Melinda DeCorte

Federal Government Industry Vertical Leader

With 25 years of accounting, auditing and government financial management experience, Melinda DeCorte, CPA, CGFM, CFE, PMP, is a skilled partner who directs and serves in a quality assurance capacity for financial statement audits conducted in accordance with government auditing standards. Melinda has extensive consulting experience with multiple governmental agencies, primarily focusing on internal controls and risk assessments, financial statement preparation, financial system implementation, and evaluating agencies for audit readiness and compliance with internal control standards and generally accepted accounting principles.

In addition to client engagements, Melinda’s leadership roles include serving on the Sikich Executive Board and acting as the Federal Government Industry Vertical Leader.

She joined Sikich through the 2022 acquisition of Cotton & Company, a sophisticated leading organization in the federal government space. Melinda has authored several articles on auditing and professional ethics in publications and regularly speaks on ethics, audit, and internal control at professional development conferences and training seminars. Additionally, she taught introductory and intermediate financial accounting at the University of Virginia. Prior to her career in public accounting, Melinda served as a commissioned officer in the United States Army, Finance Corps.

Affiliations

  • AGA (formerly the Association of Government Accountants)
  • Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE)
  • Government Accountability Office, Past Advisory Council Member

Education

  • Bachelor of Business Administration, Economics, Georgia State University
  • Certificate in Accounting, University of Virginia School of Continuing and Professional Studies
  • Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
  • Certified Government Financial Manager (CGFM)
  • Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE)
  • Project Management Professional (PMP)

Award

  • Elijah Watts Sells Gold Medal