Waguespack was elected Assumption Parish Sheriff, from which he retired in 2016. In the years since, Mr. Waguespack worked as the co-managing member of an accounting firm and chief financial officer of an industrial contractor. In addition, he served as Vice Chairman of the Louisiana Tax Commission from 2016-2021. Mr. Waguespack is a licensed Certified Public Accountant with more than 25 years of experience performing a large variety of governmental audits, reviews, compilations, and investigations.

Barry Kelly

Barry Kelly began working at the Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s (LLA) office in 2012. Currently he works on the special projects team in the Local Government Services section of LLA. He helps prepare Statewide Agreed-Upon Procedures (SAUP) updates, create and monitor the implementation of statutorily required schedules, fulfill legislative requests, and provide assistance to local officials and CPA’s. 
Barry is a Certified Internal Auditor and a member of the Institute of Internal Auditor’s (IIA). He graduated from the University of New Orleans with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and a Master in Business Administration. Prior to working at the LLA he worked as a sales tax auditor for the state of Louisiana. 

Michael Brand is known as a nationally acclaimed, accounting industry expert and speaker, Michael (Mike) has been involved in all aspects of public accounting, with an emphasis in providing accounting, auditing and review services to clients in the for-profit, nonprofits and governmental sectors.

In addition to teaching, Mike regularly speaks at conferences nationwide and in various other countries. He conducts peer reviews across the United States and was formerly on the Peer Review Board, Joint Trial Board, and Quality Control Standards Task Force of the AICPA. He is the current co-chair of the Engage Conference (the AICPA's largest conference held over multiple days with thousands of attendees).

Jenifer Schaye

Jenifer Schaye is General Counsel for the Legislative Auditor of the State of Louisiana. 
She is a graduate of the University of Dallas and of St. Louis University Law 
School. She has practiced law continuously for the last forty-three years in Texas and 
Louisiana. Jenifer has substantial experience in the governmental arena. She has 
worked as a Legislative Aid to a State Representative in Texas. She was a 
Louisiana Assistant Attorney General for eleven years. As an Assistant Attorney 
General, she focused on tort, insurance law, and gaming law and all aspects of the 
Administrative Procedure Act. In her capacity as general counsel to the Legislative 
Auditor, Jenifer advises on public law issues and laws relating to fiscal matters, 
ethics issues, and all public laws which impact political subdivisions and the audits of 
political subdivisions on the local and state level. Jenifer also serves as a board 
member on the Louisiana Survivor’s Benefit Board as the Legislative Auditor’s 
designee. In addition, Jenifer represents the Legislative Auditor and staff in those 
matters where they are called to testify and/or to produce records for further 
inquiry by state and federal courts. She advises the Louisiana Legislative Audit 
Advisory Council on relevant audit law issues. 
Because of her governmental background, Jenifer has a broad knowledge of the 
processes of government and the relationships between the various branches of 
state and local government.

Nene Gianfala is a Vice President of the Valuation Advisory group with over 15 years of experience in accounting, corporate finance, and business valuations. She joined Chaffe & Associates, Inc. as a Financial Analyst Intern in June 2007, and upon completion of the internship, joined the company. She is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Accredited in Business Valuations (ABV), Certified in Entity and Intangible Valuations (CEIV), Certified in the Fundamentals of ESG by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and an Accredited Senior Appraiser in Business Valuations with a specialty in Intangible Assets (ASA-BV/IA) by the American Society of Appraisers. Ms. Gianfala performs intellectual property and intangible asset valuations for purchase price allocations, impairment testing, internal intangible asset management, portfolio valuation, and litigation support. She provides business valuation services to public and private companies for estate, gift, and income tax planning, financial reporting, corporate planning, employee stock ownership plans, and litigation. Ms. Gianfala is very active in her community and in professional organizations including hosting podcasts for the AICPA on various topics from ESG to Crypto. She serves on the Board of the Louisiana SPCA, is the Past Treasurer Junior League of New Orleans, the Past President of the Tulane Association of Business Alumni, and an Adjunct Faculty Member of the University of Holy Cross.

Mr. Gilbert works in the Mergers & Acquisitions Group of Chaffe & Associates, Inc., having joined the firm in 2012 as a financial analyst.  He specializes in deal execution, database and market research, due diligence, financial modeling, and strategic planning and financial analysis of critical business decisions for clients in various industries.

Prior to joining Chaffe & Associates, Mr. Gilbert provided start-up consulting services to a clean energy company based in New Orleans. Mr. Gilbert began his career in the film industry and went on to work for several years in project management at the American Heart Association in Dallas.

Mr. Gilbert holds a B.A. from Tulane University in Political Economy and an M.B.A. from the A.B. Freeman School of Business at Tulane University.

Steven McKay

Steven McKay, along with his wife Rachel and three kids, is a resident of Pollock, Louisiana. Additionally, Steven is a graduate of Mississippi College, and joined Rozier, McKay, Willis CPAs immediately upon graduation in 2015. He became a partner in 2019 and serves a wide variety of clients, including an assortment of governmental units across Central Louisiana and small businesses all over the state.

Jeremy Thibodeaux is a partner in Ericksen Krentel's Accounting and Audit Services Section, where he oversees the quality and timeliness of services to many of the firm's audit clients with a focus on nonprofits. During his career, Jeremy has performed audits dealing with a variety of entities in industries such as governmental, construction, retail, hospitality, tourism and professional services. He also has extensive experience in auditing governmental and nonprofit entities in accordance with the Uniform Guidance.

Dean Mead

Dean Mead is a Partner at Carr, Riggs & Ingram CPAs and Advisors (CRI), in the government and public sector industry line. Prior to joining CRI, Dean was a member of the staff of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) for 24 years, most recently as Assistant Director of Research and Technical Activities. During that time, he also was Coordinator for the Governmental Accounting Standards Advisory Council (GASAC) and the author of the GASB’s plain-language communications, including its award-winning User Guides. Between 2008 and 2020, Dean was an adjunct member of the Accounting and Information Systems faculty at Rutgers Business School, where he taught governmental accounting, auditing, and financial analysis. He is a member of the AICPA, FICPA, Association of Local Government Auditors, and Association of Government Accountants, among other professional organizations.

Vince Gremillion is the President and the Founding Co-Owner of RESTECH Information Services, Inc. As a business, RESTECH is a long-standing company that has stayed on the forefront of technology for its 30+ years and has overseen the company growth to approximately 40 employees. Vince is well-known as one of the region’s leading experts in technology and is extremely knowledgeable on system and cyber security. He has led the RESTECH team into new markets, capabilities, acquisitions, staffing and areas of expertise throughout his tenure as a leader. He emphasizes communication with clients and maintaining long-term relationships. Another of his business models has been the implementation of a strong “HELP FIRST” ethos and an attitude of continued professional improvement. Vince provides Cyber Security consulting, assessments, and implementation for the greater business community. He maintains a CISSP and GCIH certification and specializes in IT measures that prevent many modern cyber-attacks from being successful. Vince is available as a speaker and presenter for cyber-related issues locally and regionally. Vince often serves as a speaker and presenter for cyber-related issues locally and regionally. He has been married since 1986 and is a proud father of 4. He has been working in technology since the early 1980s. He is active with community and missional improvement efforts.

Dean Mead

Dean Mead is a Partner at Carr, Riggs & Ingram CPAs and Advisors (CRI), in the government and public sector industry line. Prior to joining CRI, Dean was a member of the staff of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) for 24 years, most recently as Assistant Director of Research and Technical Activities. During that time, he also was Coordinator for the Governmental Accounting Standards Advisory Council (GASAC) and the author of the GASB’s plain-language communications, including its award-winning User Guides. Between 2008 and 2020, Dean was an adjunct member of the Accounting and Information Systems faculty at Rutgers Business School, where he taught governmental accounting, auditing, and financial analysis. He is a member of the AICPA, FICPA, Association of Local Government Auditors, and Association of Government Accountants, among other professional organizations.

Ron Gitz, CPA, CGMA, serves as CEO of the Society of Louisiana CPAs (LCPA), a non-profit membership association representing more than 7000 CPAs and future CPAs. Prior to joining LCPA in 2012, Ron had a diverse career working both in public practice and industry. He owned and operated several businesses, including a successful CPA practice.  

At the national level, Ron currently serves on the Board of Trustees for AICPA’s Benevolent Fund which helps members through temporary periods of financial difficulties. He also serves on the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy’s State Society Relations Committee, the Accountancy Stakeholders Working Group, and is Vice Chair of AICPA’s Interchange Planning Executive Committee. Ron is Past President of the CPA Society Executives Association and remains very active in the organization.

On the state level, Ron serves on the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry’s Taxation & Finance Council and is a member of the Committee of 100, and RESET. Ron also is a member of Louisiana State University’s Accounting Advisory Board. He leads LCPA’s Advocacy Team which works year-round to help create a more favorable economic environment for CPAs and the businesses and individuals they serve.

He holds both the CPA and Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) designations.

Ron enjoys being outdoors and cooking competitively. He lives in Covington with his wife, Jennifer. Together they have three children, Audrey, Mary Grace, and Harrison.