Southwestern Chapter 23rd Annual Practitioners Conference

William C. Wagner, CPA
Sole Practitioner

Bill Wagner is a sole practitioner from the Pittsburgh, PA area. His practice includes small business, governments and nonprofit clients with services ranging from tax and write-up to consulting. He serves as a consultant to other CPA firms with government and nonprofit clients that have accounting and auditing problems.

He teaches extensively in the areas of Accounting and Auditing for small businesses, Nonprofit Organizations and Governmental Units. The accounting pronouncements include those from the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the Government Accounting Standards Board. The auditing standards include the AICPA's Auditing Standards Board pronouncements, the Government Accountability Office's Government Auditing Standards, and Federal regulations, which includes those prescribed by 2 CFR Chapter I, Chapter II, Part 200, et al. Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit

Requirements for Federal Awards; Final Rule (successor to OMB Circular A-133 "Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations").

Mr. Wagner served several years at Main Lafrentz & Co. (pre-merger with Main Hurdman and then with KPMG Peat Marwick) as a manager and has also served as treasurer of Seton Hill University, Greensburg, PA, and as Vice President of Fiscal Affairs at Salem International University, Salem, WV.

Bill is an active member of the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA) and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). He has taught courses nationally since 1989 and has received numerous awards for his speaking engagements.

He graduated in 1968 from Grove City College, Grove City, PA where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree with concentrations in accounting and mathematics.

Confirmed Sept. 2017

Richard F. Fischer, CPA, CGMA
Partner
Louis Plung & Company LLP

Rich is the Partner-in-Charge of the Accounting and Auditing Department of Louis Plung & Company. He has more than 27 years of experience in audits, reviews, compilations, and internal control engagements in the public, private, non-profit and governmental sectors. His clients range in size from start-up companies to multi-billion dollar corporations. His extensive industry experience includes real estate, manufacturing, construction, communication, wholesale distributors, and retail. Rich joined Louis Plung in 1999, and previously had worked for two of the “Big Four” accounting firms.

In addition to the above industries, Rich specializes in employee benefit plan audits, which includes financial statement audits, reviews, and compilations, as well as service organization examinations. In addition to providing the traditional employee benefit plan accounting and audit services, he has worked with clients to successfully negotiate with the Department of Labor on matters related to their plan.

Rich also assists public companies in addressing and resolving comments related to their accounting positions or financial disclosure-related issues raised by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In his role as Technical Review Partner, Rich is responsible for ensuring that all financial statements the Firm issues are in compliance with generally accepted accounting principles, and he assesses the impact of new accounting and auditing pronouncements on clients. Rich frequently develops training materials and conducts seminars for clients and the Firm on new accounting and auditing pronouncements, and on hot topics related to accounting, auditing and financial reporting.

Community Involvement and Professional Associations
• Approved Peer Reviewer (AICPA)
• Chair, Construction Committee (PICPA)
• Chair, Technical Committee of the Employee Benefits Plan Committee (PICPA)
• Member, Peer Review Committee (PICPA)
• Member, Accounting and Auditing Procedures Committee (PICPA)

Melissa A. Bizyak, CPA/ABV/CFF, CVA
Partner, Business Valuation & Litigation Support Services
Grossman Yanak & Ford LLP

Melissa has practiced in public accounting for over 20 years and has significant experience in business valuation and tax-related issues for privately-held concerns and their owners. Melissa’s business valuation experience is very diverse, including valuations of companies in the manufacturing, oil and gas and technology industries. These valuations have been performed for various purposes such as financial reporting,  equitable distributions, buy/sell transactions, dissenting shareholder disputes, Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) value enhancement and gift and estate tax purposes. Melissa also provides litigation support services including expert witness testimony.

After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh in 1994 with a B.S. in Business/Accounting, Melissa spent more than two years with a local accounting firm in Pittsburgh. She joined Grossman Yanak & Ford  LLP in 1997.

Melissa is a certified public accountant. She is accredited in business valuation and certified in financial forensics by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). She has also earned the AICPA Certificate  of Achievement in business valuation. Additionally, Melissa carries the credentials of Certified Valuation Analyst.

Her professional  affiliations include the AICPA and the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA), as well as the Estate Planning Council of Pittsburgh. She is also a member and has served as the Chair of the Executive Advisory Board of the National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts (NACVA).

Melissa has authored articles appearing in professional publications. She has written business valuation course-related  materials and serves as a national instructor for NACVA.

Melissa was one of four female CPAs in the state of Pennsylvania to be honored in 2017 by the PICPA as "Women to Watch" in recognition of her contributions to the profession and dedication to mentoring others. Melissa is a graduate of Leadership Pittsburgh, Inc.’s Leadership Development Initiative. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh, is active with the American Heart Association’s “Go Red for Women” initiative, and mentors women business owners through Chatham University’s MyBoard program.

Melissa resides in the South Hills of Pittsburgh with her husband and their two sons.

Oct 2017