Lorrie Schmalenberg

Lorrie Schmalenberg spent several years working as an accountant in the private sector for industries such as public relations and real estate, then as a comptroller for a family-run set of businesses, before moving into the public sector where she has worked for over 25 years. She has held various positions responsible for diverse areas of finance/treasury functions, accounting, internal and external financial reporting, financial systems, project management and implementation, and internal and external audits, and was organizational lead for a national benchmarking network. Early on in her career at the City of Regina, Lorrie was part of a small team that transitioned the City’s accounting and financial reporting to Public Sector Accounting Standards (PSAS). For 15 years she led the ongoing implementation of these standards, including Tangible Capital Assets, Asset Retirement Obligations, public-private-partnership projects, restructuring, new entities, and many others. She is enthusiastic about work in the public sector, particularly standards and financial reporting. In addition to her work for the City, she has been the Director of Financial Planning and Reporting for the Saskatchewan Public Safety Agency and is now managing project implementations with the Saskatchewan Health Authority.

Lorrie has found many ways to share her passion for the public sector and related knowledge with others. She was president of the Canadian Association of Government Finance Officers as well as president and long-time board member of its predecessor the Western Canadian Government Finance Officers’ Association. She was a member of the Public Financial Management Advisory Committee and Vice-Chair of the Public Sector Accounting Discussion Group. Lorrie ran working groups and forums dedicated to collaborating and sharing knowledge of PSAS and encouraging public sector entities to provide input to the Public Sector Accounting Board. She also serves on the CPA Saskatchewan Registration Committee.

Lorrie is a Chartered Professional Accountant. She received her Certified General Accountant’s certification in 1997, completed a leadership development program from the University of Regina in 2015, and has done extensive professional development and volunteer work within the industry.