Kathy is a highly accomplished licensed CPA and CGMA public accounting professional of diverse experience derived from providing assurance services to large, complex state and local governmental entities, higher education institutions, school districts,transportation, utilities and not-for-profit organizations. With over 20 years of experience in public accounting, Ms. Lai has led the audits of some of the largest governments in California, including the State of California (Single Audit), City of Los Angeles, County of Los Angeles, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, Los Angeles Unified School District and the California State University System. Among 400,000 CPA’s nationwide, Kathy served on a select AICPA national 15-member State and Local Government Expert Panel. Through her participation with the AICPA, she has been accredited with contributions to authoring the AICPA State and Local Government Audit Guide, including the newest Pension Chapter to address the complex GASB pension standards, compiling AICPA comment letters to GASB on emerging standards and presenting webcasts for the AICPA Governmental Audit Quality Center. Other examples of Kathy’s thought leadership includes presenting to over 1,000 Californians on the complexities of the Uniform Guidance and emerging GASB pronouncements through her involvement with the California Society of Municipal Finance Officers (CSMFO), National Grants Management Association (NGMA) and tailored client trainings.