Lisa Germano, JD, CPA, CGMA
President and General Counsel, Actuarial Benefits & Design Company
1523 Huguenot Road
Midlothian VA 23113
(804) 379-4900
Expertise
Ms. Germano is the President of and General Counsel for Actuarial Benefits & Design Company (AB&D), an organization that assists business owners and key executives to establish and monitor retirement income goals, maintain retirement plan compliance with federal tax laws and ERISA fiduciary risk management and satisfy proper reporting and disclosure to government agencies. Their retirement plan design is intended to meet compensation objectives for executives and employees. Lisa co-founded AB&D in 1989 with Debra D. D. Coyner, JD, CPA.
Professional Designations
Lisa is admitted to the Bars of Virginia and Ohio and is licensed as a Certified Public Accountant by the Commonwealth of Virginia. She is a Principal in the law firm of Coyner & Germano, located in Charlottesville, Virginia, a boutique law firm serving small business owners, professional athletes and horse enthusiasts.
Lisa is past Chair of the Board of the Virginia Society of CPAs (VSCPA) and past Board member for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). Lisa has chaired numerous high-level committees for the AICPA, VSCPA and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) (Appointed Committee member by IRS Commissioner Shulman). She is currently serving on the faculty committee for the IRS Service EP/EO 2019 Joint Council meeting, co-chairs the IRS Mid-Atlantic Liaison Group and was the 2015 Tax Chair of the AICPA National Employee Benefits Conference. She is a Senior Advisor to the AICPA National Financial Literacy Commission and the AICPA Employee Benefits Tax Resource Panel.
Awards
In November 2015, Lisa received the Arthur J. Dixon Memorial Award from the American Institute of CPAs, the highest award given in the field of tax. In September 2012 Lisa received the National Multiple Sclerosis Award for Women on the Move for her demonstrated commitment to her profession and the Greater Richmond Community. In 2008 Lisa co-founded the Joan Grossmann Fegely Foundation for Ovarian Cancer, Education & Research a nonprofit that raised more than $85,000 to find early detection methods for ovarian cancer, provide awareness of its quiet symptoms and support patients and their families. In 2011 Lisa co-founded Rapids Baseball, Incorporated a nonprofit dedicated to youth development, education and self-sustaining community events to fund high school non-academic activities.
In January 2019, Lisa was inducted as a Fellow into the Virginia Law Foundation. In 2011, Lisa was inducted as a Fellow into the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel for her contributions in the employee benefits field and received the inaugural AICPA Sustained Contribution Award for her contributions to the CPA profession. In 1996 Lisa received the Hammer Award from Vice President Gore for her regulatory work with the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. Each year from 2001 to 2013 when the survey ended, Lisa was nominated by her peers as a Super CPA by Virginia Business Magazine.
Publications/Speeches
Lisa is a frequent speaker at national conferences and professional meetings on leadership topics as well as retirement plans. She is often quoted in local and national publications. In authoring the book Searching for Breadcrumbs, she documents her journey to help a high school coach build his field of dreams and the leadership she found it took to overcome obstacles never envisioned. Lisa is the author of numerous retirement planning articles relating to pension law and its administration as well as leadership, entrepreneurship and financial literacy. She has been a contributing Editorial Board Member of the Journal of Pension Benefits and is a former editor of the monthly publication, the Pension Plan Administrator. Her passion for education is shown through her speaking engagements.
Lisa contributed to the 2012 book Save Happily, Spend Wisely: Real Stories About Money and How to Thrive from Trusted Advisors. She writes a monthly newsletter and other articles relevant to business owners.