2020 Winners of the AICPA Outstanding CPA in Government Awards

Career Contribution Award

His other responsibilities as Chief Accountant involved participation in the development of the FDIC’s regulations and supervisory policies pertaining to auditing programs and oversight over the FDIC’s securities registration and disclosure function under the federal securities laws.  Mr. Storch represented the FDIC on the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council’s Task Force on Reports from 1984 through 2019 (serving as Task Force Chair for more than 30 years), the Accounting Experts Group of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision from its inception in 1997 through 2019, and the Basel Committee’s Task Force on Expected Loss Provisioning from its inception in 2015 through 2019.

Mr. Storch joined the FDIC in 1973 as an examiner trainee in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and became a commissioned bank examiner in 1978.  He transferred to the FDIC’s Washington Office in 1981 and served as a financial analyst and accounting policy specialist before being promoted to Section Chief of the Division of Supervision’s newly created Accounting Section in 1988 where he began functioning as the Division’s chief accountant.  In July 2002, Mr. Storch was designated Section Chief of the Accounting and Securities Disclosure Section in the Division of Supervision and Consumer Protection.  His title was formally changed to Chief Accountant in February 2003.

Mr. Storch served as the FDIC representative on the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision’s (BCBS) Accounting Experts Group (AEG) since its inception in 1997.  The AEG is a global organization that represents the international banking regulators on accounting and auditing matters. Mr. Storch was also the FDIC representative on the BCBS’s Task Force on Expected Loss Provisioning, which is studying the interaction between the regulatory framework and the new expected credit loss accounting standards in U.S. generally accepted accounting standards (GAAP) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). For more than two decades, Mr. Storch served as Chair of the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council’s Task Force on Reports, which is responsible for updating the quarterly regulatory reporting forms for financial institutions.

In his roles, Mr. Storch met regularly with a variety of stakeholders to discuss matters of mutual interest, including the AICPA Depository Institutions Expert Panel (DIEP). Over the decades, he has worked with the profession to address numerous practice issues. His service covers three financial crises, including the Great Recession, which experienced unparalleled number of bank failures and losses to the FDIC Deposit Insurance Fund and resulted in many practice questions that he helped to resolve. Mr. Storch has overseen the implementation of many accounting standards over the decades, including the current implementation of the FASB’s credit losses standard, which is the most significant accounting standard for banks in four decades. He always provided avenues for education and outreach to the profession.  

In addition, during his career he met regularly with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) to resolve important issues. He also spent a significant amount of time imparting his knowledge as a presenter at national conferences, including the AICPA’s annual National Conference on Banks and Savings Institutions, regional conferences and roundtables, as well as international training programs designed to assist less developed countries.

Mr. Storch is a 1973 graduate of Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and earned an M.B.A. in accounting and finance from the Wharton Graduate Division of the University of Pennsylvania in 1977.  He is also a 1988 graduate of the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin.  Mr. Storch is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the American Institute of CPAs.  He was the recipient of the Virginia Society of CPAs’ Gold Medal Award and the American Institute of CPAs’ Certificate with High Distinction for the November 1981 Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination.

Impact Award – Federal

Her work experience includes various financial and performance audits across the Department.  As a result of the audit, auditors issued over 3000 Notices of Findings and Recommendations to address areas such as; internal control deficiencies over accounting and financial reporting, IT systems, and business processes. Mrs. Venable’s team, acting as the group auditor, compiled the results into the DoD Agency-Wide (AW) financial statement opinion, report on internal controls and report on compliance with laws and regulations. She has performed or overseen financial statement audits for all DoD audits required under the CFO Act and OMB guidance.

From the first successful audit of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Civil Works, financial statements in FY 2006 through the ongoing audits of all DoD financial statements for FY 2020, she has been instrumental in developing strategic audit plans and awarding contracts to Independent Public Accounting (IPA) firms to support the Department’s efforts in financial management, accountability, and auditability.

Mrs. Venable is responsible for the staffing and training of the Financial Management and Reporting Directorate. Additionally, as the group auditor for the AW financial statement audit, she is responsible for supervising the 160 auditors reporting to her. She encourages and budgets for funds to pay for her staff to take CPA training courses and obtain CPA licenses.  She displays critical thinking skills in assessing the sufficiency of risk, materiality, ongoing procedures, and documentation during her consideration of component audit results.  At industry gatherings such as; AGA and ASMC events, she regularly participates in panel discussions with DoD Comptroller, GAO, US Treasury and other major figures in federal auditing and accounting fields. Mrs. Venable also supports women in federal government and regularly provided career guidance to her staff. As such, she models the role of a CPA in government to her large staff as they carry on their important mission to improve DoD financial accounting and reporting and demonstrate accountability to the US taxpayer.

Mrs. Venable is a Certified Public Accountant in the Commonwealth of Virginia and a member of the AICPA, AGA, and ASMC.  She earned her Bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance from The Ohio State University and Master’s degree from Central Michigan University.  Throughout her career, Mrs. Venable has been recognized for exceptional service including the DoD awards for Meritorious and Superior Civilian Service.

Impact Award – State

 In her position, she also leads her staff of 80 and other governmental auditors around the State in certified professional education and training in the areas of school audits, legal compliance, Single Audits, and other auditing skills. The last Single Audit Report (for fiscal year 2019) outlined significant waste, fraud, and abuse in the Department of Human Services, and has garnered significant attention to the issues of waste, fraud, and abuse in the TANF grant program.  As a direct result of that audit, $500,000 was returned to the State of Mississippi for once instance of waste; additionally, her work helped lead to the arrest and indictment of six individuals in, what's been called, the largest embezzlement scheme in Mississippi's history.  Additionally, her work in prior years has led to increased scrutiny of federal grants, and additional internal controls implemented by Mississippi's Department of Finance and Administration.  As one of the poorest states, Mississippi cannot afford state or federal monies to be wasted and/or stolen, and her work helps to restore public trust in the Office of the State Auditor and the State Agencies in Mississippi.

Stephanie began her career in governmental auditing in 2013, first serving as an Audit Supervisor for the State Agency Audit Division at OSA.  She quickly advanced in the office due to her abilities and knowledge, and within two years became the Director of Financial and Compliance Audit in 2015.  Stephanie immediately began making small but impactful changes to the Division.  In her current role as Director, Stephanie serves on multiple committees for the National State Auditors Association and has served on the Small Government Working Group with the Government Finance Officers Association.

Before her career at the Auditor’s Office, Stephanie served as the Director of Finance and Administration for the Mississippi Museum of Art, Mississippi’s largest art museum.  While there, Stephanie helped to secure a $1 million funding grant from the Kresge Foundation for operational maintenance of the facility, ensuring that public art would be available for future generations of Mississippians.  She also worked for Certified Public Accounting firms as a staff and senior auditor and specialized in governmental accounting.

Stephanie received her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree from Mississippi College in 2004 and her Masters of Professional Accountancy degree from Mississippi State University in 2005.  She is a Certified Public Accountant and a Chartered Global Management Accountant.  She has served the CPA community in Mississippi as a Board of Governor, a Governmental Auditing Committee Member, and a Young CPA Board Member for the Mississippi Society of CPAs (MSCPA).  She is a member of the AICPA and the MSCPA.

Stephanie is a lifelong resident of Mississippi, where she lives with her husband, Ryan; son, Xander; and a whole throng of animals. 

Impact Award – Local

Ebonie has made significant contributions to the efficiency, effectiveness and innovative service delivery in her role.  In the past two years, she has led a significant and complex digital transformation initiative. The initiative was launched because many processes at LCCS required caseworkers and staff to spend time on manual processes.  These activities negatively impacted organizational performance and took caseworkers away from where they needed to be in the field serving and protecting children.

This digital transformation effort was multi-faceted and focused on moving the organization away from a legacy system based on 1982 technology and implementing the following:  1) new ERP system with office 365 servers hosted by the state or in the cloud; 2) new document management system; 3) processes to upskill and train administrative workers; 4) a SafeSignal Tethers technology system for caseworkers to utilize when in danger; 5) an alert system that gives employees warnings for unsafe situations, building updates or weather alerts.

As a result of the substantial digital transformation initiatives, LCCS was prepared in spring 2020 when the agency was faced with the pandemic.  When COVID19 hit, LCCS had 100% of its caseworkers out of the building immediately when the Governor issued a stay at home order.  They were working productively, using current technology and most importantly, effectively and efficiently serving their stakeholders something that would not have been possible before the digital transformation initiatives.

Ebonie started her career as a Senior Associate in KPMG’s Washington DC Practice, where she led financial statement and compliance audits across several industries.  Ebonie moved to Toledo, Ohio to become an employee of Owens Corning. She held many roles including Financial Leader (supporting corporate functions), Global Financial Standards Implementation Leader, Plant Controller, and Senior Internal Audit. In these various roles Ebonie led the international implementation of over 100 financial standards established by the CFO’s leadership team; was responsible for the Rockford plant’s accounting, finance, sourcing and warehouse departments; and performed SOX 404 testing, operational plant audit reviews, M&A due diligence, and International Audits. Most recently, Ebonie was responsible for providing strategic business planning, alignment, budgeting, and forecasting leadership for the Manufacturing Technology, Global IT Operations, Global Solutions Delivery, Human Resources, Corporate Legal, Corporate Development, and Tax functions at Owens Corning.

Ebonie received her B.S. in Accounting and MBA from Florida A&M University. She received her CPA in Virginia a year after graduation. Over her professional career Ebonie has facilitated conference workshops and strategic planning sessions for many organizations including the AICPA, the National Association of Black Accountants, Fisk University, Bowie State University, and Jarvis Christian University. She is also a member of the inaugural Class of the AICPA’s Leadership Academy and has served the AICPA in several capacities. She has served as a member of the AICPA Nominating Committee, AICPA National Accreditation Council, AICPA Certified Information Technology Professional's Steering Committee, the AICPA E.D.G.E. Conference, and the AICPA Life Insurance/Disability Plans Committee. Currently, Ebonie serves as a member of the AICPA Governing Council, The Ohio Society of CPAs Board of Directors, The Ohio CPA Foundation Board of Directors, and The Toledo Zoo’s Board of Directors.