Greater Philadelphia Chapter Annual Tax Conference

Michael D. Colgan, CAE
CEO & Executive Director
PICPA

Mike is CEO and executive director of the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA), a professional association of more than 22,000 CPAs in Pennsylvania. He also is CEO of the PICPA Foundation for Education & Research, which provides continuing professional education to more than 20,000 CPAs annually.

Mike’s key goal is to enhance the PICPA’s already stellar reputation as the premiere CPA association in Pennsylvania. He accomplishes this by fostering communications and personal relationships with PICPA members and leaders in the accounting profession, government, legislative and regulatory agencies, and other related organization. He works closely with PICPA leadership to propose new and challenging programs to the state and chapter officers, and takes a lead role in developing strategic plans and objectives with the senior management team.

Mike is on the board of directors of the Certified Public Accountants Society Executives Association (CPA-SEA) and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Future of Learning Task Force. He also serves on the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) State Society Relation Committee and on the Advisory Board of PA Forward, an initiative of the Pennsylvania Library Association. He is a past president of the Delaware Valley Society of Association Executives and has served as a member of the finance and administration section council of the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE).

Mike is a graduate of Drexel University and received the certified association executive (CAE) designation from the ASAE in 1990. Mike is the varsity girls’ basketball coach at Marple Newtown High School in Newtown Square, Pa.

Mike joined the PICPA in 1979 as manager on the professional education team, assumed the role of COO in 1988, and was named CEO in 2012. You can follow his activity on the blog CPA Now at www.cpanow.picpa.org.

William M. Smith, Esq.
Managing Director
National Director of Risk Management, Tax
CBIZ MHM National Tax Office

Bill Smith joined the CBIZ MHM National Tax Office in 2000 as a Managing Director specializing in complex tax issues, IRS controversy matters, accounting firm tax practice risk, and professional and ethical responsibilities of accountants. Mr. Smith is the National Director of Risk Management for the firm’s tax practice, lecturing frequently on the professional duties of accountants and testifying as an expert in litigation matters.  He also consults nationally on a broad range of tax services, including tax reform, and foreign and domestic tax planning for corporations, partnerships and individuals. He has extensive experience with business sales and combinations, federal and state tax litigation and administrative controversies, negotiations with the IRS National Office, bankruptcy and insolvency tax planning, real property transactions, venture capital investments, licenses and royalty agreements, and a wealth of other transactions.  He co-presents a business tax update every quarter entitled the Eye on Washington series.

Mr. Smith has over 35 years of tax experience in both the public and private sectors, from his days as a trial attorney prosecuting civil tax cases with the U.S. Department of Justice, Tax Division, to his private practice as a tax lawyer, to working in the office of General Counsel at Deloitte. 

Mr. Smith has spoken at conferences throughout the country on a myriad of topics, including professional ethics, Healthcare Reform, taxation of intellectual property, professional responsibilities of tax lawyers and accountants, and best practices in the tax industry.  He is frequently quoted in nationally recognized publications including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Barron’s and the Washington Post, as an authority on tax topics and professional ethics.  He has been profiled in Forbes, and appeared as a commentator on CNBC and Fox News. In 2013, Mr. Smith was selected as a Washington D.C. Power Player by SmartCEO Magazine – one of a dozen lawyers, bankers and accountants selected in the inaugural year of the program’s existence.  In 2017 he was honored again by SmartCEO Magazine as a Center of Influence.

For over 25 consecutive years, Mr. Smith has received the highest ratings from his peers in Legal Ability and Ethical Standards from Martindale Hubbell, a division of Lexis-Nexis.

Nov 2017

Richard G. Furlong, Jr.
Senior Stakeholder Liaison
Internal Revenue Service

Mr. Furlong is a Senior Stakeholder Liaison in the Mid-Atlantic Area Stakeholder Liaison office of the Internal Revenue Service Small Business/Self-Employed Division. Stakeholder Liaison serves as the primary IRS liaison office to tax practitioner organizations throughout the country. He is currently on a detail assignment to the IRS Affordable Care Act office.

Mr. Furlong coordinates IRS participation at the annual Eastern Pennsylvania “Working Together” Conference. “Working Together” is a joint effort of public and private tax professionals to enhance the level of communication, education, and trust between these organizations and individuals. Mr. Furlong is also a member of the PA IRS/Practitioner Liaison Council which provides a structured forum for Pennsylvania accounting and tax professional organizations to meet twice each year with IRS managers and employees to discuss current IRS program issues. He also meets periodically with the PICPA Federal Tax Committee to discuss IRS programs and policies.

Each year, Mr. Furlong represents IRS at practitioner CPE sessions throughout Pennsylvania where he discusses IRS policies and procedures, tax law updates, Affordable Care Act tax issues, and IRS electronic tax administration.

Mr. Furlong is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School with a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics.

2023

James M. Brower Jr., CPA, MST
Partner, State & Local Tax Leader
CBIZ Marks Paneth

Jay Brower, CPA, is a Partner of corporate and individual tax compliance and research services at Marks Paneth, LLP. He has more than 20 years of professional experience at the federal, state, and local levels.

Mr. Brower's duties also include the development of tax planning and implementation strategies, as well as education and development of the firm's professionals. Mr. Brower provides tax planning and compliance services to clients in the manufacturing, commercial fishing, telecommunications, professional services, retail and transportation industries.

Mr. Brower was recognized by the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants as one of the “40 Under 40: PICPA Members to Watch.” He is a frequent speaker on subjects concerning federal and state tax issues including electronic filing; the domestic production activities deduction; State and Local income taxes and ASC 740/Fin 48.

January 2023

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).

Matthew D. Melinson, CPA, MT
Partner and National SALT Practice Indirect Tax Services Leader
Grant Thornton LLP

Based in Philadelphia, PA, Matthew is responsible for all aspects of multistate tax consulting, planning, and compliance within Grant Thornton.Matthewcurrently leads thestate and local tax(SALT)practice for the Atlantic Coast Market Territory, which includes the Washington DC, Maryland, Virginia and Pennsylvania areas. He also serves as a key account leader, as overall firm or tax leader on some of the firm’s major clients.  Additionally, Matthew is the liaison for state and local tax, collaborating with the audit and advisory service lines as well as other tax business lines.  From August 2015through July 2017, Matt servedas Grant Thornton’s national leader of State and Local Tax (SALT) indirect taxes. From March 2011 through July 2014, Matthew was the SALT practice leader of Grant Thornton’sNortheast Region, which included the Pennsylvania,New York, New Jersey, and New England areas.

Prior to Grant Thornton’s acquisition of LECG SMART’s State and Local Tax practicein March of 2011, Matthew led LECG SMART’s nationalSALTpractice, which included professionals based in the Atlanta, Chicago, New York,and Philadelphia areas.  Prior to joining LECG SMART in 2006, Matthew spent approximately 10 years with PwC.

Charles Sgrillo II, CISSP, CEH
Senior Information Security Specialist
Kresicher Miller

Areas of Specialization
As the leader of Kreischer Miller’s Information Security practice, Charles is dedicated to ensuring clients have the tools and knowledge to identify, protect, detect, respond, and recover their critical infrastructure in today’s dynamically-changing information security landscape.

Charles specializes in:
• Penetration testing
• Social engineering
• Vulnerability assessments
• Security awareness training
• Policy development

Background
With more than 10 years of experience in information technology, Charles has held various positions in the field such as Technology Manager, Principal Consultant, IP Security System Specialist, and Systems Engineer. He is a Certified Ethical Hacker with extensive experience in offensive security techniques and strategies.

Charles has performed extensive research in areas such as software defined radio, internet of things, penetration testing, social engineering, and physical security. His master thesis research demonstrated the effects physical security systems can play in penetration testing and security assessments.

Professional and Business Affiliations
•   Philadelphia Security Shell – Board of Directors
•   Information Systems Security Association – Member
•   Drexel University – Professor

Education and Certifications
•   M.S. – Information Systems Management, Holy Family University
•   B.S. – IT Project Management, Capella University
•   Certified Ethical Hacker – EC Council
•   Certified Information Systems Security Professional – ISC2

Nov 2017

Matthew D. Lee, JD
Partner
Blank Rome LLP

Matthew D. Lee is a partner in the law firm of Blank Rome LLP and is a member of his firm’s White Collar and Government Investigations practice group. He is a former U.S. Department of Justice trial attorney who concentrates his practice on all aspects of white collar criminal defense and federal tax controversies. He has extensive experience in advising clients on issues regarding foreign bank account reporting (FBAR) obligations, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), and the Internal Revenue Service’s 2009 Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program, 2011 Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Initiative, and 2012 Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program. He has represented hundreds of U.S. taxpayers with undisclosed foreign bank accounts. Mr. Lee has published numerous articles regarding the IRS voluntary disclosure programs and FBAR and FATCA reporting obligations and speaks frequently on these topics.

He has also represented clients in all stages of proceedings before the Internal Revenue Service, including audits, appeals, and collections, and Tax Court and district court litigation. Mr. Lee also has experience in conducting corporate internal investigations and advising clients as to corporate compliance issues involving the Bank Secrecy Act, the USA Patriot Act, FATCA, and anti-money laundering laws and regulations.

Mr. Lee has represented both corporations and individuals in criminal investigations involving tax, money laundering, health care, securities, public corruption, and fraud offenses, and has significant experience in handling all stages of federal litigation including trials and appeals.

Mr. Lee publishes a blog devoted to addressing the latest developments in the tax controversy field at www.taxcontroversywatch.com.