2019 University of South Florida Accounting Circle CPE Conference

Speakers May 16-17, 2019

4202 E. Fowler Ave. BSN3403 Tampa, FL 33620

Dan is a partner in the Tampa office with over 15 years of experience in public accounting, primarily serving public companies in the retail and consumer goods industries. Dan recently completed a rotation in KPMG’s Department of Professional Practice (DPP), which provides technical support to audit and advisory professionals and their clients in addressing complex accounting, auditing, reporting and SEC related issues. Dan has extensive experience providing auditing and accounting services for clients in the retail and consumer goods industries. Dan’s experience includes auditing and accounting for both public and private companies, including integrated audits. Dan is a frequent presenter at continuing professional education events on the new standards on revenue recognition and leases, as well as accounting for business combinations, stock compensation, income tax, impairment, and SEC reporting.

Samuel Armes is a graduate from the University of South Florida, holding a degree in Economics and a degree in Finance. Samuel has done work for United States Special Operations Command as well as for the State Department surrounding issues on illicit finance, counter terrorism, cryptocurrency, and blockchain. Samuel has also worked in Tallahassee where he became familiar with Florida's political process. Samuel is the Executive Director of the Florida Blockchain Business Association and recently became the Blockchain and Legislative Affairs Director for the Seminole County Tax Collector.

Dan Amat KPMG Partner

Samuel Armes Florida Blockchain Business Association Executive Director

Scott Brown joined the Raymond James Equity Research Department in 1995, after two years as an economist in the firm's Fixed Income Research Department. Before his arrival at Raymond James, he was manager of economic research at Pacific First Bank in Seattle and had previously been director of economic research at First Imperial Advisors in San Diego. He also worked as an economist for the San Diego Gas & Electric Company. Dr. Brown earned his doctorate in economics from the University of California at San Diego, where he studied time series analysis and forecasting under Nobel Laureates Robert F. Engle and Clive W.J. Granger. Dr. Brown also holds an M.S. degree in statistics from the University of Illinois and a B.A. degree in mathematics from the University of California at Irvine. Dr. Brown serves on the Economic Advisory Committee of the American Bankers Association. He is also a member of The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association’s Economic Advisory Roundtable and has previously served as a member of the Governor's Council of Economic Advisors for the state of Florida. Dr. Brown has appeared on CNBC, Bloomberg TV, and Fox Business News, and is often quoted in the financial press.

Tony is a hands-on technology leader and serial entrepreneur with a twenty-five year track record of successfully envisioning and delivering leading edge enterprise software. As a serial entrepreneur, Tony has founded three companies, which were successfully sold for over 100M USD in total. One of the companies Tony founded was OpenSpan, an early Robotic Process Automation (RPA) company. Over the years Tony served as the company’s Chief Technology Officer and was an early thought leader and US Patent holder of RPA. OpenSpan was sold to Pegasystems in 2016 and is now branded as PegaRobotics.

Tony is currently a leader in EY’s Intelligent Automation practice where he has led and delivered multiple RPA programs to EY’s clients across several verticals. His work at EY has been primarily in Finance resulting in multimillion-dollar annual savings for his clients utilizing Intelligent Automation. Tony holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Computer Science from United States Military Academy at West Point. During his military career in the Army, Tony was decorated for his combat actions in Iraq as an armored cavalry platoon leader during the Persian Gulf War. Tony currently lives in St. Petersburg, FL and spends his free time sailing the waters of Florida, Mexico, and the Bahamas.

Scott J. Brown Raymond James Senior Vice President/ Chief Economist

Tony Castagno EY Senior Manager, IT Advisory

Heather Ceresoli Taylor White Shareholder and COO

Heather Ceresoli is Shareholder and COO at Taylor White, having served with the firm for 14+ years. She spent 7+ years with Deloitte in Tampa, serving public & private clients covering a variety of industry segments, including manufacturing, high technology, retail, restaurant, automotive, real estate and distribution. She then transitioned into commercial and systems finance leadership roles with billion dollar publicly traded companies. Her team is responsible for Permanent Placement, interim consulting support, contract recruiting, and Sarbanes-Oxley & Attestation services. Heather earned a Master’s degree in both Accounting and Management Information Systems from the University of South Florida, and is an actively licensed CPA in the State of Florida. She remains committed to the local community, with Board of Director level positions within Goodwill Industries Suncoast and Corbett Preparatory School. She is a graduate of Leadership Tampa, Class of 2007.

Aidan Collins CBIZ, Inc. Managing Director

Aidan Collins is a Managing Director at CBIZ. He is an experienced professional and senior advisor to management teams focused on improving operations and enhancing how organizations identify, prioritize and manage the range of risks they face. He has helped organizations large and small, across a range of industries, to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of their business processes and risk management functions, and has acted as an advisor on corporate and business unit strategy.

Aidan has helped grow consulting practices as a Partner with several top-tier professional services firms and advises a number of start-up firms in the risk management arena on strategy and revenue growth.

In addition, Aidan is an experienced Board Member bringing both strategic insight and a controls mindset to enhance board performance and organizational success.

Cindy Cruz has over 13 years of experience within areas such as design thinking, innovation, continuous improvement, facilitation, higher ed academics, public accounting and internal audit. She is currently a Senior Manager in PwC’s Idea2Innovation (i2i) team within the Firm’s Finance organization. I2i focuses on facilitating end-to-end solutions and helps capture ideas, automation and improvement opportunities as well as facilitates change within the organization. Cindy received her Bachelor’s of Science degree from Florida State University and her Master’s of Accountancy from the University of South Florida. She is a licensed Certified Public Accountant and Certified Internal Auditor. In addition, Cindy was an adjunct professor at the University of South Florida where she taught Introduction to Financial Accounting. Cindy has served on numerous boards and executive committees, including the International Board of Directors of Beta Alpha Psi, Pathways Commission (recommendation from US Department of Treasury), Chairman of the AICPA Pre-Certification Executive Education Committee, Chairman of the USF Accounting Circle Board of Directors and a member of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) Accounting Accreditation task force.

Cindy S. Cruz PwC Idea2Innovation Senior Manager

Daniel P. Collins 360Advanced President and CEO

Dan Collins is President and Chief Executive Officer of 360 Advanced. 360 Advanced is a PCAOB registered CPA firm, PCI Qualified Security Assessor, and authorized HITRUST Assessor specializing in cybersecurity and compliance services. Clients range from small technology startups to the fortune 500, representing a geographic footprint spanning forty states and five continents. Dan is responsible for leading the strategic direction of the firm as well as the overall performance of the organization. He is also responsible for 360 Advanced’s company culture, placing a deep emphasis on integrity, accountability, and collaboration. Dan has over 20 years of experience in cybersecurity audit and compliance strategy, and is a founder of the firm. He is an active investor in a broad range of asset classes from technology startups to raw land and timber. Prior to forming 360 Advanced, Dan was with Ernst and Young, Protiviti, and was involved in several startup and management consulting initiatives. Having received a Bachelor’s of Science from Florida State University and a MBA from the University of Miami, he holds or has held numerous certifications including CPA, CISA, HITRUST CCSFP, and PCI QSA.

Leveraging 25 years of experience as a business owner, sole practitioner, and consultant, Ms. Haas has assisted firms with selection and implementation of industry specific and accounting software. From 2004-2012, she built a practice focused on meeting the needs of independent retailers. Specializing in emerging technology and alternative payments, she developed an interest in peer-to-peer payments. She revived this interest while on break from pursuing a DBA in 2017, studying blockchain platforms and reading initial coin offering whitepapers. What began as a hobby developed into a habit and later a firm working to fill the void of active professionals in the crypto community. She currently provides research and analysis on various topics to clients and is a frequent contributor on topics such as: stablecoins, enterprise projects, M&A, exchange revenue models, token supply structures, and publicly traded companies in the crypto and gaming sectors.

Ms. Haas is a passionate defender of accounting standards, transparent markets, and is intolerant of fraud and abuse. She is committed to helping retail traders and investors make informed decisions by understanding financial statements and notes.

Kara R. Haas Research Analyst

Paul DeGance is the Tax Practice Leader for 1Source Partners. Paul has over 19 years of experience in public accounting, financial operations and strategic planning for companies ranging from multinational public entities to startups. He began his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers serving various supervisory and management positions within the firm. Paul has extensive experience in business and multistate taxation as well as an emphasis on transactional services and tax planning within a wide range of client types and industries. Paul holds a Master’s of Accounting from the University of Florida and is a licensed CPA in the state of Florida. He is a member of the American Institute of Public Accountants (AICPA).

Paul DeGance 1Source Partners Tax Partner

Goran Kovacevic CBIZ, Inc. Director

Mitchell I. Horowitz Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney P.C. Shareholder

Mitchell I. Horowitz is a Shareholder in the Tax Section of Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney P.C., based in the Tampa, Florida office. Mitch focuses his practice in the area of civil tax controversies with the Internal Revenue Service and Florida Department of Revenue, including U. S. Tax Court, federal district court and state court litigation, transactional and business law representation. Mitch has worked with, and spoken extensively about, opportunity zones.

He was selected by his peers to be listed in The Best Lawyers in America® since 2006 and named to the Florida Super Lawyers list consecutively since 2006. He was also named "Lawyer of the Year" in the 23rd edition of The Best Lawyers in America® 2017 list. Mitch has also been recognized as a leading tax lawyer in Florida by Chambers USA. He has garnered an AV® Preeminent distinction; the highest available mark for professional excellence from Martindale-Hubbell’s Peer Review Ratings and lists as a recommended lawyer in Domestic Tax in Florida by The Legal 500 from 2008-2013. In 2018, Mitch was recognized by the Tax Section of the Florida Bar as its Outstanding Tax Attorney of the Year.

Goran Kovacevic is a Director at CBIZ. He is a visionary technology and information security leader with 20+ years of global cyber security risk management, strategy, technical, operational and consulting experience, working with many Fortune 500 companies.

Goran has developed and implementing complex technology and security programs in global organizations across various industries under various regulatory regimens. Additionally, he has held executive security management roles at well-known consulting and financial organizations, including a ‘Big Four’ accounting firm.

Goran’s areas of expertise include Information Security, Risk Management, IT Governance, Enterprise Architecture, Payment System Security, Software Products Security, Identity and Access Management and Data Protection.

Leslie Larson joined Cott Corporation in Tampa in 2008. Cott is a leading North American and European water, coffee and coffee extracts, tea and filtration solutions service company. She works in the Internal Audit group as Director, Global Risk and Compliance. Her primary responsibility is to ensure that the companies Cott owns or acquires fulfill internal and external requirements in the areas of risk management, including enterprise risk, fraud risk, and cybersecurity risk, and compliance activities, including ethics, compliance training, SOX, PCI, data privacy, and corporate policy compliance. In 2018, she was a key member of the preparedness taskforce for implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for Cott’s European business units. Current areas of focus are the California Consumer Privacy Act, implementation of a global ethics and compliance training program, development of a fraud risk framework, and rollout of a global Anti-Bribery and Corruption and Anti-Money Laundering Policy. Leslie spends much of her time traveling the world to visit Cott’s business units. She monitors the company’s ethics hotline and conducts fraud and ethics investigations globally. Leslie is a CIA, CISA, and CFE, and serves on the USF Cybersecurity for Executives Committee.

Leslie Larson Cott Corporation Director, Global Risk and Compliance

Lisa Mitrovich Deloitte & Touche, LLP Partner

Lisa Mitrovich is a Partner with Deloitte and Touche, LLP in its National Office in Washington DC. Lisa is a part of the SEC Services Department and routinely works with clients on their most complex SEC issues. She often represents clients in interactions with the SEC on various matters, including preclearance of reporting matters, IPOs and the resolution of comment letters issued by the Division of Corporation Finance. Lisa is also a frequent contributor to Deloitte’s responses to SEC rule proposals and a variety of publications and communications. She is also Deloitte’s representative on the CAQ SEC Regulations Committee Task Force.

Prior to joining Deloitte in 2006, she spent 12 years with the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance. During her last eight years with the SEC, Lisa served as an Assistant Chief Accountant in the software and computer industry group. Prior to joining the SEC, she was on the audit staff of Ernst and Young in San Diego, CA and Washington DC.

Lisa holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Business Administration, with an emphasis in Accounting from San Diego State University. She is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in California and Washington DC.

Alan Moore EY Florida Internal Audit Leader

Alan is EY’s Florida internal audit competency leader, based in Tampa. He coordinates hiring efforts, provides engagement direction and oversight, as well as provides quality assurance to clients in the local marketplace. The services at these clients span a wide range of activities, including finance process improvement, project management, Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404 internal control documentation and testing assistance, and internal audit co-sourcing. Alan has served as the engagement leader for internal audit clients across various industries for the past 20 years and has assisted with numerous internal audit function improvement engagements.

Alan formerly was a member of the global internal audit industry group (responsible for developing and disseminating thought leadership) and later the Northeast area (his prior region) Process and Controls champion, responsible for integrating Sarbanes-Oxley leading practices and efficiencies into the region. He has a depth of expertise related to planning, managing and providing quality assurance for the execution of large-scale process improvement engagements in the finance and IT areas. Prior to joining EY, Alan was a management consultant for another professional services firm.

Education: BBA, MBA, CIA, Six Sigma Black Belt

Victoria is a skilled facilitator, continuous learner, and avid change agent offering over seven years of experience in process improvement, user experience, automation strategy, service design, IT risk management, and communications. She is a Manager in PwC’s idea2innovation (i2i) team within the Firm’s back office. I2i enables teams to not only understand and improve their processes, but helps groups drive change, and more importantly, create lasting value for their customers. Victoria has led various voice-of-the-customer, design, process improvement, and automation sessions throughout the Firm with a focus on enhancing the customer experience, eliminating silos, and creating streamlined, end-to-end solutions.

Victoria received her Master’s of Science in Information Systems and Operations Management and her Bachelor’s of Arts in Journalism from the University of Florida. She is a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), and prior to her role at PwC, she was part of KPMG’s Advisory practice with a focus in IT Risk Management.

Victoria Motes PwC Idea2Innovation Manager

Les Muma

Les Muma is a noted businessman in the technology field. In 1984, he co-founded Fiserv, Inc., a Fortune 500 company providing technology products and services to more than 17,000 financial institution clients worldwide. He served as president of the company from 1984 to 1999, and retired from Fiserv in 2006. Les had more than four decades of business experience when he retired, in a range of career positions in fields from data processing to information technology. Les has served as both chair of the USF Foundation Board of Directors and as chair of the first phase of the USF: Unstoppable Campaign. He has also received USF's highest alumni honor, an Honorary Doctorate of Business Administration. The university has presented him with many other awards. In 2003, he received the College of Business Free Enterprise Award. He has also been named a community honoree by USF's Beta Gamma Sigma honor society as well.

Kim O’Brien is a Principal at Taylor White and has been with the firm for 11+ years. Prior to joining Taylor White, she spent 3 years as a CFO at a Tampa based healthcare company and worked at local and National public accounting firms for 8 years and served public and private clients spanning multiple industries. Kim received her Bachelor’s of Science Degree and fifth year requirements from the University of South Florida, and is a licensed CPA in the State of Florida. She serves as Board Treasurer for Gracepoint, and is very active in the community. Kim is a graduate of Leadership Tampa, class of 2007. She is proud to be a lifetime member of the USF Alumni Association, as well as past Chair and longtime board member of USF’s Lynn Pippenger’s School of Accountancy Accounting Circle Board and Advisory Board.

Kim O’Brien Taylor White Principal

Lexy Schwartz is the Compliance Project Manager for Cott Corporation, a leading North American and European water, coffee and coffee extracts, tea and filtration solutions service company. She is responsible for partnering with the business to address regulatory or compliance requirements that impact Cott globally or at an individual business unit level. During her career, Lexy has held positions in accounting, financial reporting, IT and internal audit. In these roles, Lexy’s responsibilities included financial close and management reporting, transfer pricing analysis, corporate cost allocations modeling, IT SOX and internal controls compliance, global IT governance and execution of special projects. Most recently, Lexy was responsible for preparing Cott’s European based business for the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and establishing the framework and audit program for ongoing compliance. Her current focus is to prepare the domestic business for the California Consumer Privacy Act. Prior to joining Cott, Lexy worked at Deloitte & Touche where she performed audits and assisted in the preparation of client financial statements in various industries including manufacturing, not-for-profit, high-tech manufacturing, and insurance and investment. Lexy received her Bachelor’s in Accounting and Master’s of Accounting from the University of Florida. She is a Certified Public Accountant. She is married with two children and enjoys traveling, boating, reading, and spending time with friends and family.

Lexy Schwartz Cott Corporation Compliance Project Manager

As Cherry Bekaert’s National Leader of State and Local Tax (SALT) Services, and a Tax Partner based in the Firm’s Washington, D.C., practice, Cathie serves as a trusted multi-state advisor. She has worked extensively with publicly traded corporations as well as privately owned companies across a variety of industries. Cathie also serves on the Firm’s Executive Board and is a member of THInc, the Firm’s specialty practice focused on innovative companies in the technology and health and life sciences, and industrial sectors. With more than 30 years of experience, Cathie delivers high-level technical expertise to resolve complex SALT issues for clients Firmwide. Her extensive SALT experience includes identifying areas of risk and resolving exposure, entity structuring and design, complex transactional planning, dispute resolution, cash recovery services and performance of due diligence engagements. Cathie’s experience also encompasses income and franchise, sales and use, gross receipts, property, transfer, employment taxes, unclaimed property and state and local inducements. As chair of the AICPA SALT Technical Resource Panel, Cathie analyzes proposed tax legislation, evaluates its impact on various industries, formulates recommendations and authors various state and local tax articles. Prior to joining Cherry Bekaert, Cathie was the national director of state and local tax services for a Top 20 accounting firm. She also served as an area director within a Big Four SALT practice and in industry for seven years with a middle-market manufacturing company.

Cathie Stanton Cherry Bekaert, LLP Partner, National Leader of State & Local Tax Services

Peter currently has an MBA, CPA license and CMA, CITP, CGMA certifications. He is currently President at Temko Financial Consulting, offering tax, bookkeeping and financial consulting to small business and individuals with a specialty in Cryptocurrency and Blockchain. He has recently held Senior Financial positions in both America Tool & Mold and Dosatron, both located in Clearwater, FL. Peter has spent his career helping organizations build their businesses with financial insights using a focus on using technology to increase efficiency and gain competitive advantages. That first began with a financial application consulting position at Oracle Corporation while living in Atlanta, GA. Before working at Oracle Corporation, he served four years in the U.S. Army Mechanized Infantry. Peter earned a Bachelor’s of Science in Psychology from the University of Illinois, Bachelor’s of Science in Accounting from the University of South Florida and his MBA degree from Georgia Southern University.

Peter Temko Temko Financial President

With early name suggestions of “Desert Rats”, “Florida Chickens,” and even a student election run-off with the name “Buccaneer”, the “Golden Brahman” was finally selected as the official mascot of USF in November of 1962. The students reasoned that, since Florida was a cattle-raising state like Texas, USF needed a mascot comparable to the Texas Longhorns mascot. In the late 1980's, the mascot evolved into the “Bulls” for promotional reasons. Today's Rocky the Bull got his start as a toy idea for the USF Bookstore in 1965. The first Rocky was drawn as a cartoon rendition for Athletics to use in their newsletters. Rocky's image was first trademarked in 1974 and re-designed in 1986. Today's Rocky was unveiled in 2003. Rocky is a regular at USF football and basketball games and other campus and community events.

Rocky D. Bull University of South Florida Mascot

Lynn Pippenger Businesswoman & Philanthropist University of South Florida

Lynn Pippenger spent 16 years as an undergraduate, taking night classes at St. Petersburg College and USF's St. Petersburg campus while working 50 hours a week in the 1970s and 1980s. After earning her bachelor's degree, she enrolled in graduate school on the Tampa campus, graduating with honors from USF's Executive MBA program in 1988. In 1969 Pippenger started working at Raymond James as a payroll clerk; when she was first hired, Raymond James was simply a small upstart company. After moving out of the accounting department, she managed all of Operations and Information Technology, created the Human Resources Department, and managed Trading Inventories limits for the Investment Banking, and Fixed Income Departments. She also pioneered the company’s print shop, launched the famous Stock Market Game throughout the state of Florida, introduced the first PC to Raymond James (which is now enshrined in a glass case in the lobby), and initiated the company’s switch from the COBOL computer language to table-driven systems. She served as the company’s Director, Corporate Secretary, Treasurer, and ultimately the Chief Financial Officer. On February 17, 2015, USF announced that its School of Accountancy was named for Lynn Pippenger. At the event announcing the school's new name, Pippenger told the students, faculty, staff, and donors, "I was taught to do three things. One, always give back – in time, treasure and talent. Two, I had to save some of my money. And three, I could spend some. I still do those same things today."

This conference is made possible thanks to the following:

USF Lynn Pippenger School of Accountancy Uday Murthy, Director

Katie Davis, Conference Coordinator Denise Gelia, Office Manager

Sarah Spreadbury, Office Assistant Beta Alpha Psi, Delta Gamma Chapter

Accounting Circle Board of Directors

Stephany Setrajcic, Jabil, Board Chair Kathy Howe, TECO, Chair-Elect

CPE Conference Committee Members

Brian Bright, Refresco, CPE Conference Chair Joe Bailey, EY

Marie Bell, Concannon Miller & Co. Dana Burton, CBIZ, Inc. Melissa Cosby, TECO Jamil Jones, Deloitte

Jennifer Kimball, KPMG Michael-Scott Lester, Ximplifi, LLC

Ryan McKenzie, True Partners Consulting, LLC Andrew Menendez, EY

Tanya Pavlik, 1 Source Partners, Inc.

Sponsorship Chairs Shannon Ciesluk, CBIZ, Inc. Amanda Porupski, CBIZ, Inc.

Thank you to all of our sponsors!!