Noted Authors

The Bisk Editorial board is led by Nathan M. Bisk, JD, CPA (FL). Mr. Bisk is the founder and Chairman of Bisk Education. He is a nationally known author of taxation, accounting and auditing texts and CPE programs and the leader in the development of audio, video, software and Internet CPE programs for accountants and attorneys.

In addition to Mr. Bisk, the company offers a literal “who’s who” of experts at the top of their respective fields. These experts provide materials for our various product lines including: CPEasy continuing professional education programs for the accounting professional; Bisk CPA Review, comprehensive review materials for the Uniform CPA Examination; and Excellence in Corporate Governance, an online lecture series designed specifically for Corporate Directors, Senior Management, Certifying Executives, Auditors, Industry Accountants and Legal Professionals.

Our experts include:

Mark C. Bell, CPA, earned his MBA from the University of Maryland. He is the author of several CPA exam study guides, teaches accounting at Miami University in Oxford, OH, and was most recently the corporate controller for Thomson Newspapers in Stamford, CT.

Dr. J. Ralph Byington, CPA, is the Timmerman Chair in Enterprise Development, Head of the School of Business, and a Professor of Accounting at the University of South Carolina, Aiken. Dr. Byington has held the positions of Interim Dean and Associate Dean at other universities. Additionally, he was the founding Director of the School of Accountancy at Georgia Southern University. With over 12 years of administrative experience at three universities, he has helped foster student achievement, faculty development, and community involvement. He is active with the accounting profession, presenting numerous professional programs at the national, regional, and local level. His publications include over one hundred journal articles, book chapters, newsletter items, and proceedings. At the 1996 national meeting of the American Accounting Association, he and a co-author received the Notable Contributions to the Information Systems/Management Advisory Services Literature Award. In 1995, he received the Southwest Federation of Administrative Disciplines Distinguished Paper Award in the accounting area.

Alan D. Campbell, PhD, CPA, CMA, CFP, maintains a tax practice in Brandon, Florida, concentrating on IRS problems resolution. In addition, he provides tax research for tax and financial professionals through his Web site www.eTaxResearch.com. Dr. Campbell received his PhD. from the University of North Texas with an emphasis in taxation. He has nearly 20 years of experience as a Certified Public Accountant. Dr. Campbell is admitted to practice before the U.S. Tax Court. He is the author of several study guides that accompany accounting textbooks, and he has published numerous articles in professional journals.

Mortimer M. Caplin, LLB, JSD, LLD, senior partner with the Washington, DC, law firm of Caplin and Drysdale, is the former IRS Commissionery; and nationally acclaimed author of articles on tax and corporate matters.

Jan Colbert, PhD., CPA, CIA, Cr. FA, recently completed a four-year term on the Kentucky State Board of Accountancy, where she served as an officer for two years. Jan specializes in auditing and assurance services and teaches auditing and accounting principles at Western Kentucky University. Her current research focuses on corporate governance; the impact of new audit standards and accounting laws and regulations; risk models; sampling; and internal control. She is an active member of NASBA (the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy). Jan has published over 60 articles in journals such as Journal of Accounting Literature; Accounting Horizons; Accounting, Organizations, & Society; CPA Journal; Internal Auditing; Journal of Applied Business Research; and Review of Business Information Systems. She has served on the review boards of several publications and has been a speaker on National Public Radio.

Wendy Comes, CPA, Executive Director of the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB) has been with the FASAB since its inception and has been directly involved in many of the standards promulgated. She also chairs the Accounting and Auditing Policy Committee, an 11-member committee that recommends accounting and auditing technical guidance.

J. Michael Cook, CPA, retired Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Deloitte & Touche, LLP, has also served as Chairman of the AICPA, the Board of Trustees of the Financial Accounting Foundation, the World Congress of Accountants, and as a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors’ Blue Ribbon Commission on Corporate Governance. Mr. Cook is Chairman of the GAO Accountability Advisory Panel. Mr. Cook serves as a board member of The Dow Chemical Company, Rockwell Automation, International Flavors & Fragrances, Comcast Corporation, and The Fidelity Group of Mutual Funds. Mr. Cook chairs the audit committees of International Flavors & Fragrances, Rockwell Automation and Comcast Corporation. In 2002, he was named by Director’s Alert as one of the 9 Best Directors in the country.

David Cotton, CPA, CFE, Chairman of the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB) Liaison Task Force is managing partner of Cotton & Company LLP, Certified Public Accountants, in Alexandria, Virginia. The firm has a practice concentration in assisting Federal agencies, inspectors general, and government grantees and contractors with a variety of government program-related assurance and advisory services. Mr. Cotton is presently serving on the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Expert Panel for Governmental and Not-for-Profit Organization Issues and is a member of the AICPA “Group of 100.” He currently chairs the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB) Liaison Task Force.

Frank Crawford, CPA, is President of Crawford & Associates, PC. He received a BS in accounting from East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma and began his professional career with the international accounting firm KPMG Peat Marwick before joining his brother in a firm dedicated solely to providing auditing, consulting and accounting services to governmental entities. Their firm has performed over 750 financial statement audits and financial-related audits of governments, along with a variety of other services including: GASB Statement No. 34 implementation plans; fraud investigations; internal control analysis; accounting policy and procedure development; quality assurance reviews and training. Mr. Crawford serves on a number of committees with the AICPA.

Dennis Dycus, CPA, CFE, CGFM, is Director of the Division of Municipal Audit for the Office of the Comptroller of the Treasury, State of Tennessee. The Division is responsible for audits of all municipalities, utility districts, school activity and cafeteria funds, housing authorities, certain not-for-profit organizations, and other quasi-governmental entities in the State of Tennessee. In addition, each year the Division’s staff conducts numerous audits for fraud, waste, and abuse. Mr. Dycus began his career with a national accounting firm and has spent the last 25 years involved with the audits of all forms of governmental entities, so he brings a wealth of practical experience to our audience.

William I. Eskin, CPA of WIE, Inc. is an individual practitioner in Baltimore, Maryland. He is very active in the surety, fidelity and construction industries where he provides various consulting services in the fields of claims and recovery, principally in the field of proving CPA malpractice. Previously, Mr. Eskin had been the Director of Financial Analysis & Investigation for the world's largest surety/fidelity group where he worked principally with claims attorneys and underwriters in analyzing complex surety issues, investigating and reducing potential claim exposure, and maximizing recoveries principally through identifying and proving CPA malpractice. His professional experience also includes more than 12 years of experience working for various CPA firms in the mid-Atlantic region where he specialized in audits, litigation support and other services principally for the construction industry. He has been a featured speaker at numerous AICPA national construction conferences, numerous state CPA society conferences, the National Association of Surety Bond Producers, various CFMA chapters, numerous CPA firms, and various organizations specializing in construction and surety. Mr. Eskin also assists each year in the authoring of the AICPA Audit Guide Alert and the AICPA Construction Industry Updates.

Richard M. Feldheim, MBA, JD, LLM, CPA, is a nationally known author and lecturer for the AICPA, the Practicing Law Institute, Seton Hall University and the University of Arizona. His background includes positions as a senior partner with an Arizona law firm and a CPA with Price Waterhouse.

Theodore Z. Gelt, JD, LLM, is a shareholder and director of the law firm of Gelt & Grassgreen P.C., Denver, Colorado, and has practiced and taught tax law for almost 30 years. He earned his J.D. from the University of Denver, College of Law and his LLM. in Taxation from New York University. He has given hundreds of seminars throughout the U.S. on federal tax subjects. He is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Denver, College of Law, Graduate Tax Program. His articles have appeared in The Colorado Lawyer, The American Bar Association Journal, ALI-ABA Course Materials Journal, and The Practical Lawyer.

Russell T. Glazer, CPA/ABV, MBA, is a Certified Business Appraiser, certified by the Institute of Business Appraisers. He has been performing appraisals of interests in privately held companies for buy/sell transactions, mergers and acquisitions, marital dissolution, gift and estate tax purposes and litigation support. He is also experienced in conducting forensic accounting examinations for marital dissolution and litigation support. This experience covers a broad range of industries, including manufacturing, wholesale, retail, service and construction. As a Certified Public Accountant, Mr. Glazer has over twenty years of experience as a business advisor and analyst, providing services in the areas of auditing, financial statement preparation and analysis, forecasts and projections, budgeting, cost accounting and product pricing. Industry experience includes manufacturing, construction, wholesale, service, not-for-profit and retail.

Mark Gorman, CPA, is an author, lecturer, and consultant who works primarily with not-for-profit organizations. He has spent over 20 years as an auditor and financial manager of NPOs, including 8 years as the Director of Finance and CFO of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. He has worked as a volunteer Treasurer and board member for a number of community based organizations. He was a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Tax Exempt Organizations Committee and the Not-for-Profit Organizations Committee. Mr. Gorman was an adjunct professor of Accounting and Economics at the University of Vermont and Vermont State College, and currently teaches Accounting at Sonoma State University. He also has taught seminars for the Foundation for Accounting Education (FAE) and the AICPA, and has made presentations at AICPA national conferences and other professional forums. He has authored articles appearing in the Journal of Accountancy and Philanthropy Monthly, and written one and two-day CPE courses on not-for-profit accounting for the FAE and the AICPA. Additionally, he is the author and speaker of Bisk Education’s Not-For-Profit Organizations: Accounting Considerations program.

Leita Hart, CPA, is a professional trainer and course author. She has conducted and developed courses on cash flow, audit supervision, budgeting, writing audit reports, finance for non-financial managers, presentation skills, client relations, and auditing standards. She is a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Government Financial Manager. She serves on the board of the local chapter of the National Speakers Association and is a member of the American Society of Training and Development. Ms. Hart was awarded the Outstanding Discussion Leader Award for 1998-99 by the Florida Institute of CPAs.

Kyleen W. Hawkins, PhD, CPA, CISA, CGFM, CIA, CCSA, is one of the founders and CEO of Providential Services, Inc. (PSI) where she is in charge of the company’s educational services. Kyleen was also a Professor of Accounting at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR) for twelve years. In addition, Kyleen has published in such journals as The Journal of Corporate Accounting and Finance, The Journal of International Accounting, Auditing, and Taxation, The Internal Auditor, and the Journal of Government Financial Management. Kyleen’s previous work experience includes employment with the Division of Legislative Audit in Louisiana and various accounting positions with health care, construction, and oil & gas companies. In addition to her other responsibilities, Kyleen is an author for Bisk Education, Inc. In this role, she develops self-study continuing education courses for CPAs.

Peter B. Heyler, MBA, CPA, presently has his own consulting firm in Newtown, Pennsylvania where he specializes in the areas of strategic, financial, and business development planning for small and medium-sized clients in a variety of businesses. He has experience and expertise in general management, accounting, finance, business strategy, personnel, and data processing management. earned a BA degree in Economics/Mathematics from Yale University, and an MBA degree from Harvard Business School. He also received his CPA certificate from New York and Pennsylvania.

Betty King, CPA (KY), CGFM, is a local government consultant in Kentucky. In her 25-year career in local government finance in Kentucky, she has served as Local Government Advisor Chief for the Kentucky Department for Local Government, chief financial officer in several Kentucky cities and audited local government entities from the public accounting sector. In addition to her financial management and auditing responsibilities, she has also provided training and technical assistance to local government officials and CPAs who audit governmental entities. Mrs. King has also developed training for governmental auditing and accounting continuing education. She has served on the AICPA Governmental Accounting and Auditing Committee as well as several other committee and Task Force positions with the AICPA. She is a frequent discussion leader for national conferences and training sessions.

Gregory J. Lane, CPA, CFP, is an experienced CPA and Certified Financial Planner with Lane Financial, PC, in Scottsdale, Arizona. His background includes 20 years in the fields of tax and financial planning, as well as a Master's Degree in Taxation and a Bachelor's Degree in Finance. Mr. Lane's varied background makes him an excellent resource for those looking to accumulate wealth and to create financial independence. Prior to founding his own company, Mr. Lane worked for several local and national public accounting firms. Through Lane Financial, Mr. Lane provides analysis and planning that help his clients increase their net worth, protect their wealth, and reduce investment and tax expense. Among his services for clients are brokerage, insurance and asset management services.

J. Russell Madray, CPA, CIA, CMA, CFM, former author of the AICPA's Compilation and Review Alert, is the author of numerous publications and articles on accounting and auditing topics, including the AICPA's Compilation and Review Alert. He is a former member of the AICPA Accounting and Review Services Committee and a current member of the Board of Directors of the SC Association of CPAs. In addition, he speaks to hundreds of groups each year on accounting and auditing topics and has made presentations in more than 40 states. He has more than 15 years of professional experience, including 10 years in public practice.

Michael E. Mares, CPA/ABV, JD, is a member of the firm Witt Mares and has been a practicing CPA for 28 years and nationally recognized authority on tax law, and is the recent recipient of the Arthur J. Dixon Memorial Award for outstanding service to the tax profession. He is also an author and speaker for the AICPA and Virginia Bar Association, and co-author of numerous publications including Limited Liability Companies and Practitioner’s 1065 Deskbook (PPC). He has been named one of the “100 Most Influential CPAs in the U.S.” five times. He has testified several times before the U.S. Senate and House Committees on tax issues and has been interviewed on MSNBC, CNBC’s Power Lunch and Court TV’s Primetime Justice.

William J. Meurer, CPA, former Managing Partner, for both the overall operations in Central Florida and the Florida Audit and Business Advisory Services sector of Arthur Andersen LLP, serves on the board of directors and as chairman of the audit and special litigation committees of Sykes Enterprises, Inc. and on the boards of trustees and audit committees of Heritage Family of Funds and St. Joseph’s Baptist Health Care.

Dr. Steven M. Mintz, CPA, has a DBA, in Accounting and International Business from George Washington University and an MBA in Management Sciences from Syracuse University. He is a visiting professor of Accounting in the Department of Economics, at Claremont McKenna College. Prior to this, he was a professor of Accounting for California State University. He has been an expert panelist for cases in the Quality of Financial Reporting for the American Institute of CPAs, and is a member of the Accounting Advisory Board of Loyola Marymount University. He has published a number of books on various subjects related to ethics in the accounting profession.

Paul Munter, PhD, CPA, is currently a Partner in the Department of Professional Practice—Audit with KPMG. Previously, he served as KPMG Professor and Chairman of the Department of Accounting at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. He also served as the Academic Fellow in the Office of the Chief Accountant at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from 2002-2003 where he worked on many of the Commission’s Sarbanes-Oxley initiatives and rule-making activities. Dr. Munter has been active in the standard-setting process in the U.S. including serving as a member of the AcSEC Task Force the AICPA’s SPE Task Force. Dr. Munter was honored by the Texas Society of CPAs as its first “Outstanding Discussion Leader.” He has also been honored by the Florida Institute of CPAs as its Outstanding Educator and by Beta Alpha Psi as the National Business Information Professional of the Year.

E. Lynn Nichols, CPA, A practicing CPA for over 35 years. Mr. Nichols is the founder of Mares Nichols CPE incorporate, as a developer of continuing education programs and practice aids for CPAs. He is a regular contributor to Bisk Education’s CPE Network, a volunteer member of the tax division of the AICPA, a member of the Board of Visitors of the School of Accounting at the College of Business of the University of Oklahoma. In 2005, Mr. Nichols was honored by the Ohio Society of CPAa with its Gold Medal for Meritorious Service to the Accounting Profession. Mr. Nichols serves as an advisor to CPA firms across the U.S. on matters of federal income taxation, litigation services and IRS procedures.

John L. Norman, JR., JD, former National Director of Taxation for the accounting firm, Pennell Kerr Forster, is an attorney in private practice in Washington, D.C., where he specializes in closely held business organizations as well as estate and financial planning. He is the former National Director of Taxation for the accounting firm, Pannell Kerr Forster, and the Director of Tax Policy for Potomac Electric Power Company. He previously taught in the college of William and Mary and George Washington University. He is a regular contributor to CPE Network.

Kurt G. Oestriecher, CPA, is a partner with Oestriecher & Company of Alexandria, Louisiana. He graduated cum laude from Northeast Louisiana University in 1986 with a BBA in accounting. He is partner in charge of accounting and auditing services, and is also involved in litigation support and small business consulting engagements. He is a member of the AICPA and the Louisiana Society of CPA's (LCPA) and is the current President of the LCPA. He was the recipient of the 1998 Outstanding Discussion Leader Award from the LCPA. Mr. Oestriecher is currently serving a three year term on the Accounting and Review Services Committee of the AICPA, and is a past member of Council of the AICPA. He also served as an Adjunct Instructor of Accounting at LSU-Alexandria and Northwestern State University. Kurt is a frequent lecturer for AICPA/PDI on Accounting and Auditing topics, and was chosen as a member of the Distinguished Instructor Panel at the 2000 AICPA/PDI Instructor Retreat. In addition to the CPE courses, Mr. Oestriecher has authored and presented numerous courses for state and national conferences.

Robert Edward Pinsker, PhD., CPA, is an Assistant Professor of Accounting, in the College of Business and Public Administration at Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA. He obtained his M.A.S. from Northern Illinois University and his PhD. from the University of South Florida. He is a board member for the Tidewater Chapter of the Virginia Society of CPAs and has worked with IS and AI/ET committee on drafting proposal of XBRL adoption to the SEC. He won a University Summer Fellowship in 2005 and was awarded a Dean’s Research Grant in 2004. He has also developed, co-written, and presented a number of courses and articles on accounting and auditing.

William Raby, PhD, CPA, is the Past Chairman of the AICPA’s Federal Tax Division. Mr. Raby is a special consultant on tax matters with the law firm of Burgess Raby in Tempe, Arizona, and the former National Director of Tax Services for Touche Ross, as well as a past chairman of the AICPA’s Federal Tax Division.

Thomas A. Ratcliffe, PhD, CPA, a six–time recipient of the Alabama Society of CPAs’ Outstanding Discussion Leader Award, which has since been renamed in his honor, is the president of Tom R., LLC and the author of the Plain-English Accounting publications used by practitioners across the country. In addition to these publications, Dr. Ratcliffe shares his insights on accounting and auditing issues through his CPE courses and webcasts. Dr. Ratcliffe is Director Emeritus of the School of Accountancy at Troy University and Director of Accounting and Auditing at Wilson Price in Montgomery, Alabama. The combination of his experiences as an educator and as a practitioner enables him to explain complex practical issues in a way easily understood by fellow practitioners. Dr. Ratcliffe serves on the AICPA Council and as Chair of the AICPA Accounting and Review Services Committee. He is a member of the Private Company Financial reporting Committee. In 2005, Dr. Ratcliffe was appointed to an AICPA task force studying the relationship between independence and attest standards of the profession. He also served as an ad hoc member of the AICPA Professional Issues Task Force in work related to developing Practice Alert 2005-1 that provides helpful guidance to practitioners in auditing variable interest entities. During 2002-2003, he served as a member of the AICPA Group of 100, re-named to be the AICPA Virtual Grassroots Panel. In 2001-2002, he served as president of the Alabama Society of CPAs. Dr. Ratcliffe is a regularly-featured speaker at national and regional conferences as well as training programs for CPA firms. He serves as the accounting and auditing technical advisor to three different associations of CPA firms. In 2004, he received the Leading Edge Alliance Outstanding Member Achievement award. He authors the Bisk Education monthly Accounting and Auditing Report, the widely-used monthly update of accounting and auditing issues distributed nationally to CPAs in public practice and industry. Dr. Ratcliffe earned his PhD at The University of Alabama, and is one of the most prolific authors in accounting. He has published more than 100 technical works in accounting and auditing.

Ian Redpath, JD, LLM, is a nationally recognized tax attorney and consultant from Buffalo, New York. He has written numerous articles on contemporary tax problems and has extensive national and international experience in developing and presenting professional CPE programs. In addition to his active tax practice, he serves as a Director of Graduate Tax Programs at Canisius College in Buffalo, NY.

Deirdre Reed, CPA, CGFM, is a graduate of Johnson & Wales University. She is a Certified Public Accountant, a Certified Government Financial Manager, and a Certified Information Systems Auditor. She is the proprietor of the accounting and consulting firm of Reed & Associates. Her firm is certified by NASBA, and Ms. Reed has conducted training in the area of HUD for several years. Ms. Reed has over 17 years experience in auditing Federal contracts, grants and programs. She also has extensive experience consulting for HUD at the Real Estate Assessment Center as well as the Office of Lender Activities.

Rob Reider, PhD., MBA, CPA, is the president of Reider Associates, a management consulting firm located in Santa Fe, New Mexico, founded by Mr. Reider in January 1976. He has applied his expertise in the areas of managerial and administrative systems and methods, data processing, financial and accounting procedures and controls, organizational behavior and theory, management advisory services, management information and control techniques, management training and staff development to engagements in numerous industries and disciplines. He also provides direct consultation to CPA firms in the areas of general practice management, MAS practice development, firm marketing procedures, and the development and conducting of CPE training programs, which are offered nationally to state CPA societies and others by Reider Associates and for which he was awarded the AICPA Outstanding Discussion Leader of the Year Award. Prior to his affiliation with Reider Associates, Mr. Reider was a manager in the Management Consulting Department of Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co. in Philadelphia. In addition to presenting CPE programs around the country, Mr. Reider has published numerous articles in professional journals and has presented at various professional meetings.

Holly Sharp, CPA, CFP, CFE, is a Director of the Tax and Financial Consulting Departments for Laporte Sehrt Romig Hand. Her experience includes extensive consulting work in the areas of taxation for individuals, corpora¬tions and other entities, as well as financial, estate, and business succession planning. She has expertise in litigation support services including testimony and forensic accounting services in accounting, financial, economic and busi¬ness issues. She was a member of the Litigation and Dispute Resolution Services Committee, from 1996 to 1999 and has published a number of articles pertaining to litigation and forensic examination.

Michael A. Shea, JD, is Special Tax Counsel in the Denver law firm of Rothgerber Johnson & Lyons LLP. As a practicing attorney, Mr. Shea's practice emphasizes the planning, structure, compliance and tax aspects of tax-exempt organizations, healthcare, and public or non-profit finance. As a speaker and lecturer, Mr. Shea has created and presented numerous law school and continuing professional educational courses and programs for organizations such as the Hawaii Tax Institute, the Hawaii Society of Certified Public Accountants, the Colorado Society of Certified Public Accountants, the Hawaii Institute of Continuing Legal Education, and the Graduate Tax Program at the University of Denver. Mr. Shea has served as Adjunct Professor of Law in Corporate Taxation at the William S. Richardson School of Law, University of Hawaii, and as Adjunct Professor of Law in Exempt Organizations in the Graduate Tax Program at the University of Denver. Mr. Shea has been selected to The Best Lawyers in America in Taxation and also in Healthcare. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the Colorado Bar Association, the Denver Bar Association, and the Hawaii Bar Association, where he also served as Chairman of the Tax Section. He has been admitted to practice before the Colorado Supreme Court, the Hawaii Supreme Court, the United States District Court for the District of Colorado, the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii, the United States Tax Court, the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, and the United States Supreme Court.

Sheldon Smith, JD, LLM, is a partner at the Denver law firm of Davis, Graham & Stubbs LLP. As a practicing attorney, Mr. Smith's practice emphasizes ERISA (qualified and nonqualified retirement plans, executive compensation, and employee benefit plans), ERISA litigation and tax planning. As a speaker and lecturer, Mr. Smith creates and presents continuing education courses dealing with retirement plans and planning, estate planning, employee benefits and a number of other personal and business tax planning areas. He has been one of the more popular continuing education instructors in the nation for over a decade, and he presents programs and gives speeches in many states to many diverse types of professional groups each year. Mr. Smith is a long-time member of the adjunct faculty of the Graduate Tax Program of the University of Denver College of Law. He received his B.A. from Washington University (St. Louis) and both his J.D. and LLM. (taxation) from the University of Denver. Mr. Smith has been selected to The Best Lawyers in America, and he is a member of the American Bar Association, the Colorado Bar Association, and the Denver Bar Association. Mr. Smith is admitted to practice before the Colorado Supreme Court, the United States District Court for the District of Colorado, the United States Tax Court, the Tenth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals and the Seventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.

Geoffrey P. Snodgrass, JD, is an attorney practicing in New Orleans, Louisiana. He has a diverse litigation background and extensive trial experience in state and federal courts. His practice is presently concentrated in toxic torts and environmental law, products liability, real estate and commercial litigation. Mr. Snodgrass is a frequent speaker at continuing professional education seminars and has published numerous articles and monographs. He is a graduate of Tulane Law School and a member of the American Bar Association, the Louisiana State Bar Association, the Defense Research Institute, the Louisiana Association of Defense Counsel and the New Orleans Bar Association.

Charles W. Stanley, PhD, CPA, is an Associate Professor of Accounting, in the Department of Accounting, at Baylor University. He has served as the Regional Chairperson for the Southwest Region for the Auditing section of the American Accounting Association and is currently serving as member of the Professional Ethics Committee of the Texas Society of CPAs. He has served on this committee since 1990 and is currently acting as Chair of the Communication and Education subcommittee of the PEC. He also is currently serving as member of the Special Review Committee of the GFOA, of the Education committee for the Auditing section of the AAA, and the Professional Standards Committee for the TSCPA. He has developed, co-written and pre¬sented a number of courses and articles on a various subjects.

C. William Thomas, MBA, PhD, CPA, currently serves as a J.E. Bush Professor and former Chair of the Department of Accounting and Business Law at Baylor University. Dr. Thomas is the former Chair for the American Accounting Association's Southwestern Regional Audit Section; and recognized for special audit education and curriculum projects developed for Coopers & Lybrand.

Michael J. Tucker, PhD, MBA, LLM, CPA, is a consultant with the accounting firm of T.M. Byxbee Company, P.C., in Hamden, Connecticut, where he handles a wide variety of client transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, entity formations and dissolutions, and distributions to owners/shareholders/partners. He is also a Professor of Accounting at Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut. Author of over 100 articles and books dealing with various tax topics, Mr. Tucker is a frequent lecturer at conferences and seminars throughout the country. He was a Fulbright Scholar to the former Soviet Union to study tax reform efforts there. Recently, Mr. Tucker has expanded his practice and lecturing to include topics related to the workplace, including sexual harassment and employer/employee relations. He holds an LLM in Taxation from Georgetown University Law Center, a Juris Doctorate from New York University School of Law, a PhD in Accounting from University of Houston, and an MBA from New York University.

Lucinda V. Upton, CPA (KY), CGFM, is a Program Analyst for Kentucky’s Legislative Research Commission. In her 21-year career in state government auditing and accounting, she has held the positions of Assistant Director of Audits in Kentucky’s Office of the Inspector General, Financial Manager in Kentucky’s Medicaid Program, and others. In addition to her auditing and financial management responsibilities, she has provided training and technical assistance to state audit staff, local government officials, and CPAs who audit governmental entities. Ms. Upton has developed training in governmental auditing and accounting. She is the Education Coordinator for the Southeastern Region of the Association of Government Accountants (AGA) and is a past President of the Central Kentucky Chapter. She has authored courses for Bisk Education, Inc., Sheshunoff Publishing, AICPA Continuing Education Division, and the AGA. She has also been a discussion leader for national conferences and training sessions.

Lance Wallach, CLU, ChFC, CIMC, of Plainview, New York, is a frequent and popular speaker on VEBAs, pension and tax-oriented strategies at conferences and seminars throughout the United States. He works with professionals, business owners, entertainers and athletes and also teaches accountants how to increase their client base. He has authored over twenty-five recent VEBA articles in national publications such as The CPA Journal, Accounting Today, CPA Law Forum, The Journal of Taxation of Employee Benefits, American Medical Association Weekly News, Senior Physician News, Journal of the American Society of CLU, and the National Underwriter, and publications of Research Institute of America and Warren, Gorham & Lamont. Mr. Wallach is often quoted in numerous financial publications and interviewed on financial talk shows. He was the number one commission-earner for a major insurance company. He guest lectures at Graduate Schools and Tax Institutes. He is listed in Who’s Who in Finance and Industry.