Governmental Accounting Conference

Dr. Belle Marie is a professor of accounting in the Business Department at Carroll College. She earned a doctorate in business at George Fox University; an MBA from the University of Montana; an undergraduate degree in business, emphasis in accounting from UofM; and a minor in French. Belle is a CPA, CGMA, CMA, CIA, CFE, and has completed both the AICPA Fundamentals of Integrated Reporting Certificate and SASB’s Fundamentals of Sustainability Accounting Credential FSA Level 1. She was a founding member of the Helena Chapter of Certified Fraud Examiners. Professionally, she has experience in the credit union industry and operated a small accounting firm. Belle has taught a variety of accounting and business courses at the undergraduate and graduate level in Montana, Alaska, and Idaho for over thirty years. Her current research interests include financial literacy; microfinance; sustainability and ESG reporting; and fraud, ethics, and internal controls. Belle has published scholarly articles and presented numerous professional seminars. She was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to India to study socioeconomic issues of gender, holds the Mandeville Endowed Professorship in Accounting at Carroll College, was the 2006 recipient of the Carroll College Distinguished Scholar award, and the 2016 recipient of the MSCPA Jack Kempner Outstanding Educator award.

Chantel Schieffer, owner of True North Leadership, has spent 30 years strengthening communities, teams, and cultures across private industry, government, and nonprofits. A Montana native, she holds a B.A. in Political Science from Montana State University and leadership certifications from Harvard, Yale, UC Berkeley, and Brené Brown Research & Education Group. Recognized for her impact, she’s received the ATHENA® Leadership Award, Alpha Omicron Pi Woman of Leadership Award, and Leadership Montana’s Tom Scott Award. Based in Helena, she and her family embrace adventure, often exploring Montana’s great outdoors.

Jennifer F. Louis has more than 18 years of experience in designing and instructing high-quality training programs. In 2003, she formed Emergent Solutions Group, LLC, serving organizations by providing training services on a project-specific or part-time basis. Louis was Executive Vice President and director of training services at AuditWatch, Inc., a premier training and consulting firm serving the audit profession. She began her career at AuditWatch as Vice President of product development. Before joining AuditWatch, Louis was the financial and operational audit manager at AARP. She was also an audit manager for Deloitte & Touche LLP. During her years at Deloitte & Touche’s Washington D.C. office, she was a frequent local and national instructor. She also served as an instructor for the firm’s national “Train the Trainers” program. Louis graduated summa cum laude from Marymount University with a BBA in accounting. She is a member of the AICPA and is licensed to practice in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

Troy Rector, CPA, CGMA is a shareholder in Clark Nuber’s Public Sector Group, where he has dedicated his career of career to serving tax exempt organizations. Troy works with governmental entities and not-for-profit organizations to understand their unique issues, enabling him to provide technical advice that is both specific to their organization and also clear and concise. He has spent his career providing audit and advisory services to governmental organizations including those administering Federal funds. Troy regularly speaks on Federal grants including the National Grant Management Association’s Annual Grants Conference, the AICPA National Governmental Not-For Profit Program and the AICPA National Not-For Profit Conference.