2012 Conference Hours: Wed, May 2, 8am-4:50pm Thu, May 3, 8am-4:50pm 2012 Free Show Hours: Wed, May 2, 10am-4pm Thu, May 3, 10am-4pm

Speakers

2012 Accounting Technology New York Show & Conference The 4th annual largest meeting of accounting professionals in New York each year.

Information below from last year - check back for 2012

Erik Asgeirsson
President and CEO
CPA2Biz, Inc.

Erik Asgeirsson was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of CPA2Biz in November of 2002, after holding key managerial positions at CPA2Biz since the fall of 2000. Previously, Erik held a variety of senior positions at AT&T in sales and operations. In his last role at AT&T, Mr. Asgeirsson was a Sales Director for the Business Services Division where he managed a market segment with revenues of over $100 million and oversaw the roll out of a number of new business services. Erik holds an MBA from The New York University Stern School of Business and a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from George Washington University. Earlier in his career, Erik served as a United States Peace Corps Volunteer in Tanzania.

Dr. Chandra Bhansali
President
AccountantsWorld

Dr. Chandra Bhansali, Ph.D., is co-founder of AccountantsWorld with his wife Sharada Bhansali. Both have been serving the accounting profession for the past 25 years. AccountantsWorld is a leader in developing a new breed of web-based accountant-centric solutions that let accountants work collaboratively with their clients while remaining in full command. This new capability helps accountants gain better control over their client engagements, save time, better serve their clients, and grow their business. For the past five years, Chandra has been named one of the 100 Most Influential People in Accounting by Accounting Today.

Steve Blundell, CPA
Accountant Customer Advocate and
Partner Relations Manager
Intuit Inc.

Steve Blundell is the accountant customer advocate and manager of partner relations for Intuit’s Accountant Central group. He is responsible for fostering the relationships the company has with the thousands of accountants and financial professionals who use and recommend Intuit solutions. He is also an active accountant advocate, imparting his professional insights as a CPA for more than 30 years.

Blundell has held a variety of roles during his 20-year career at Intuit, including leadership positions in Intuit’s professional tax division. Prior to joining Intuit, Blundell was a partner in the firm of Pignato Underwood Blundell CPAs in Delray Beach, Florida. He was also CEO of Direct Link Software, a business tax software company. Blundell also co-authored the Accountant’s Trial Balance software for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Blundell earned his bachelor of science in accounting from Florida Atlantic University. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the California Society of Certified Public Accountants.

James C. Bourke, CPA, CITP
Partner
WithumSmith+Brown, PC

James C. Bourke, Jr., CPA, CITP, is a Shareholder and Director at WithumSmith+Brown. Mr. Bourke is currently the President of the NJSCPA. He has served on the NJCPA Board of Trustees as secretary, as a member of the NJSCPA Litigation Services, Legal Profession Liaison and Committee Operations committees and as chairperson of the Chapter Operations Committee. Mr Bourke has served as president, vice president, secretary treasurer and director of the NJSCPA Monmouth-Ocean Chapter and also served as chairperson for various Monmouth/Ocean Chapter committees. In addition, he serves on the AICPA's CITP Credential Committee and is the current chair of their State Society Reach Out Committee. He is an active board member of the New Jersey Technology Council and serves on the advisory council of a regional bank. Mr Bourke is a frequent author on CPA firm technology issues for our industry's trade publications and speaks at many state society conferences and seminars throughout the country on topics or current technology trends in CPA firms, as well as the specific technologies effecting our profession. Bourke earned his B.S. in Accounting from Kean University.

Bill Carlino
Editor-in-Chief
Accounting Today

Bill Carlino is a veteran journalist and editor-in-chief of Accounting Today, as well as editorial director for all accounting-related publications and the group’s online portal, AccountingToday.com.

He has been a frequent speaker and panel moderator at industry-related meetings and events as well as a featured commentator on such cable business channels as CNBC, Reuters, MSNBC, Bloomberg, CNN and National Public Radio.

Prior to assuming the editor’s post at Accounting Today in 2000, Bill spent 12 years covering the restaurant industry as managing editor at Nation’s Restaurant News and two years with Gannett newspapers in New York as a news and sports correspondent.
A graduate of the University of Denver, he is a member of the New York Financial Writers Association and the American Business Press Editors.

Armando D’Accordo
President
CMIT Solutions of South Nassau

Armando brings more than 23 years of experience to the support industry. He has received extensive training in business management, customer service, sales and quality assurance from the University of Michigan, Disney, Citibank and the Help Desk Institute. As President of CMIT Solutions of South Nassau, Armando assists his small and medium size business clients with technology solutions focused on compliance, security, business continuity and disaster recovery. In 2001, Armando was named Support Director of the year. He continues to be an industry leader as well as an accomplished public speaker and in 2007, he was named CMIT Rookie of the Year. Armando is co-author of the book 'I Just Want My Computers to Work' published in 2009. Armando is active in his community and is a frequent volunteer and fundraiser.

Eileen Dunn, CPA
President, Itsa Solution, Inc.
Islandia, NY

Eileen is a Certified Public Accountant with 21 years experience serving clients in various industries. She is an Advanced Certified QuickBooks Proadvisor and has been consulting with QuickBooks clients since 1999. Ms. Dunn has presented tax, entrepreneurial skills, and business growth seminars for local and regional business groups. Eileen has taught at Suffolk Community College and has won numerous business awards including Long Island’s Top 50 Businesswomen.

Scott Fleszar
VP, Strategic Marketing, Tax & Accounting
Thomson Reuters

Scott Fleszar is vice president, strategic marketing for the Professional division of the Tax & Accounting business of Thomson Reuters. He is responsible for overall marketing and strategy for the CS Professional Suite, Enterprise Suite, and myPay Solutions product lines. Some of the major brands he supports include UltraTax CS, Practice CS, and Accounting CS.

Scott joined Thomson Reuters in 1994 and has spent more than 17 years working directly with tax and accounting professionals in a variety of different ways including key roles in Product Support, Training and Consulting, Product Management, and Strategic Marketing. Scott’s work developing strategic customer surveys and other tools to capture market feedback has been key to driving new product development for the Tax & Accounting business of Thomson Reuters. Scott has been active in public speaking and educational seminars and has most recently been involved with developing the Thomson Reuters Thought Leadership brand of content and events designed to move the profession forward with new strategies, best practices, and relevant technologies. Scott holds a BBA in accounting from Eastern Michigan University and an MBA from the University of Michigan.

Brian Friedman, CPA, CITP
Acct Mgr ProSystem fx Office
CCH, a Wolters Kluwer business

Brian C. Friedman, CPA, CITP is an Accounting and Auditing Account Specialist with CCH, a Wolters Kluwer business. Joining CCH in 2005, Brian has worked with over 500 different firms throughout the country to help evaluate, implement and deploy various solutions to facilitate the improvement of the firm’s workflow and profitability. Brian began his professional career with Deloitte & Touche and spent the next 6 years with a large regional accounting firm in New York. Brian is a graduate of SUNY Binghamton with a B.S. in Accounting.

Steve King
Partner
Emergent Research

Steve is a Partner at Emergent Research. Steve's current research and consulting is focused on economic decentralization, the growth of small business and the future of work and workplaces.

Steve has extensive consulting, marketing and general management experience with both large and small companies. Steve has served as vice president of Corporate Marketing for Macromedia, vice president and general manager of Asia Pacific for Lotus Development Corporation and vice president of marketing for Isys Corporation. He has also been the interim CEO, CMO or head of business development for 6 start-up technology companies and has served on the fiduciary or advisory boards of over a dozen companies.

Steve is a senior fellow and board member at the Society for New Communications Research, a research affiliate at the Future of Work and an advisory board member at Pond Ventures. Steve has a B.S. from the University of Richmond and an MBA from Northwestern's Kellogg School of Business.

Max T. Krotman, J.D.
Managing Partner
Globalforce International Inc.

Max Krotman, JD, Managing Partner of Globalforce International, is a distinguished attorney, specializing in sales, mergers, and acquisitions. After graduating Columbia Law School with highest honors (Law Review; Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar), Mr. Krotman became an associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore, one of the most respected law firms in the country. While at Cravath, he completed billion dollar transactions for Fortune 500 clients.

He has orchestrated accounting practice affiliations with values ranging from $50,000 to as much $11,000,000. Large or small, every client gets Mr. Krotman's full attention and the total use of his impressive skills.

In the last decade, Mr. Krotman has concentrated on evaluating tax and accounting practices and advising clients on how to maximize their value. He is the author of numerous articles and the definitive book on the subject. He has written for many Accounting Journals across the country and co-authored for PPC, Buying and Merging CPA Firms. His vast knowledge and hard work have made him the outstanding authority on all facets of this field.

Gregory LaFollette, CPA.CITP
Executive Editor, TheTechGap.com
Host, Accounting Tech Online Webcasts
I have adopted a unique approach to the service of my profession. The first is as a consultant to public accounting firms and to vendors seeking to serve those firms; the second is as Executive Editor of TheTechGap -- the country’s premier digital resource for content specifically created for the tax and accounting profession and for vendors who seek to serve that community; and the third, just to insure I stay completely current with the trials and tribulations of the practicing accountant, is as Senior Manager of Tax and Technology Consulting with the Top 25 firm of Eide Bailly, LLP.

I was the Executive Editor of The CPA Technology Advisor, the country's leading print publication dedicated to the application of technology to public accounting until I left that post in 2009 to slow down. Formerly I was VP at Thomson Creative Solutions and Tax & Technology partner at LaFollette, Jansa, Brandt & Co., LLP. I served on the AICPA CITP Credential Committee (Chair), the National Accreditation Commission (ad hoc via the Credential CITP Committee), the Top Technologies Task Force, and the TECH+ Planning Committee.

I completed my professional training at Augustana College . I am a CPA and a CITP and also a member of the AICPA Information Technology Division. I am a national speaker for CPA societies, industry groups, and computer user groups and have published hundreds of articles on financial services and computer systems management. I host dozens on webcasts every year and record a series of regularly scheduled, recurring podcasts.

My wife, Kaye, and I have one grown daughter and choose to live in our hometown of Sioux Falls, SD.

Dawn M. LaVanway, CPA (inactive)
Audit & Accounting NE Division Mgr
CCH, a Wolters Kluwer business

Dawn M. LaVanway, CPA (inactive), is the Audit and Accounting North East Division Manager for CCH, a Wolters Kluwer business. She began with CCH in 2001 with the initial launch of ProSystem fx Engagement and has worked with hundreds of firms, throughout the U.S., consulting on and implementing A&A workflow solutions. Prior to CCH, she worked at GC Tax Services and taught accounting at Trident Technical College in Charleston, SC. She has also worked privately as a Financial Analyst in the healthcare industry for over 10 years. Dawn holds a M.S. in Accounting from the College of Charleston.

Gail A. Perry, CPA
Author
AccountingWEB Editor-in-Chief

Gail is a CPA, tax accountant, the editor-in-chief of AccountingWEB, an online daily news magazine for members of the accounting profession, the instructor of an online personal finance course, and the author of more than 20 books about taxes, financial software, and personal finance. Her titles include “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Doing Your Income Taxes,” “Surviving Financial Downsizing: A Practical Guide to Living Well on Less Income,” “Quicken All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies,” and, most recently, “QuickBooks 2010 On Demand.” Gail is a former senior tax accountant with the Big Four firm, Deloitte, she has a degree in journalism and English from Indiana University, and she resides in Brighton, Michigan.

Dana R. Richardson, CPA, CITP
Richardson Media & Technologies

Dana "Rick" Richardson is president of Richardson Media & Technologies, a multi-media and strategic technology consulting company. Prior to forming his current company, he had a 28-year career in technology with Ernst & Young, the last twelve years of which he served as National Director of Technology. Mr. Richardson has been named to the "Technology 100"- the annual honors list of the 100 key achievers in technology in America and honored by the American Institute of CPAs with a lifetime achievement award for his contributions to the profession in the field of technology. He is a sought after speaker around the world, providing his annual forecast of future technology trends to thousands of business executives, professionals, community leaders, educators and students.