Accounting & Auditing Conference - Webcast

James J. Newhard, CPA, CGMA
Proprietor, Speaker for Loscalzo Associates

In public practice since 1979, Jim established the firm JAMES J. NEWHARD, CPA in December, 1986 focused on small business entrepreneurs and individuals, to provide a wide variety of tax (preparation and planning), accounting & reporting (review, compilation, preparation, AUP, and QuickBooks Advisor), and advisory services to individuals, small-to-medium sized businesses (including start-up businesses), not-for-profit entities, estates, and trusts. Jim is also a CPE discussion leader, teaching practitioner A&A, professional ethics and tax CPE programs for Loscalzo Associates.

Jim is a member of the AICPA (including PCPS and Taxation Member) and the PICPA. As Greater Philadelphia Chapter past-president (2006-07) and recipient of both the Volunteer Service Award (2009) and the Champion Service Award (2012), Jim serves on several PICPA committees at the state level (PICPA Council, Accounting and Auditing Procedures, State & Local Taxation, Legislation, The Act 32 Task Force, CPA Image Enhancement, and Member Services,) and the Philadelphia Chapter level (Accounting and Auditing, Local Taxation & Legislation Committee, and Federal Tax). Additionally, Jim serves as the editor of the Accounting & Auditing column for the Pennsylvania CPA Journal, and has authored several columns and features, principally on CPA practitioner matters in A&A and Pennsylvania local tax matters (earned income taxes and business privilege taxes).

Jim developed/co-developed many Act 32 resources for members and users, as well as several other reference informational resources for practitioners (including brochures on PA business privilege taxes, and attest & non-attest financial reporting services) and consumers (including brochures on managing debt, CPA-client privacy matters, and questions to ask in choosing a CPA).

John J. Hall, CPA
President
Hall Consulting Inc.

John Hall is the founder and President of Hall Consulting, Inc. and the author of the 2012 award-winning book “Do What You Can! Simple Steps–Extraordinary Results”.

Through live and recorded programs, performance coaching, and business consulting engagements, John helps program participants and client team members:

 Improve organizational, personal, and professional performance

 Enhance the effectiveness of business processes and individual behavior

 Improve interpersonal and communications skills

 Identify and improve areas of exposure to business risk, wrongdoing, and fraud

Speaking, training, coaching and consulting areas include:

 Personal and work group effectiveness, team building and motivation

 Communication and interpersonal behavior skills enhancement, including:

 Establishing rapport and trust
 Interviewing and listening
 Speaking and presenting
 Selling ideas and influencing others to take action
 Audit and management leadership
 Collaboration
 Consulting skills for professionals

 Fraud prevention, early detection and incident response

In January 2014, John published The Anti-Fraud Toolkit – a self-guided system for business wrongdoing prevention and prompt detection. In 9 learning modules and 5 hours of video-recorded lectures, users can strengthen anti-fraud defenses and learn exactly ‘how-to’ reduce losses, find incidents more quickly and handle them efficiently. The Anti-Fraud Toolkit uses the action steps John developed over two decades in his client consulting, training, and coaching engagements.

In total, Mr. Hall has 35 years of experience as a professional speaker, consultant, corporate executive, and business owner. In addition to operating his own businesses since 1990, he has worked in senior leadership positions in large corporations and international public accounting firms. John is a member of the National Speakers Association, the American Institute of CPAs, and the Institute of Internal Auditors.

Keith C. Peterka, CPA
Partner – Professional Practice Group
Marks Paneth LLP

Keith C. Peterka, CPA, is a partner at the Professional Practice Group at Marks Paneth LLP, in New York, NY. He has more than 20 years of public accounting experience and is skilled in dealing with complex accounting and reporting issues.

Prior to joining Marks Paneth, he was a partner in the national accounting office of a US-based CPA firm, where he was a subject matter expert on various complex accounting topics such as business combinations, fair value, variable interest entities and revenue recognition. He played a key role in developing that firm’s audit quality plans and training programs. He was also involved in business development activities and was a frequent speaker at that firm’s executive education programs.

He has also worked for Ernst & Young in Hong Kong, Stockholm, and across the United States. He has extensive experience with SEC reporting matters, goodwill impairment issues, business combination accounting, and post-merger operational matters.

Mr. Peterka’s deep background also includes serving as an inspector with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). In addition to performing inspections of Big Four firms in the US, he also was a member of international inspection teams for firms in Canada, Asia, and India.

Mr. Peterka is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants, and the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He currently serves on the AICPA's Technical Issues Committee. He is a frequent speaker and has contributed to industry journals such as Accounting Today, Compliance Weekly, and Financier Worldwide.

Mr. Peterka holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Robert Morris University, graduating cum laude. He is based at Marks Paneth’s midtown Manhattan headquarters.

Allison M. Henry, CPA
Vice President, Professional & Technical Standards
PICPA

Allison is presently the Vice President - Professional & Technical Standards for Pennsylvania Institute of CPA’s (PICPA) where she is responsible for overseeing the administration of the AICPA’s Peer Review Program in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and the Virgin Islands. She also administers PICPA’s Joint Ethics Enforcement Program with the AICPA, and serves as the technical staff liaison to seven state-wide committees and two newly-created task forces; specifically, the Peer Review, Professional Ethics, Accounting and Auditing Procedures, Forensic and Litigation Services, Business Valuation, Not-for-Profit and Employee Benefit Plan Committees and the Healthcare Reform and Marcellus Shale Task Forces. In addition, she fields technical inquiries, writes columns for the CPA Journal and Pursuit publications, provides technical updates at PICPA chapter events, and assists in writing responses to technical exposure drafts.

Allison has been in the profession for about twenty years, including twelve years in public accounting and over eight years with PICPA. Her public accounting experience consists of several years as senior manager with a regional accounting firm and nine years at Deloitte & Touche, LLP, where she worked in their assurance and advisory services group. Her diverse client service experience includes many not-for-profit, healthcare, and world relief organizations, as well as small and large manufacturing, distribution, and other service-oriented entities. She has also served as the designated employee benefits specialist. Prior to her experience with Deloitte, she spent four years in internal accounting positions including the Department of Defense, while her husband was serving on active duty with the U.S. Army.

Allison is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis and holds an accounting equivalency from the University of Arkansas in Little Rock. She is a member of the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. She is also a member of Washington Crossing United Methodist Church, where she serves on the financial accountability team, and volunteers for the children’s ministry. She is a native of St. Louis, Mo. and is an avid runner.

Heather I. Reimann, CPA
Manager, Professional & Technical Standards
Pennsylvania Institute of CPA’s

Heather is presently Manager - Professional & Technical Standards for the Pennsylvania Institute of CPA’s (PICPA) where she is responsible for performing technical reviews for the AICPA’s Peer Review Program in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and the Virgin Islands.

Heather has been in the profession for over sixteen years between public accounting, industry and over five years with PICPA.  Her industry experience includes five years with multichannel specialty apparel retailer Charming Shoppes, Inc., in Bensalem, PA., where she held positions in their accounting and FP&A groups.  Her public accounting experience was with Arthur Andersen, LLP, where she worked in their assurance group as an experienced senior auditor in Philadelphia.  Her client experience includes not-for-profit, small manufacturing and other service-oriented entities.

Nicole K. Cradic, CPA
MANAGER
 
Nicole joined Trout, Ebersole & Groff, LLP in 2006 after graduating from Old Dominion University (magna cum laude) with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with a focus in Accounting and Finance.  She is currently serving on the firm's Employee Benefit Plans and Governmental Practice Groups.  Nicole is also an active member of the firm's Attest Services, Quality Control, and Business Development Committees and a frequent presenter at internal CPE events.  Nicole has prior work experience abroad and in the property management industry.
 
As an Audit & Attest Manager, Nicole provides accounting and auditing services to clients in a variety of industries including governmental, non-profit, and for-profit entities as well as employee benefit plans.  The education sector and ESOP companies are two of Nicole's focus areas.
 
Nicole is serving on the Finance Committee of St. Peter Church in Elizabethtown and is a member of the Hershey Rotary Club.
 
Nicole enjoys traveling (especially to Germany), music, and spending time with family and friends.  She lives in Elizabethtown with her husband and two children.

Michael K. Cheng, CPA
Supervising Project Manager - Private Company Council Coordinator
Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB)

Mike Cheng joined the staff of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) in 2012.  Mike serves as the Private Company Council (PCC) coordinator where he is responsible for all PCC related matters. He also led the Board’s private company decision making framework project focused on determining whether and in what circumstances it is appropriate to adjust financial reporting requirements for private companies following Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). Currently, Mike is leading a project to help the Board decide its future agenda.

Prior to joining the FASB, Mike held various management positions with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Most recently, he was an Audit Senior Manager―Private Company Services in the firm’s Stamford, Connecticut office.  From 2003-2011, he also held roles of increasing responsibility in PwC’s Core Assurance divisions in Buffalo and Rochester, New York.

Mike earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting with a concentration in Finance from Binghamton University in Binghamton, New York.

Sept. 2016

Michael L. Brand, CPA, CGMA

Michael L. Brand is a partner in the firm of Johnson, Feigley, Newton & Brand in Athens, Alabama. For the past 27 years, he has been involved in all aspects of public accounting with in emphasis in accounting, auditing, and review services. He also teaches continuing education classes and has been a speaker at several conferences nationwide. He is the former chair of the Alabama Society of Certified Public Accountants (ASCPA) Peer Review Committee and the AICPA’s Accounting and Review Services Committee. He currently serves on the AICPA’s Professional Ethics Executive Committee and the ASCPA’s Board of Directors.

Brand’s experience involves audits, reviews, and compilations of various for-profit industries, not-for-profits, and governmental entities. He was formally on the Peer Review Board, Joint Trial Board, and the Quality Control Standards Task Force. He has received the Outstanding Discussion Leader Award for numerous years on both the national and state levels.

Brand received his BS in accounting from the University of North Alabama.