In pursuit of its mission to be recognized as the authority on construction auditing and controls, the National Association of Construction Auditors seeks out experts in the fields of auditing, construction management, real estate development, architecture, and engineering to serve on its Advisory Board. Its members are appointed by the Executive Board and serve on a voluntary basis. Its mission is to help serve the association and its members by providing expert counsel and guidance.
Richard L. Townsend, CCA/CCP – R. L. Townsend & Associates, Inc.
Rich Townsend is the President of R. L. Townsend & Associates, Inc., which has been in continuous operation since July 1984. Mr. Townsend’s experience includes conducting contract compliance audits and construction cost control consulting services in connection with construction and design contracts for multi-million dollar manufacturing, university, and school district facilities; regional shopping centers; apartment complexes; office buildings; hotels; convention centers; airports; banks; hospitals; warehouse distribution facilities; retail stores; office interior finish work; theme parks; and land development projects.
Rich is affiliated with Courtenay Thompson & Associates for the purpose of providing professional development training seminars on construction auditing and construction cost control. Since 1978, he has been active as an instructor for several of the professional development programs sponsored nationwide by The Institute of Internal Auditors, Inc. (IIA). He also conducts many in-house training seminars related to controlling and auditing construction costs. Rich is the co-developer and instructor of the construction audit related seminar entitled “Effective Auditing of Construction Activity,” which he taught for the IIA from 1985 through 2008. He is also the co-developer and instructor for the course entitled “Controlling Construction Costs,” which is sponsored by the University of Wisconsin’s School Of Business Management Institute.
Prior to establishing his consulting firm, Rich served 13 years in several staff and audit management positions for J C Penney, specializing in real estate and construction audit activities. Mr. Townsend is a Certified Internal Auditor and a Certified Public Accountant. He is a 1971 graduate of Waynesburg (PA) College where he obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree with a major in accounting.
He is a recognized leader in the profession of internal auditing and a member in the Dallas Chapter of the Institute of Internal Auditors. In 1984, the Dallas Chapter of the IIA presented him with their “Outstanding Contribution to the Profession of Internal Auditing” award. In 1983, he received a best subject matter award for a technical session entitled “Performance of Construction Audits’ which he presented to the North American Conference for the IIA. In 1978, Rich was named “Outstanding Member of the Year” by the Dallas Chapter of the IIA.
John Sier, JD, CCP – Kitch Drutchas Wagner Valitutti & Sherbrook
John Sier concentrates his practice in dispute avoidance and resolution of commercial, healthcare and construction contract issues as head of Kitch Drutchas Wagner Valitutti & Sherbrook’s construction and commercial litigation group. In the construction industry, he has experience in analyzing legal aspects of various project delivery methods including drafting construction contracts as well as assisting in dispute resolution and project completion.
John has published articles and presented seminars on construction, healthcare and commercial issues across the country. Following his graduation from Drake University Law School and Graduate School in 1986, he established his practice in Detroit, Michigan, from where he continues to serve clients in various parts of North America.
In addition to being a Certified Mediator and serving on the AAA Panel of Construction Neutrals, he is active with several organizations, including the State Bar of Michigan, Iowa Bar Association, Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association, Catholic Lawyers Society, Associated general Contractors, Construction Association of Michigan, Construction Specifications Institute, Building Owners and Managers Association of Metropolitan Detroit, Construction Owners Association of America, and the Engineering Society of Detroit.
Jake Ortego, CCA/CCP – HPM
Mr. Ortego is Principle at HPM Dallas . He is a licensed mechanical engineer with over 28 years of experience in all phases of the design-construction process and extensive involvement in the project controls, scheduling, project management and engineering management of industrial and commercial projects.
Jake has conducted management and financial controls assessments of significant capital projects with a goal of improving performance and mitigating strategic and operational risks. Additionally, he has developed and implemented financial and project controls, as well as policies and procedures for the design-procurement-construction process. Mr. Ortego has performed construction audits and consulting on projects across many sectors, including commercial, financial, healthcare, biomedical, chemical and heavy industry. He has performed project controls and project management for projects between $50MM and $1.2B. Beyond his auditing and consulting work, Mr. Ortego has been requested to provide expert opinions for construction litigation as well as neutral third party opinions as part of settlement between parties.
Prior to joining Commercial Cost Control, Inc., Mr. Ortego was a primary member of Deloitte’s North Central Construction Advisory Group. This was preceded by his career in consulting engineering with Eichleay Engineers and SNC-Lavalin in Pittsburgh, PA. During this time, he spent 2 years managing an engineering office in the Philippines that focused on industrial construction. Jake’s time in the industrial design-construction arena has given him experience in project management, project controls, schedule management, cost engineering, progress audits, contract management and contract negotiations.
In addition to being a Certified Construction Auditor, Mr. Ortego is a Licensed Professional Engineer and a Certified Cost Engineer. He is a graduate of Boston University where he obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree with a major in Mechanical Engineering. He has been published by the Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering (AACE) as well as “Retail Construction” magazine. Mr. Ortego has also provided conference presentations on construction auditing, project controls, cost forecasting, and ethics.
Robert Hardy CCA – Aramino
With expertise in construction management and corporate construction projects, Bob helps clients with construction audits. He performs onsite assessments and assurance reviews regarding physical construction, compliance with organizational policies and procedures and the effectiveness of controls. By conducting root cause analysis, Bob develops proactive recommendations for clients.
Bob attains increased savings for clients through his strong knowledge of construction delivery methods, procurement, contracting, management processes, contract types, incentive strategies, labor rates and vehicle allowances, as well as cost buildup techniques and equipment pricing.
He negotiates developer agreements, lease language, construction contracts and service agreements and is well-versed in guaranteed maximum price (GMP), lump sum, design-build and cost-plus contracts.
Prior to joining Armanino, Bob was a member of Brown Smith Wallace’s Advisory practice. He previously serves as the senior director of construction at Centene. Over the course of his career, Bob successfully managed more than 70 capital projects, overseeing delivery methods, contracts, developer agreement negotiations, change order due-diligence, lease language oversight, labor rate reviews and equipment pricing. Bob earned his B.S. in construction management with a minor in business administration from Bradley University.
James T. Schmid, CCA – ResX, PC
Jim Schmid is the Managing Director of ResX, PC. He specializes in providing construction audit/oversight services and expert testimony on construction claims and other areas of commercial damages. Jim retired from Grant Thornton LLP in 2013, where he was the Partner in Charge of the U.S. Construction Forensics Services practice. Jim has testified as an expert witness on GAAP accounting issues, commercial damages, construction claims, contract compliance, intellectual property, business valuation, and post-acquisition disputes. He has presided over construction oversight and audit services for construction projects involving all types of construction contracts including lump sum, GMP, design-build, EPC, fast-track, IPD, and time & material.
Jim has over 40 years of professional experience in such diverse areas as industrial engineering, accounting, financial analysis, forensic accounting, construction management and business leadership. He is a licensed CPA, a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), a Certified Construction Auditor (CCA), certified in Business Valuation (CPA/ABV), and Certified in Financial Forensics (CFF). Jim has testified on construction damages, construction fraud, construction contract compliance, business valuation and business interruption in Federal and State courts as well as in arbitration and ADR.
Jim is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the National Association of Construction Auditors (NACA), and the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE).
Jim has acted as the technical reviewer for the college accounting textbook, Accounting Principles, and has authored chapters for four books on construction including, 1) Pricing the Loss, 2) Project Management Forms, 3) Post Failure Accounting Systems and Methods of Pricing Damages, and 4) Payment Delay Claims. He is also a frequent speaker at professional conferences and webinars on damages and fraud related topics. Jim earned a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering (1974) from Oakland University (Rochester, Michigan) and an MBA (1978) from the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, Michigan).
Kenneth J. Brzozowski- Talson Solutions, LLC
Kenneth J. Brzozowski, CCA, CCP – Director of Audit for Talson Solutions, LLC. He is a Certified Construction Auditor (CCA) and Construction Control Professional (CCP) with 29 years of experience in design, construction and quality auditing, contract compliance reviews, project risk analysis, construction management, and real estate acquisition, feasibility analysis, site engineering and development. Mr. Brzozowski has managed domestic and international construction audits, risk assessments, procedure reviews, and project readiness reviews for projects in education, healthcare, transportation, highway infrastructure, and commercial development industries that have resulted in process improvements, mitigated project risks, and realistic cost recovery opportunities. Mr. Brzozowski also provides oversight of Talson’s diversity monitoring and reporting engagement activities. He is approaching his 14th year with Talson and has been an active participant in Talson’s growth and branding as a preferred capital project consulting firm. Previously he was Vice President of Land Entitlements and Development for a national home builder. He is a member of the National Association of Construction Auditors and serves on the Institute of Internal Auditors Philadelphia Chapter Board of Governors where he participates on numerous committees including the Chapter Audit and Diversity Equity and Inclusion Committees. He also volunteers time to the Philadelphia Habitat for Humanity Planning and Construction Committee and has accredited training from the National Transit Institute for the areas of Quality Assurance/Quality Control and Risk Assessments of Transit Capital Projects. Mr. Brzozowski holds a B.A. in Urban Planning from the University of Maryland. He has presented construction audit related topics and facilitated round table discussions for industry associations such as AHIA, AAIA, ACUA, IIA and NACA.
Ken, his wife and two college age children reside in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Ken is a high school varsity ice hockey coach and enjoys fly fishing local and exotic locations with his wife.
Marvin L. Johnson CCA CCP – Managing Director – Construction Cost Review – CBIZ
Marvin L. Johnson, CCA, CCP, CACCI is a senior level executive in the construction industry with demonstrated experience in the delivery of large complex projects, varying delivery models and modified contract types. Marvin is a tested and trusted industry performer and serves as the Managing Director (MD) for the Construction Cost Review (CCR) practice for CBIZ (NYSE: CBZ), one of the largest financial services firms (RAS – Risk & Advisory Services) in the US.
As MD, Marvin has US market responsibility for providing and supporting clients with construction risk assessments, pre-GMP contract reviews, cost analysis, process mapping, project closeout, strategies for cost avoidance/recovery, audits/examinations, and full project controls for achieving successful project outcomes. Marvin’s CCR practice deploys a team of professionals with varying levels of industry specialty skills that are required for proactive and timely responsiveness to client needs and problematic project activity.
Marvin holds several industry professional cost control designations including Certified Construction Auditor (CCA) and Construction Controls Professional). Marvin has amassed 37 years of construction project management experience local, regional, and national design and construction markets. His Sr. level management expertise has contributed to the placement of over $5 Billion of construction nationally. Marvin has been recognized for his outstanding project management performance in the delivery of multiple complex building programs.
Marvin’s subject matter expertise covers a wide range of industry markets and services which include leadership focus on “Achieving Project Results and Improving Project Outcomes”. A sampling of signature projects (team/roles) include the St. Louis Rams Riverfront Stadium Complex (preconstruction budgeting only), Miami Dolphins Hard Rock Stadium Renovations, St. Louis Cardinal New Busch Stadium, BJC HealthCare Campus Renewal, Boston Medical Center Inpatient Expansion Project (IEP), City of Alexandria, VA New Potomac Yard Metrorail Station, and Jetscape Aviation New Hanger & Terminal. Marvin serves several industry organizations such as National Association of Construction Auditors (NACA, American Society for Healthcare Engineering (ASHE) Construction Audit & Cost Control Institute (CACCI).
Education: § A.A.S., Architecture, St. Louis Community College at Meramec, § Business Management, California Coast University, § Amos Tuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth, § Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, § Olin School of Business, St. Louis University
Tina Melendy, MAcc, CCA, CFE
Tina works for Vanderbilt University Medical Center in their Planning, Design and Construction department. Tina has been with VUMC for 15 years, with the last 7 years at PDC and the 4 years prior at the Controller’s office. Tina oversees the financial and contracting aspects of the various projects throughout VUMC campus and off campus locations, with our single largest project being the Jim Ayers Tower being built in the center of our main campus. Tina has a Master’s in Accounting, is a Certified Fraud Examiner with the ACFE, and a Certified Construction Auditor with NACA.
The NACA continues to recruit members for it’s Advisory Board.