Business & Industry Fall Conference Schedule

Kassi Rushing
AICPA

Kassi Rushing connects the people and processes necessary to make your culture your competitive advantage. She builds places people want to work.

Since 2002, Kassi has been bridging the strategies between business and people, transforming workplace culture through intentional design, building high performing teams, developing leaders and leadership pipelines with future-ready skills, designing employee experiences with a foundation in equity and belonging, improving talent pipelines, and crafting communication strategy to accelerate organizational success.Kassi specializes in accounting firms and finance organizations and has worked in the profession since 2007. Her accounting clients range from small, local firms all the way to the Big 4. She regularly works with state CPA societies, accounting associations and networks.

Kassi previously served as the director of people growth and engagement for a Top 50 public accounting firm and as a corporate communicator at a large financial institution. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in communication with an emphasis in public relations from Mississippi State University and her Master of Science in corporate communication and public relations from Mississippi College. She holds her Certificate in Diversity & Inclusion from the Yale School of Management.

Kassi is a working mom and owner of Kassi Rushing Consulting. She is a strategic partner, facilitator and designated Thought Leader at the Business Learning Institute, a division of the AICPA-CIMA.

Frank Ryan, CPA, CGMA
AICPA

In civilian life, Frank Ryan is a CPA, author, commentator and expert in corporate restructurings and management. His book called “Revolutionizing Accounting for Decision Making” was published in 2016. A Pennsylvania CPA and a graduate of Mt. St. Mary’s College where he graduated Summa Cum Laude in 1973, he received his MBA from the University of Maryland in 1977. Frank serves and has served on numerous boards of directors of public and non-profit charitable organizations. In March 2008, he was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors of a Good Shepherd Services, a residential treatment facility for developmentally disabled children. Frank is Chairman of the Audit Committee of the Institute of World Politics and is also a trustee of IWP. He serves as the Audit Committee Chair for the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Additionally, Frank walked 2806 miles across America in 2014 to raise awareness of the needs of children with emotional and behavior issues and for developmentally disabled children. He is the third oldest person to have ever done it. He has written a book called “Life Lessons Learned – Amazing Stories of my Walk Across America for Children” (www.colfrankryan.com) to help raise funds for the Sisters of the Good Shepherd and their mission. Frank Ryan, a retired Marine Reserve Colonel, was recalled to active duty, out of his military retirement, in December 2004 and served with Multi-National Force-Iraq until June 2005. Prior to his initial retirement in 2002, Frank served as the Central Command Special Operations Officer during Operation Enduring Freedom. His personal military decorations include three Legions of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Navy Commendation Medal and the U. S. Army Commendation Medal. He is the extremely proud father of four wonderful children, and six super grandchildren and his beautiful partner and wife, Sherrie.

Mark Soticheck, CPA, CGMA
NCACPA

Since July 2024, Mark has been the Chief Executive Officer of the North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants. In this role, he works with the Board of Directors in the development and implementation of the organization’s strategic direction. Prior to this role, Mark joined NCACPA in May 2016 as their Chief Operating Officer, where he oversaw communications, engagement, professional development, learning and innovation, finance and administration. Prior to joining NCACPA, Mark worked in public accounting with Dixon Hughes Goodman LLP for 10 years and as Chief Operating Officer for Fidelity Bank for three years. Mark has served on various boards including NCACPA’s Board of Directors and Executive Committee, Junior Achievement of Eastern North Carolina, the Triangle Land Conservancy as a board member and treasurer, as well as on both the Wake Technical Community College and North Carolina State University’s Poole College of Management’s Accounting Advisory Boards.

Robert Broome, CAE
NCACPA

As NCACPA Director of Advocacy, Robert works with our members to develop, implement, and communicate the association’s public policy agenda to legislators and regulators. He serves as staff liaison to several NCACPA Resource Groups, including Advocacy, Tax, Government, and Accounting & Attestation.

Robert has more than two decades of experience in government relations and executive management for professional associations. A native of Tennessee, he worked in Nashville and Atlanta before moving to Raleigh in 2013. He earned his Certified Association Executive credential in 2020, and he serves on the Board of Directors for Association Executives of North Carolina.

Holly Buchanan
Category6 Consulting

Holly Buchanan is a popular speaker, trainer, author, and consultant. She is the author of Selling Financial Services to Women – What Men Need to Know and Even Women Will Be Surprised to Learn and co-author of The Soccer Mom Myth. Holly is currently working on her new book, Stop Getting Triggered – Keep Your Cool, Win Respect and Increase Influence.

Through Buchanan Marketing, she works with financial companies and professionals who want to increase their success by better understanding how clients make financial decisions, purchase financial products, and choose financial advisors.

Garrett Buckless, CPA
Centri Business Consulting

Garrett is a Managing Director in the Accounting Transformation Practice at Centri Business Consulting. He has more than 14 years of experience in public accounting, consulting, and industry. He joined Centri in September 2022, where he assists clients with business transformation, accounting advisory, and financial reporting.

Prior to his time with Centri, Garrett was a Senior Manager with Cherry Bekaert, where he led the Accounting Transformation Practice. He assisted clients in a variety of areas, including accounting process transformation, business intelligence, and financial reporting. These projects were focused on operational design, process optimization, and digital controllership.

Additionally, Garrett was a Lead Associate at Booz Allen Hamilton, where he led projects on financial reporting, internal controls, controllership, audit readiness, and audit remediation. Before joining BAH, he was a financial management associate with KPMG LLP.

Garrett received a B.S. in Accounting from North Carolina State University and a M.S. in Accounting from the University of Virginia. He is a Certified Public Accountant.

Tori Jancovic, CPA
Centri Business Consulting

Tori is a Partner at Centri Business Consulting and the leader of the firm’s Audit Support & Readiness Practice. She has more than 12 years of experience in accounting and audit readiness services. She joined Centri in October 2016 and assists clients across several industries with a variety of financial reporting needs, including financial statement preparation, pre-audit support preparation, sell-side and buy-side due diligence, acquisition accounting process integration, accounting transformation, and technical accounting research needs, including implementation of ASC 606 and ASC 842. This includes a strong focus on clients in the technology, fintech, healthcare, private equity, life sciences, and telecommunication sectors. In addition to accounting and audit readiness services, Tori has assisted companies with accounting for complex transactions, including business combinations and debt and equity analysis.

Prior to her time with Centri, Tori held multiple positions on the financial reporting team at Ascensus, Inc., a privately held financial services company. In those positions, she reported directly to the CFO, worked on M&A activities, and supported Board reporting and consolidated internal management reporting. While at Ascensus, Tori developed the internal financial reporting process for its college savings division post-acquisition and supported Broker Dealer reporting requirements to FINRA.

Tori received a B.S. in Accounting from Saint Joseph’s University in 2012 and is a member of the Saint Joseph’s alumni group. She is a Certified Public Accountant in the state of Pennsylvania.

Amy Horner, CPA, Ph.D.
True Nine

An accomplished executive with a track record of successfully leading collaborative strategic planning initiatives throughout her career, Amy founded True Nine in 2023 to help professionals embrace the opportunities and challenges made possible by change. She is well known for her unwavering dedication to leading authentically, celebrating change, and mentoring others.

Amy’s dynamic style, combined with her eclectic career and vast experience as a mentor, gives her clients confidence that she understands the challenges and opportunities they face. Utilizing pedagogical techniques gleaned from her doctoral studies, Amy connects outcome-oriented tactics with individual situations for positive outcomes. Her clients benefit from her experiences in executive leadership and organizational transformation, network cultivation, and goal-setting strategies.

Before founding True Nine, she was the COO and CFO for multiple organizations, guiding them through periods of intense change. In these roles, she led strategic planning and innovation initiatives that resulted in diversified revenue streams, new and expanded service offerings, better brand awareness, increased market share, a more engaged workforce, and improved financial results.

Amy is a “true nine,” having worn the number throughout her soccer career. Her passion for a team’s ultimate success, on-field experiences, and ability to remain calm under pressure are prevalent in her client relationships, collaborative approach to strategy development and execution, and quick instincts when presented with challenges or opportunities.

Recognized by Ignition’s Top 50 Women in Accounting and by LinkedIn as a Top Leadership Voice, she delights in sharing her experiences for the professional development and career advancement of others.

Amy holds a Bachelor’s in Accounting from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, where she was a student-athlete on the university’s first PSAC Championship Women’s Varsity Soccer Team. A proud Keystone State native, Amy furthered her education with an MBA from Penn State University. She earned a Doctorate in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where her research focused on the relationship between leadership team diversity and strategic change.

Steven Harriott, CPA
CFGI

Steven is a Managing Director with CFGI, providing accounting, management, and transaction advisory services to public and private clients of all sizes, and across various industries. His industry experience includes manufacturing, agriculture, retail, consumer products, mining, life sciences, and aerospace & defense. Steven has executed a variety of projects including serving in interim management roles, oversight and development of accounting departments, finance issue analysis and remediation, new accounting standard implementations, carve-out accounting, SEC reporting, debt and equity analysis, SOX implementation, and business/finance transformation assistance.

Before joining CFGI, Steven was an Audit & Assurance Senior Manager at Deloitte. During his 10-year career at Deloitte, he was responsible for supervising both integrated and non-integrated audit engagements for a variety of clients, across multiple industries. These clients ranged from Fortune 50 domestic entities to private multi-national organizations. In addition to performing external audits, Steven also teamed cross-functionally to provide services such as control gap analysis and lease implementation. While with Deloitte, Steven completed a two-year international rotation in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. His international experience both at home and abroad includes oversight of audit teams across Europe, Africa, the Americas, and Asia.

Steven holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and a Master of Accounting from North Carolina State University. He is a Certified Public Accountant in North Carolina.

Shari Storm
Category6 Consulting

Shari Storm spent 16 years as an executive at a Seattle credit union, where she oversaw marketing and IT. Her proudest accomplishments included being named an Innovator of the Decade by Net.Banker, heading up the successful Verity Mom campaign, and participating in Filene’s prestigious i3 program. Her first book, Motherhood is the New MBA: Using Your Parenting Skills to be a Better Boss was published by St. Martin’s Press. With over 20,000
copies sold, it has been translated into Mandarin and purchased for publication in four countries. The book has received tremendous press, including Time and Redbook magazines, Martha Stewart’s radio, BusinessWeek online, the Costco Connection and the cover of the Metro News New York, to name a few.

Shari has been named a Woman of Influence by CU Times. She has been featured in American Banker, Credit Union Management, and The CEO Report. She is now the CEO of Category 6 Consulting, which specializes in developing strategy with a strong focus on culture, marketing, and fintech. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Washington and her MBA from Seattle University.

Shari has presented at Texas Bankers Association, Washington Bankers Association, Ohio Bankers League, and the Indiana Bankers Association (twice). She has also presented at the Washington State Society of CPAs Women’s Conference and the AICPA Women’s Leadership Summit in Washington DC. And at Kitsap Bank and Yakima Federal Savings & Loan.

Rodney Tillinghast (Panelist)
Pepsi Bottling Ventures Volunteer

Rodney Tillinghast has a diverse and extensive work experience in various finance and accounting roles. Rodney recently joined Pepsi Bottling Ventures as the Vice President of Accounting in December 2022. Prior to that, they worked at Butterball, LLC as the Corporate Controller from 2015 to 2022. Rodney also served as the Director of Financial Reporting from 2015 to 2018 at Butterball, LLC. Before joining Butterball, LLC, Rodney held positions at Taconic, where they worked as the Senior Director of Finance from 2013 to 2015 and as the Corporate Controller from 2008 to 2013. Rodney started in private industry after their career at KPMG US.

Rodney earned an M.S. degree in Accounting from the SUNY University at Albany in 1993 after earning B.S. degree in Accounting from the SUNY College at Fredonia in 1988. Rodney also holds a certification as a Certified Public Accountant from the North Carolina State Board of CPA Examiners.