2009 Speakers
 | Beth BurrightThe Growth Partnership, Inc.Beth Burright is a facilitator and coach in the organizational development, human resources, and training services division of The Growth Partnership. She possesses in-depth expertise in values-based strategic planning, in facilitating personal productivity seminars, and in designing experiential-based learning workshops. Beth has designed and led values-based strategic plannig initiatives in a number of organizations ranging from small divisions to an organization of more than 5,000 employees. She has taught more than 1,000 personal productivity seminars to hundreds of companies and govenment organizations in the United States and Asia. Her experience also includes the design and facilitation of numerous leadership retreats that successfully met the results desired by senior management. She is certified to teach a variety of Franklin Covey’s personal productivity and leadership programs that includes Focus (time management), Writing Advantage, and Planning for Results (project management). |
 | Bill CarlinoAccounting TodayBill Carlino is a veteran journalist and editor-in-chief of Accounting Today, as well as editorial director for all accounting-related publications such as CPA Wealth Provider, the Accounting Today Special Reports series and the group’s online portal, WebCPA.com. He has been a frequent speaker and panel moderator at industry-related meetings and events as well as a featured commentator on such cable business channels as CNBC, Reuters, MSNBC, Bloomberg, CNN and National Public Radio. Prior to assuming the editor’s post at Accounting Today in 2000, Bill spent 12 years covering the restaurant industry as managing editor at Nation’s Restaurant News and two years with Gannett newspapers in New York as a news and sports correspondent. |
 | Chris Frederiksen, CPAFrederiksen & Co., 2020 Group USAChris Frederiksen is one of the best-known and most highly-rated seminar leaders in the world as well as a consultant to accountancy firms worldwide. He is also a practicing accountant in San Francisco, California. His experience includes partnership positions with two international CPA firms and building several independent practices in the San Francisco Bay Area. As a consultant for the past twenty years, he has been helping small and medium sized accountancy firms achieve their goals of greater profitability and greater personal satisfaction for the owners. He is now committed to helping CAs and tax professionals excel in financial services, strategic planning and other new service areas. |
 | Michelle GoldenGolden Marketing Inc.Michelle’s organizational consulting and web marketing companies work exclusively with professional service firms throughout the US and abroad. Since she started consulting in 1999, Michelle has helped nearly 100 firms achieve results that include: doubling revenue, attracting top talent, aligning management, increasing proposal wins, developing and launching new products, and consistently improving client relationships. Michelle facilitates, teaches, and serves professionals from solos to Big 4. She is an IAF Certified Professional Facilitator and a seasoned professional service firm marketing executive. Her frank, logical demeanor and sound understanding of how to help firms succeed earn her, and her team, recognition as a trusted authority and a valued resource. Evidence of this is Michelle’s high-traffic blog, Golden Practices, that is read and respected by David Maister, Gerry Riskin, Pat McKenna, and other experts in professional service firm operations. |
 | Larry Gramling, PhD, CPAUniversity of ConnecticutProfessor Larry Gramling has been a member of the Faculty of the Accounting Department in the School of Business at the University of Connecticut in Storrs since 1980. He is the Assistant Department Head in charge of undergraduate studies. He previously taught at the University of Maryland and the University of Southern Maine. His teaching interests include Assurance Services (auditing) and Financial Accounting. Larry has been developing and presenting professional accounting seminars to local CPA firms throughout the country, for over 30 years. He is currently co-author of the highly acclaimed Professional Training for the Local Firm—Level 2 course. For many years, he has consulted with local CPA firms concerning their quality control systems, including conducting peer review monitoring inspections. |
 | Lyndsey HavillThe Growth Partnership, Inc.Lyndsey joined The Growth Partnership (TGP) in 2009. As a Learning and Organizational Development Specialist, she is responsible for leading and participating in projects to diagnose, design, develop, manage and evaluate talent management systems. Specifically, Lyndsey works within the areas of recruitment and selection, orientation and onboarding, performance management, leadership development, training and development, and succession planning. Lyndsey strives to help TGP clients’ create and maintain successful people systems within their firms. Whether developing a recruitment and selection strategy to help her clients meet workforce planning goals, to creating training material, she delivers results-driven tools and processes clients will benefit from today and well into the future. |
 | Dustin HostetlerLean CPA, LLCDustin Hostetler is a business consultant and Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt for Lean CPA, LLC, a division of Rea & Associates, Inc., a top 100 accounting and business consulting firm with offices in Ohio. He helps clients implement lean and six sigma concepts in their office and service functions. Industries where he’s applied his talents include: manufacturing, retail, food service and professional services. In addition, he is a pioneer in helping accounting firms apply lean concepts to their unique functions like tax return and payroll preparation, pension administration, bookkeeping and auditing. |
 | Charles Hylan, CPAThe Growth Partnership, Inc.Charles joined The Growth Partnership after dedicating 12 years consulting with, and working in, accounting firms ranging from sole-practitioners to National and Big 5 firms. During this time, Charles spent more than eight years working at Price Waterhouse and Arthur Andersen where he began his career as an auditor before transitioning into a strategic planning and marketing role. Charles entered the accounting consulting industry in 1999 as a Vice President in the Consulting Services division of Waugh & Co. As a shareholder, Charles is responsible for delivering high-impact marketing services and helping TGP clients organize and execute firm-wide strategic planning initiatives. Charles is certified in FranklinCovey’s The 4 Disciplines of Execution®, a process that helps CPA firms identify their top goals and provides a platform for the implementation of their plan. His background in the accounting industry and his passion for bringing value to each client relationship gives him a unique ability to deliver valuable marketing and strategic planning services. |
 | Trey JamesXcentricTrey James is the co-founder and CEO of Xcentric, which specializes in IT solutions and certified networks for CPA firms. Xcentric helps CPAs leverage and use technology for strategic and operational advantage. Xcentric works with several hundred firms on IT-related issues. Trey brings 18 years of experience—a blend of executive, strategic, technical and operational roles including successful roles with the regional firms, local firms and leading IT consultancies to the profession. |
 | Rita KellerKeller Advisors, LLCRita Keller is a nationally known CPA firm management consultant, speaker and author. She is a former shareholder and Chief Operating Officer of a successful, regional CPA firm and has over 30 years’ hands-on experience in the management, marketing, technology and administration of a successful firm. She works with firms nationwide on issues affecting the “inside health” of the firm. As a facilitator and speaker, Rita has been featured at almost all major CPA management conferences. As an author, her articles appear in numerous CPA publications and her blog has become daily reading for hundreds of firm leaders. In August, 2008 Rita’s article, Make the Most of Mentoring, was published in the Journal of Accountancy. Rita continues to be repeatedly named as one of the “Most Influential in the Profession” by Accounting Today. |
 | Roman Kepczyk, CPA, CITPInfoTech Partners North America, Inc.Roman H. Kepczyk, CPA is President of InfoTech Partners North America, Inc. and the Lead Technology Management Strategist for the firm. His primary focus is helping firms throughout North America effectively use information technology by implementing digital best practices and directing them towards today’s “less paper” or Digital CPA firm. He has spent the past thirteen years consulting exclusively with CPA firms and prior to that, ten years with the CPA firm of Henry & Horne, (Arizona’s largest regional firm) where he was the partner in charge of the firm’s Management Advisory Services and Microcomputer Consulting practices. Roman also served as the firm’s Administrative partner where he oversaw Internal Accounting, Marketing, Human Resources, and was responsible for the creation and implementation of the firm’s technology plan and budget. |
 | Jim MetzlerAICPAJames C. Metzler, CPA, is Vice President—Small Firm Interests for the AICPA. In that role, he leads AICPA initiatives aimed at serving the needs of small practitioners, including the activities of the Private Companies Practice Section and the Institute’s specialized accreditations. He spearheads projects that enable firms to offer high-quality services to clients and maintain thriving practices. He also serves as an advocate for small firms on standard-setting and legislative matters and as liaison between the AICPA and its member firms. Jim’s efforts on behalf of small firms have gained him recognition throughout the profession. He has frequently been named as one of the “The Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting,” a national listing compiled annually by the editors of Accounting Today. In 2005, those chosen for the list were asked to compile their own “most influential” list, and Jim was one of nine luminaries in the profession selected for this distinction. |
 | Tim MichelMichel Consulting GroupTimothy I. Michel, CPA is a former managing partner of a multi-office Top 100 CPA firm. He helps CPA firm owners create value in their practice by drawing on his own experiences to assist them in identifying and over-coming obstacles and focusing on opportunities to increase growth and profitability. Experiences include 35 years in CPA firm leadership roles including:
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 | Tim O’Shaughnessy, CPALarsonAllen LLPTim is a Manager of Tax Services located in the St. Louis office. He specializes in business and individual tax planning and compliance as well as identifying and implementing tax savings solutions for small to mid size businesses. He has over 10 years of public accounting experience with International and National accounting firms. Tim’s experience includes serving a broad range of companies from the small, closely held businesses to the Fortune 500. His primary focus is in construction, manufacturing and distribution, however has spent time working with clients in the retail, wholesale, and telecommunications fields as well. He works closely with Senior Management to ensure that the tax strategy is aligned with the Company’s goals and objectives. Tim has experience assisting companies with many of their day-to-day tax needs including Federal and state tax return compliance, tax planning, and FAS 109 issues. |
 | Arun Parameswaran, MS, CPAInSourceProArun Parameswaran is co-founder, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of InSourcePro (Formerly Astutant FPO), a revolutionary company focused on providing the accounting industry access to the brightest and best minds from around the globe and helping accounting firms seamlessly deliver high quality, timely and valuable services to their clients. Arun has also founded and developed a chain of accounting firms focused on small to medium sized businesses which created the backbone of Astutant Group of Companies in Florida. He still manages these firms today. |
 | Jeff PawlowThe Growth Partnership, Inc.As the CEO and Managing Shareholder of The Growth Partnership, Inc., Jeff leads a dynamic team of consultants dedicated to helping their CPA firm clients achieve sustainable, profitable growth. In 2008, the client “footprint” of The Growth Partnership and related entities included 377 accounting firms in the United States—including 44 of the Accounting Today “Top 100 Firms”; 32 associations / state societies; and 10 international firms. Jeff’s efforts have been recognized with a total of seven Marketing Achievement Awards by the Association of Accounting Marketing, including two “Best of Show” awards for overall marketing excellence. Jeff has been named as one of the profession’s “Top 100 Most Influential People” by Accounting Today and as a “Rising Star” by the Southern Illinois Business Journal. He has also been repeatedly recognized as by Inside Public Accounting as one of the profession’s “Most Recommended Consultants”. A 1991 graduate of Creighton University, Jeff is also a frequent speaker at accounting conferences and contributes regularly to the accounting media. Jeff resides in Swansea, IL with his wife Cindy and their four children. |
 | Bill Reeb, CPASuccession Institute, LLCBill has been consulting for three decades to all sizes of businesses, from Mom and Pop operations to Fortune 100 companies, primarily in the areas of organization, automation, and revenue generation. He decided to add the credentials of CPA behind his advisory work and became a CPA in 1986. Prior to his life as a CPA, he worked for IBM in sales back in the late 70’s. As an entrepreneur, Bill has founded eight small businesses in the retail, software development, and services sectors, including his recently launched consulting firm—Succession Instititue, LLC. As an award-winning public speaker, Bill lectures throughout the U.S. and Canada to thousands of executives and CPAs each year. In addition, he has been featured on numerous video-taped and live television programs. As an award-winning author, Bill is internationally published, with around 200 columns and articles on a variety of management topics to his credit. Besides being published by various magazines, journals and newspapers, his newest book, published in July of 2005 by PCPS/AICPA, is titled Securing the Future: Building a Succession Plan for Your Firm. Bill has also written three editions of his first book, called Start Consulting; How to Walk the Talk, published by the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) in the US and by the Certified General Accountants (CGA) in Canada. |
 | Marc Rosenberg, CPARosenberg AssociatesMarc Rosenberg is a nationally known consultant, author and speaker on CPA firm management, strategy and partner issues. He is President of his own consulting firm, The Rosenberg Associates, Ltd., based in the Chicago area. He compiles the most authoritative annual survey of mid-sized CPA firm performance statistics in the country, The Rosenberg MAP Survey. During the past 20 years, he has consulted with over 600 firms and publishes The Management Catalyst, a newsletter on CPA firm issues. For the past five years in a row, Accounting Today magazine has acknowledged Marc Rosenberg as one of the 100 most influential people in the CPA profession. In recent years, INSIDE Public Accounting has recognized Marc as one of the most recommended CPA firm consultants in the country. The CPA profession’s leading publications regularly quote Rosenberg. |
 | Dr. Jeremy WortmanTD Ameritrade and HRD Initiatives, LLCJeremy Wortman is the Director of Organizational Development for TD AMERITRADE and is also the owner of HRD Initiatives, LLC; a human resources consulting firm based in Lincoln, NE. Jeremy started HRD Initiatives in 2005 to help organizations focus on employee engagement and ethical decision making. In addition to his current OD position, Jeremy is an adjunct Professor of Management at the University of Nebraska and an adjunct Professor, and former Program Director, at Bellevue University. Prior to Jeremy’s current activities he taught at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln for five years in the College of Business. He has also worked with Target Retail Stores and graduated from their executive management program, where he was an executive team leader. Previous to Target Jeremy served as a Human Resource recruiter for five years and has helped in the start-up process of two small businesses in Nebraska. |
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