Karen Helderman

Specialty Team Director
Information Systems Development

Karen is the Systems Development Director with the Auditor of Public Accounts and has been with the Office since 1986. Currently, she is managing the Virginia Retirement System, the Department of Health, and a number of information technology-related agencies, the largest of which is the Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA).  She serves as a Systems Development Specialist on the University of Virginia Medical Center and Virginia State University audits.

Karen has also managed the following audits:

  • Lottery Department

  • James Madison University

  • VITA Special Review

Additionally, Karen has worked on several long-term special projects. One project involved reporting issues that the Commonwealth must consider when moving to electronic commerce.  Another project involved following the state’s progress on integrating the existing personnel and payroll systems.

>Karen is a CPA and earned her bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Christopher Newport University in 1986. For more than three years, she managed the systems audit function and provided instruction on Computer Assisted Audit Techniques (CAATs). In 1997, she earned the Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA) designation. Karen is currently the Vice-Chair of the National State Auditors Association's E-Government Committee.

Karen and her husband are originally from the Williamsburg/ Newport News area. They now live in Richmond with their two sons.