Annual Symposium Schedule

Cal Christian, CPA
East Carolina University

Cal Christian, PhD, CPA, is a Professor of Accounting at ECU teaching both International Accounting and Accounting for Decision Makers. Cal earned his BAccy from The University of Mississippi and his PhD from Florida State University. Cal is a registered CPA in the states of North Carolina and Mississippi and has over 10 years of experience in both the public accounting profession with the former international accounting firm of Ernst & Whinney in Houston, TX and Jackson, MS, and in industry with LDDS (the predecessor to WorldCom) and the Oxford, MS Law Firm of Holcomb, Dunbar.

Cal also serves the University as the NCAA Faculty Athletic Representative. This is a Chancellor appointed position as the ECU representative to the NCAA for all academic issues related to the student-athlete. Cal also serves as a faculty senator and a member of the University Athletic Committee.

Cal also teaches continuing education classes for the North Carolina Association of CPAs (NCACPA), the AICPA, CPA firms and publicly traded companies such as AIG, Credit Suisse, The Hearst Corp., and Lowe’s Corporation. Cal has been recognized as a NCACPA Outstanding Chapter Speaker and in 2007, East Carolina University awarded Cal the UNC Board of Governor’s Outstanding Teaching Award. Cal has recently been appointed to a three year term on The NCACPA’s Board of Directors, and has served as President of the Ronald McDonald House in Greenville, NC.

Cal’s research interests are in the area of financial accounting (specifically, the relationship between accounting standards and the capital markets) and ethical behavior within the accounting profession.

Alex Theis
AICPA

Alex loves to help people and organizations break through what’s holding them back. His speaking focuses on personal growth, business growth, sales, time management, productivity, and mental conditioning. Alex is one of the world’s foremost experts on customer and client retention. In his consulting and advising career, he has created campaigns and programs resulting in over $100 million in sales for his clients.

After hosting over 1,200 episodes of The Limitless Podcast, his new show, called Winning The Mental Game, can be heard anywhere podcasts are found. Alex is also a best-selling author of four books. When he’s not traveling or backpacking, he can be found at his home in San Diego, California.

Mark Soticheck, CPA
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
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.

Art Werner, CPA
AICPA (Werner-Rocco)

Arthur Joseph Werner, J.D., M.S. (Taxation) is currently a shareholder in the lecture firm of Werner-Rocca Seminars. His areas of expertise include business, tax, financial, and estate planning for high net worth individuals. Art is a former adjunct professor of taxation in the Master of Science in Taxation program at Philadelphia University. He received his Bachelor of Science in Accounting and his Master of Science in Taxation from Widener University. He holds a J.D. in Law from the Delaware Law School of Widener University.

Art lectures extensively to certified public accountants, enrolled agents, insurance agents, and financial planners in the areas of estate planning, financial planning, and estate and gift taxation. He has presented well in excess of 1,500 seminars over the past fifteen years. Art has been rated as having the highest speaker knowledge in his home state of Pennsylvania by the Pennsylvania Institute of CPAs, awarded the AICPA Outstanding Discussion Leader Award in Nevada, the Florida Institute of CPAs Outstanding Discussion Leader Award, and the South Carolina Association of CPAs Outstanding Discussion Leader Award.

Alex Theis
AICPA

More information coming soon!

Bryan Smith, CPA, CITP, CISA
Data Smith Pro

Bryan L. Smith, CPA.CITP, CISA is the owner of DataSmith Pro, LLC, a company that helps accounting, tax and financial professionals leverage technology to increase the quality and efficiency of their services.

Bryan has extensive knowledge and experience in proper Excel design techniques as well as helping CPAs build spreadsheets that are accurate. As a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), he has spent a considerable amount of time auditing and validating thousands of Excel spreadsheets. He has developed various data analysis and Microsoft Power BI courses and has worked with multiple organizations to train and coach staff on proper data analysis techniques.

Bryan holds a Master of Science in Information Assurance, is a member of the Information System Audit and Control Association and is a past chair of task forces for the Michigan Association of CPAs.

Art Werner, CPA
AICPA (Werner-Rocco)

Arthur Joseph Werner, J.D., M.S. (Taxation) is currently a shareholder in the lecture firm of Werner-Rocca Seminars. His areas of expertise include business, tax, financial, and estate planning for high net worth individuals. Art is a former adjunct professor of taxation in the Master of Science in Taxation program at Philadelphia University. He received his Bachelor of Science in Accounting and his Master of Science in Taxation from Widener University. He holds a J.D. in Law from the Delaware Law School of Widener University.

Art lectures extensively to certified public accountants, enrolled agents, insurance agents, and financial planners in the areas of estate planning, financial planning, and estate and gift taxation. He has presented well in excess of 1,500 seminars over the past fifteen years. Art has been rated as having the highest speaker knowledge in his home state of Pennsylvania by the Pennsylvania Institute of CPAs, awarded the AICPA Outstanding Discussion Leader Award in Nevada, the Florida Institute of CPAs Outstanding Discussion Leader Award, and the South Carolina Association of CPAs Outstanding Discussion Leader Award.

Jennifer Louis, CPA

Jennifer has over 25 years experience in designing and instructing high-quality training programs in a wide variety of technical and “soft skills” topics needed for professional and organization success. In 2003 she founded Emergent Solutions Group, which is dedicated to meeting organization’s professional training needs on a project or part-time basis. Jennifer serves a wide variety of clients, including public accounting firms, state CPA societies, private industry corporations, and public sector agencies.Previously Jennifer served as the Director of Audit Product Development at Surgent Professional Education for three years. Prior to that, Jennifer was Executive Vice President/Director of Training Services at AuditWatch, Inc., a highly respected training and audit process consulting firm later acquired by Thomson Reuters. Over her six years at AuditWatch, Jennifer served many roles. She began her career at AuditWatch as Vice President of Product Development. Jennifer also served as an instructor and consultant for the firm’s Audit Productivity Improvement Program (a comprehensive program enabling accounting firms to enhance audit quality and improve audit efficiency), as well as various other training courses. Later, Jennifer was primarily responsible for working with clients to design high-caliber, customized training programs. She led the Training Services Division, which includes AuditWatch University (“core-level” staff training for new hires to managers) and related offerings. She also co-authored the Guide to Value-Added Auditing (Thomson/Practitioners Publishing Company, Fort Worth, TX, July 2001).

Before joining AuditWatch, Jennifer was the Financial/Operational Audit Manager at AARP. While at AARP she served as one of their specially trained facilitators available as a resource throughout the organization for designing and leading strategic meetings and trainings.

Jennifer was also an Audit Manager at Deloitte, in Washington, DC. During her five years with Deloitte, she was a frequent local and national instructor. Jennifer also served as an instructor for the firm’s national “Train the Trainers” program.

Jennifer graduated summa cum laude from Marymount University with a BBA-Accounting. She is currently a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and is licensed to practice accounting in the Commonwealth of Virginia and North Carolina. Contact Jennifer via email at [email protected], or via LinkedIn.

Bryan Smith, CPA, CITP, CISA
Data Smith Pro

Bryan L. Smith, CPA.CITP, CISA is the owner of DataSmith Pro, LLC, a company that helps accounting, tax and financial professionals leverage technology to increase the quality and efficiency of their services.

Bryan has extensive knowledge and experience in proper Excel design techniques as well as helping CPAs build spreadsheets that are accurate. As a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), he has spent a considerable amount of time auditing and validating thousands of Excel spreadsheets. He has developed various data analysis and Microsoft Power BI courses and has worked with multiple organizations to train and coach staff on proper data analysis techniques.

Bryan holds a Master of Science in Information Assurance, is a member of the Information System Audit and Control Association and is a past chair of task forces for the Michigan Association of CPAs.

Art Werner, CPA
AICPA (Werner-Rocco)

Arthur Joseph Werner, J.D., M.S. (Taxation) is currently a shareholder in the lecture firm of Werner-Rocca Seminars. His areas of expertise include business, tax, financial, and estate planning for high net worth individuals. Art is a former adjunct professor of taxation in the Master of Science in Taxation program at Philadelphia University. He received his Bachelor of Science in Accounting and his Master of Science in Taxation from Widener University. He holds a J.D. in Law from the Delaware Law School of Widener University.

Art lectures extensively to certified public accountants, enrolled agents, insurance agents, and financial planners in the areas of estate planning, financial planning, and estate and gift taxation. He has presented well in excess of 1,500 seminars over the past fifteen years. Art has been rated as having the highest speaker knowledge in his home state of Pennsylvania by the Pennsylvania Institute of CPAs, awarded the AICPA Outstanding Discussion Leader Award in Nevada, the Florida Institute of CPAs Outstanding Discussion Leader Award, and the South Carolina Association of CPAs Outstanding Discussion Leader Award.

Jennifer Louis, CPA

Jennifer has over 25 years experience in designing and instructing high-quality training programs in a wide variety of technical and “soft skills” topics needed for professional and organization success. In 2003 she founded Emergent Solutions Group, which is dedicated to meeting organization’s professional training needs on a project or part-time basis. Jennifer serves a wide variety of clients, including public accounting firms, state CPA societies, private industry corporations, and public sector agencies.Previously Jennifer served as the Director of Audit Product Development at Surgent Professional Education for three years. Prior to that, Jennifer was Executive Vice President/Director of Training Services at AuditWatch, Inc., a highly respected training and audit process consulting firm later acquired by Thomson Reuters. Over her six years at AuditWatch, Jennifer served many roles. She began her career at AuditWatch as Vice President of Product Development. Jennifer also served as an instructor and consultant for the firm’s Audit Productivity Improvement Program (a comprehensive program enabling accounting firms to enhance audit quality and improve audit efficiency), as well as various other training courses. Later, Jennifer was primarily responsible for working with clients to design high-caliber, customized training programs. She led the Training Services Division, which includes AuditWatch University (“core-level” staff training for new hires to managers) and related offerings. She also co-authored the Guide to Value-Added Auditing (Thomson/Practitioners Publishing Company, Fort Worth, TX, July 2001).

Before joining AuditWatch, Jennifer was the Financial/Operational Audit Manager at AARP. While at AARP she served as one of their specially trained facilitators available as a resource throughout the organization for designing and leading strategic meetings and trainings.

Jennifer was also an Audit Manager at Deloitte, in Washington, DC. During her five years with Deloitte, she was a frequent local and national instructor. Jennifer also served as an instructor for the firm’s national “Train the Trainers” program.

Jennifer graduated summa cum laude from Marymount University with a BBA-Accounting. She is currently a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and is licensed to practice accounting in the Commonwealth of Virginia and North Carolina.Contact Jennifer via email at [email protected], or via LinkedIn.

Bryan Smith, CPA, CITP, CISA
Data Smith Pro

Bryan L. Smith, CPA.CITP, CISA is the owner of DataSmith Pro, LLC, a company that helps accounting, tax and financial professionals leverage technology to increase the quality and efficiency of their services.

Bryan has extensive knowledge and experience in proper Excel design techniques as well as helping CPAs build spreadsheets that are accurate. As a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), he has spent a considerable amount of time auditing and validating thousands of Excel spreadsheets. He has developed various data analysis and Microsoft Power BI courses and has worked with multiple organizations to train and coach staff on proper data analysis techniques.

Bryan holds a Master of Science in Information Assurance, is a member of the Information System Audit and Control Association and is a past chair of task forces for the Michigan Association of CPAs.

Keith Wood, CPA, J.D.

Keith Wood is both an attorney and CPA with a special background in taxes. He also is a board-certified specialist in estate planning and probate law.

Keith’s practice is focused on business, tax and estate planning for a wide range of clients, including new startups, entrepreneurs and multigenerational family-owned businesses. He counsels these closely held enterprises in the unique challenges they face – from succession planning, tax planning and management structures to effective compensation strategies.

Keith frequently speaks to groups on tax and business succession topics and has been honored by the North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants with multiple “Outstanding Speaker” awards.

Michael Walden, Ph.D
North Carolina State University

Michael L. Walden is a William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor and Extension Economist at North Carolina State University and a member of the Graduate Economics faculty with The Poole College of Management. Dr. Walden retired at the end of March 2021 and is now a Professor Emeritus.

His Ph.D. degree is from Cornell University and he has been at NC State since 1978. He has also been a Visiting Professor at Duke University. He has served on several local and state level commissions. He currently teaches ARE 201 Introduction to Agricultural and Resource Economics.

Dr. Walden has teaching, research, and extension responsibilities at NC State University in the areas of consumer economics, economic outlook, and public policy. He has published eleven books and over 300 articles and reports, including the books North Carolina in the Connected Age in 2010 and North Carolina Beyond the Connected Age: The Tar Heel State in 2050 in 2017, both published by the UNC Press.

With his wife, he is the co-author of three “economic thrillers”, Macro Mayhem, Micro Mischief, and Fiscal Fiasco, designed to teach economics in an entertaining way.

Dr. Walden can be frequently seen, heard, and read in the media. He has daily radio programs aired on stations around North Carolina for which he has won two national awards. He is often interviewed on local TV and radio news broadcasts, has appeared on NBC, CBS, The Fox Report, and the Newshour With Jim Lehrer, and is frequently quoted in such newspapers as USA Today, The News and Observer, The Charlotte Observer, The Boston Globe, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. His biweekly column, You Decide, is carried by over forty newspapers in the state. He has made over 2500 personal presentations.

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.

Chuck Gallagher

Ethics in the workplace is a serious matter, but talking about it doesn’t have to be “business as usual.” Chuck Gallagher learned a lesson about ethics, choices and consequences the hard way—but now he shares his experience so that others don’t have to.

You may have seen Chuck on television, or heard him on CNN, CBS or NPR radio programs. His business insights are sought after for his strong position on ethics and ethical leadership. Chuck’s focus is business—but his passion is empowering others. His unique business ethics presentations clearly demonstrate he brings something to the platform that isn’t often found in typical business ethics speakers. Chuck’s personal experience in building businesses and sales teams while leading companies provides a practical and powerful framework for ethical success.

Currently Vice President of a national public company and former Sr. VP of Sales and Marketing for a public company, Chuck may have found a sales niche early on in life selling potholders door to door, or convincing folks to fund a record album of his musical performance at age 16 (and yes those were the days when an album was made of vinyl), but it was the school of hard knocks that provided a fertile training ground for Chuck’s lessons in success. Described as creative, insightful, captivating, and a person that “connects the dots” between behavior, choices and success,Chuck gives his clients what they need to turn concepts into actions and actions into results.

In the middle of a rising career, Chuck lost everything because he made some bad choices. He has since rebuilt his career and his life back to immense success. With more vulnerability than the average keynoter, Chuck shares with his audiences his life journey, the consequences of his unethical choices, and how life gives you second chances when you make the right choices. In fact, Chuck’s new book, SECOND CHANCES: Transforming Adversity into Opportunity, has received numerous endorsements and has been described as one of those rare books that effectively bridges the gap between personal accountability and business success.

Hale Sheppard, J.D.
Eversheds Sutherland

Hale is a Partner in the Tax Practice Group at Eversheds Sutherland. He represents clients during federal tax audits, tax appeals, and tax litigation, involving both domestic and international issues.

Rafe Martin, CRO, CCRP
Comtech

Rafe Martin is the Chief Risk Officer at ComTech. He helps clients manage cyber risks and enhance operational preparedness through effective cyber resilience planning.

With over 30 years of IT experience, Rafe holds a Certificate in Artificial Intelligence from MIT, is Certified in Cybersecurity, and holds the Certified Cyber Resilience Professional (CCRP) certification from DRI International.

As an in-demand speaker and host of ComTech’s RippleFX podcast, Rafe shares insights on emerging technology, including cybersecurity, cyber resilience, and artificial intelligence at conferences, on podcasts, and in webinars.

Whether it’s creating harmony with his bluegrass band or experimenting with the culinary philosophy that anything wrapped in bacon and put on the smoker is bound to be a masterpiece, Rafe enjoys life’s varied flavors. He also cherishes spending time with his wife of 34 years and their family.

Chuck Gallagher

Ethics in the workplace is a serious matter, but talking about it doesn’t have to be “business as usual.” Chuck Gallagher learned a lesson about ethics, choices and consequences the hard way—but now he shares his experience so that others don’t have to.

You may have seen Chuck on television, or heard him on CNN, CBS or NPR radio programs. His business insights are sought after for his strong position on ethics and ethical leadership. Chuck’s focus is business—but his passion is empowering others. His unique business ethics presentations clearly demonstrate he brings something to the platform that isn’t often found in typical business ethics speakers. Chuck’s personal experience in building businesses and sales teams while leading companies provides a practical and powerful framework for ethical success.

Currently Vice President of a national public company and former Sr. VP of Sales and Marketing for a public company, Chuck may have found a sales niche early on in life selling potholders door to door, or convincing folks to fund a record album of his musical performance at age 16 (and yes those were the days when an album was made of vinyl), but it was the school of hard knocks that provided a fertile training ground for Chuck’s lessons in success. Described as creative, insightful, captivating, and a person that “connects the dots” between behavior, choices and success, Chuck gives his clients what they need to turn concepts into actions and actions into results.

In the middle of a rising career, Chuck lost everything because he made some bad choices. He has since rebuilt his career and his life back to immense success. With more vulnerability than the average keynoter, Chuck shares with his audiences his life journey, the consequences of his unethical choices, and how life gives you second chances when you make the right choices. In fact, Chuck’s new book, SECOND CHANCES: Transforming Adversity into Opportunity, has received numerous endorsements and has been described as one of those rare books that effectively bridges the gap between personal accountability and business success.

David Cieslak, CPA
RKL Solutions

David Cieslak is Chief Cloud Officer and EVP with RKL eSolutions, a leading business process automation consulting firm with offices across the US. In his role, he is responsible for helping companies grow strategically with cloud-based solutions and industry-specific service expertise for ERP, CPM, CRM, AP Automation, and other critical business processes. He is a frequent speaker for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), California Society of Certified Public Accountants (CalCPA) and other state accounting societies as his alter ego “Inspector Gadget.” He is a Sage Intacct Certified Consultant and holds the GIAC Security Essentials Certification (GSEC). He is the past Chair of the AICPA IT Executive Committee and past president of the California CPA Education Foundation.

Joe Kovacs
Kovacs Communication

Joe Kovacs, APR is an accounting services marketing consultant with more than 15 years of in-house experience as the director of marketing and business development at two mid-sized firms in the Washington, DC region. From this background, he has learned more than just the strategic and technical intricacies of professional services marketing. He also understands the culture and inner dynamics of professional services firms. He knows how to get things done on the way to finding more clients and growing a successful business.

Joe thrives at collaborating with executives, practice-level leaders, marketers, business developers, growth professionals and consultants. His wide-ranging areas of interest include strategic communications, writing and project management.
He was recruited to the accounting industry in the early 2000s from the nonprofit sector, where he delivered impact-driven communications for several years after serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Sri Lanka.

Shortly after joining his first CPA firm (a mid-sized firm with 60 professionals and support personnel), Joe realized it was an excellent professional fit. He enjoyed direct participation in everything from website management to proposal development, from email marketing to social media, from campaign tracking to media relations, and from networking to events management.