Speaker Biography

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. He 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 FASB 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. Other roles and honors include:

• • American Institute of Certified Public Accountants – Former Chairman of the Board
• • Rhode Island Society of Certified Public Accountants – Former Chairman of the Board
• • Former Rhode Island Auditor General
• • Former Chairman Department of Defense Audit Advisory Committee
• • AICPA Distinguished Service Gold Medal and AGA Distinguished Leadership Award
• • Senior Executives in State and Local Government and Innovations in Governance, Harvard Kennedy School of Government