Kathy V. Lai is a Partner with Crowe Horwath LLP specializing in providing assurance and advisory services to a diverse client base including state and local governments, cities, counties, utilities, special districts, nonprofits, K-12 and higher education entities. With almost 20 years of public accounting experience, Kathy currently leads the Public Sector practice in Southern California. Selected from over 400,000 CPA’s nationwide, Kathy was appointed to serve on a select 15-member AICPA State and Local Government Expert Panel. In this role, she has been accredited for her assistance in the compilation of the AICPA State and Local Government Audit and Accounting Guide, providing critical feedback to the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) on emerging standards and implementation guides, as well providing national presentations through the AICPA Government Audit Quality Center to over 600 finance and accounting professionals on preparing for their governmental audit. Kathy is a proud graduate in Economics with an emphasis in Business and Accounting from the University of California, Los Angeles, and currently is a licensed CPA and CGMA. Kathy is one of the original Founders of ISFFA and the National Executive Board liaison to the Los Angeles ISFFA chapter. She is Licensed Certified Public Accountant in the States of California, Michigan, Florida, and the Philippines. She is the Audit Chair of St. John Well Child and Family Center. Her affiliations include membership in the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the California Society of Certified Public Accountants (CSCPA). Benel received her Bachelor of Science, Major in Accounting from De La Salle University and high school diploma from St. Agnes Academy. Her recognition includes as 2011 award recipient of the 100 Most Influential Filipina Women given by the Filipina Women’s Network; 2012 Women Making A Difference Nominee given by Los Angeles Business Journal; and 100 Outstanding Agnesians Awardee given by St. Agnes Academy during its 2012 Centennial Celebration.