The strength and diversity of our contributing authors is a bedrock value at The Progressive Accountant. Here you’ll find the very best of the very best of the thought-leaders of our profession. While different in many ways (age, geography, gender, practice type, specialty, etc.) our authors share one common trait: they each have the heart of a teacher. All are recognized experts in their specific areas and each speak, teach, write, and appear regularly. And while they each maintain practices and/or related consultancies, they are all willing to share their time and expertise in an effort to help their colleagues. I am so very fortunate for that willingness and for each of their friendships.
Brett Owens is CEO and Co-Founder of Chrometa, a Sacramento, Calif.-based provider of software that records activity in real time. Previously marketed to the legal community, Chrometa is branching out to accounting prospects; gains include the ability to discover previously undocumented billable time, save time on billing reconciliation and improve personal productivity. Brett is also blogger and founder at CommodityBullMarket.com and ContraryInvesting.com, as well as a regular contributor to two leading financial media sites, SeekingAlpha.com and BeforeItsNews.com.
Alexander Vuchnich, CPA, CFE is Manager of Enterprise Accounting Markets.
Mr. Vuchnich leads weekly CPE seminars, demonstrating how accountants can add value to their practices.
Prior to joining Sageworks, Inc., Mr. Vuchnich was an audit manager with Batchelor, Tillery & Roberts, LLP, a professional services firm focusing on small business and not-for-profit clients. Mr. Vuchnich served clients in a range of industries including technology, manufacturing and service.
Mr. Vuchnich holds a Masters of Accountancy and BS in Accounting from North Carolina State University. Mr. Vuchnich is a Certified Public Accountant and Certified Fraud Examiner and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants and the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. Mr. Vuchnich served on the NCACPA\'s Young CPA Cabinet as chair of the Community Service Subcommittee.
Bob Scott has provided information to the tax and accounting community since 1991, first as technology editor of Accounting Today, and from 1997 through 2009 as editor of its sister publication, Accounting Technology. He is known throughout the industry for his depth of knowledge and for his high journalistic standards.
David Cieslak, principal with Arxis Technology, a computer consulting firm with offices in Southern California, Chicago and Phoenix, specializes in micro-computer accounting systems, information security, the Windows operating environment, systems development and project management. He is currently an instructor for K2 Enterprises and frequent speaker for the California Society of Certified Public Accountants (CalCPA), the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and other state accounting societies.
Mr. Cieslak currently chairs the Sage ACCPAC Business Partner Advisory Council. He is the past Chair of the AICPA IT Executive Committee and past president of the California CPA Education Foundation. He is past chairman of the CalCPA State Technology Committee, former member of the AICPA Information Technology Practices Sub-Committee and previously served on the Information Technology Alliance board of directors. He is a member of various other AICPA and CalCPA planning committees for courses, conferences and computer shows.
Jim is a Partner, Member of the Board of Directors and a Member of the Management Committee at WithumSmith+Brown, Red Bank, New Jersey and is Director of Firm Technology. In that capacity, he has the responsibility for overseeing all technology issues and operations for the Firm’s eleven offices and over five hundred employees. Jim gives direction and vision to a group of talented internal technology professions whose job it is to keep the Firm functional 24/7. His responsibilities consist of network design and implementation, Internet connectivity solutions, wireless network configuration, technology strategic planning, as well as overseeing the acquisition, implementation and training of new applications and technologies throughout the Firm. In addition, Jim is also responsible for the Firm’s annual technology budget. In September 2008 Jim was named by Accounting Today as one of the Top 100 Most Influential people in Accounting. Jim licensed as a CPA in New Jersey, New York and North Carolina.
Thomas Stephens, Jr. is a partner with K2 Enterprises. To date, he has lectured nationally on subjects such as internal controls for small businesses, practice management and marketing, computer hardware and software applications, tax strategies and compliance, and financial accounting standards and applications. Over the past thirteen years, Mr. Stephens has presented in excess of 950 educational programs to over 25,000 participants nationwide.
Mr. Stephens received a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree (Major in Accounting) from Auburn University in 1985. After earning his designation as a Certified Public Accountant, Mr. Stephens attended graduate school, earning a Masters of Science (Major in Finance) from Georgia State University in 1992. Additionally, Mr. Stephens is a volunteer with the local school system and is an active member of his church. He also maintains professional memberships with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants and is a past member of the Institute of Internal Auditors.
Will is currently a Shareholder of K2E, LLC. Will has conducted seminars for 47 State CPA Societies, and has spoken at numerous accounting technology conferences, including speaking at the AICPA Information Technology Conference for 21 years, as well as doing training for other organizations such as the FBI. Will is a past Chairman of the AICPA Information Technology Conference, as well as past chairman of other conferences and professional committees. Will is a co-author of the Practitioners Publishing Company\'s \"Guide to Installing Microcomputer Accounting Systems\" and has had numerous articles published in professional journals including the Journal of Accountancy, the CPA Journal, and others.
Edi Osborne, CEO of Mentor Plus, has been a leader in training and consulting to the accounting profession for nearly 20 years. Recently named as one of the TOP 25 Thought Leaders in Public Accounting, Ms. Osborne is dedicated to helping firms make the transition from a "service centric" traditional accounting focus to a "client centric" advisory services culture. For more info go to: http://www.mentorplus.com/.
Jennifer Wilson is a partner and co-founder of ConvergenceCoaching, LLC, a leadership and marketing consulting and coaching firm that specializes in helping CPA and IT firms achieve success. Learn more about the company and its services at www.convergencecoaching.com.
Dr. Bob Spencer has nearly 40 years experience in Strategic Technology Planning, Software Selection, Disaster Recovery and Contingency Planning, Process Engineering, Content Management, Information Technology Reviews and Audits, and Internet Security Audits. He is an internationally published author of more than a dozen books and hundreds of articles on business and technology optimization.
Tom C. Davis, CPA, CITP is a partner at Bowen, Phillips, Carmichael, Davis & Sims and President of Knowledge Concepts, Inc., the developers of FirmWorks.
Barry J. Friedman, CPA, chief executive officer, brings more than 35 years of experience in accounting and technology marketing to BizActions. Previously, he was the founder and CEO of GovCon, where he developed an online electronic commerce community that brought together thousands of IT contractors and hundreds of government entities. Prior to that he was the CEO of Friedman and Fuller, an accounting and business consulting firm that was sold to American Express. He earned a MBA in business administration from Loyola College.
Christopher A. Davis is an associate in the Tax & Wealth Management Department at Miles & Stockbridge P.C., a law firm with approximately 220 lawyers practicing in nine offices located within the mid-Atlantic region. Mr. Davis advises businesses and individuals in a wide range of tax areas including corporate tax, partnership tax, and international tax. Davis is a Magna Cum Laude graduate of Bucknell University and the University of Baltimore School of Law.
Donny C. Shimamoto, CPA.CITP, is the founder and managing director of IntrapriseTechKnowlogies LLC, a Hawaii-based consulting company dedicated to helping small businesses and middle market organizations leverage strategic technologies, proactively manage their business and technical risks, and enable balanced organizational growth and development. Donny also works with larger organizations as a trusted business advisor, facilitating organizational strategic planning and execution, IT governance and planning, enterprise architecture, information architecture and assurance, business process improvement, and business intelligence initiatives.
Raissa Evans is the Senior Manager and Jen Lemanski is the Senior Specialist in the Practice Growth Department of Pannell Kerr Forster of Texas, P.C. You can reach them at (713) 860-1400 or find them on Twitter @raissaevans and @jenlemanski.
Richard Oppenheim blends business experience, technology skills, and writing competence with a passion to help others succeed. Richard’s CPA career evolved from auditor to an early innovator, developing computer applications for the CPA firm and clients. As a consultant, he marketed and sold computer based education programs. He co-founded a company creating on-line continuing education courses for a range of AICPA guidelines including the areas of security, management and control over IT operations.
Ken Garen, CPA, is the Co-founder and President of Universal Business Computing Company, (www.ubcc.com), a software development firm of high-volume, high-productivity accounting and payroll technology. Contact Ken at ubcc@ubcc.com or call Ken at 800-762-8222.
John D. Anderson, CPA.CITP, CIA, MCP, MSA; is the Information Technology Services Group Manager at Weidmayer, Schneider, Raham & Bennet, a large, local CPA firm in Ann Arbor, MI. He joined the firm after completing a Masters Degree in Accounting from Eastern Michigan University. He speaks at national computer user meetings and is very well respected for his activity on ARNE [the Accountants Resource Network], an Internet bulletin board system sponsored by Thomson Reuters.
Brian Tankersley is a consultant based in Knoxville, Tennessee. Brian is a frequent speaker at continuing education courses on auditing and technology for K2 Enterprises, and is a senior faculty member with Becker Professional Review. Brian writes and publishes a nationally recognized blog on accounting and technology (www.cpatechblog.com) and frequently posts articles to the K2 blog on AccountingWeb.com.
Val is the CEO of K2 Enterprises which is a national technology training and consulting organization. He has eleven years experience in public practice and has been involved with information systems and the technology industry for over twenty five years.
Matt Altman CISA, CGEIT, serves as a technical consultant for accountants through Altman Consulting and Technology, Inc., and is an IS Auditor for the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation. He recently published \"Bad Daddy!\" Ways Toddlers Corrupt their Dad, a humor book with ideas for dads to use when moms aren\'t looking.
Kathy Yakal has been writing about personal and business technology since 1983, as an editor and writer at COMPUTE! Publications. She writes frequently for The Progressive Accountant on technology topics.
As the partner-in-charge of its technology division, One Tech, Brent provides expert technology services to Fordham Goodfellow clients in Hillsboro, OR. As a Certified Public Accountant and a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer, Brent enjoys demonstrating to clients how investments in technology can improve overall business results. Brent started his career in accounting as a professor at Portland Community College and as a president of his own accounting and consulting firm.
Gene Marks, a columnist, author, and business owner, writes monthly online management and technology columns for Forbes and Business Week and a bi-weekly column that appears nationally in American City Business Journals. His books include Gene\'s books include the #1 Amazon Small Business Best Seller The Streetwise Small Business Book of Lists (Adams Media), The Small Business Desk Reference (Alpha Books, 2004), Outfoxing The Small Business Owner - Crafty Techniques for Creating a Profitable Relationship (Adams Media, 2005) and The Complete Idiot\'s Guide To Successful Outsourcing (Alpha Books, 2005).
He owns and operates the Marks Group PC, a ten-person firm that provides technology and consulting services to small and medium-sized businesses. Before starting the Marks Group, Marks spent nine years in the entrepreneurial services arm of the international consulting firm KPMG in Philadelphia where he was a senior manager.
Jack LaRue, senior vice preisdent myPay Solutions, joined Thomson Reuters in 1993. Prior to his current role as general manager of myPay Solutions,, Jack held positions as Senior Vice President, CS Professional Suite and Vice President of Marketing for the Tax & Accounting business of Thomson Reuters. Jack has more than 25 years of marketing and sales experience. Prior to joining the Thomson Reuters team, Jack headed the business-to-business marketing efforts of Florists\' Transworld Delivery
Geni Whitehouse, CPA.CITP, CSPM is the Founder of Even a Nerd Can Be Heard, an organization focused on communication skills for smart people. With past roles ranging from partner in a CPA firm to leader of the technology practice in a firm, she has a wide range of experiences to share. She is the author of How to Make a Boring Subject Interesting : 52 ways even a nerd can be heard.
Edi Osborne, CEO of Mentor Plus, has been a leader in training and consulting to the accounting profession since 1997. Mentor Plus is dedicated to helping firms make the transition from a "service centric" traditional accounting focus to a "client centric" advisory services culture. for more info go to: www.mentorplus.com
Hugh Duffy is co-founder and chief marketing officer for Build Your Firm, a leading practice development firm dedicated to the accounting industry. Build Your Firm works with small accounting firms providing accounting marketing, practice management and Web site development services. He writes regularly for The Progressive Accountant on related topics.
Scott H. Cytron, ABC, is a frequent contributor to industry publications covering professional services’ industries, including accounting, healthcare, financial planning, collections and debt, and high-tech. He works with many CPA firms and organizations to increase their recruitment and retention efforts through public relations, communications and marketing strategies. Contact him at scott@cytronandcompany.com and read his blog at www.absolutecytron.com.
John Higgins, CPA.CITP, is a strategic advisor with Rochester, Mich.-based CPA Crossings, LLC. John and his firm specialize in helping accounting, tax and financial professionals leverage technology to be more productive and profitable. CPA Crossings (www.cpacrossings.com) has extensive experience in helping firms make the transition to a “digital” (paperless) practice model. He contributes regularly to The Progressive Accountant on related topics.
Barry MacQuarrie, CPA.CITP, is the director of Technology Solutions for KAF Financial Group (www.kafgroup.com) in Braintree, Mass. As the CPA Firm Workflow Expert for The Progressive Accountant, he often writes about the technologies used by CPA firms, including paperless office solutions, workflow applications, security applications and document management software.
Kurt Martin is a Founder and Group Publisher of Progressive Media Group (PMG) and the Publisher of The Progressive Accountant. During his tenure as Publisher of The NonProfit Times, he grew the imprint from a single newspaper to a community of websites, online job boards, email newsletters and digital editions of the print editions. Prior to taking the role of Publisher he was the East Coast Sales Manager for Broad Daylight, Inc. a knowledgebase company. He also held management roles in advertising and ciruculation sales at American Banker/Bond Buyer (Thomson), Faulkner & Gray (Thomson) and SourceMedia's Accountants Media Group (Investcorp.) Kurt graduated from Montclair State University with a B.A. in Political Science and Public Administration.
Geni Whitehouse, CPA.CITP, CSPM is the Founder of Even a Nerd Can Be Heard, an organization focused on communication skills for smart people. With past roles ranging from partner in a CPA firm to leader of the technology practice in a firm, she has a wide range of experiences to share. She is the author of How to Make a Boring Subject Interesting : 52 ways even a nerd can be heard.
Chad Brubaker is the President and CEO of E.Mochila, a leading website provider for accountants.He earned his B.S. in Business Administration and Computer Science at University of California, Berkeley.He resides in San Francisco, where he and his colleagues are constantly exposed to the most cutting-edge internet and website issues.
Chris Fraser CPA.CITP, CISA, MBA, MCP is a Business Technology Consultant. Chris has spent his entire professional career addressing business information technology needs and developing solutions for those needs. He specializes in risk management, design, implementation, integration and support of IT systems, business technology review and IT assurance services. His experience includes working for Arthur Andersen and IBM Corporation. Chris is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) licensed by the State of Florida, Certified Information Technology Professional (CITP), a Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), a Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) with a specialization in Small Business Server, as well as the first Microsoft Small Business Specialist in Tampa Bay, FL.
Julie S. Lepper, EA, MBA is the Principal of Julie S. Lepper, Accounting & Tax Service, LLC, a small local accounting firm in Pinckney, MI. She earned her Master's of Business from Eastern Michigan University and her Bachelor's of Accountancy from Walsh College in Michigan. Julie has over 16 years in consulting with client not only accounting and tax issues , but also on software and sales engagements. She specializes in focusing on start-up businesses and small to medium client needs.
Wayne Schulz is the founder of Schulz Consulting. He began his career working for two professional service organizations and managing their consulting divisions. He has been active not only with the implementation of Sage MAS 90 and MAS 200 accounting software but often is engaged to help clients design or evaluate their current accounting procedures.
The philosophy of Schulz Consulting has been built around one of being a consulting firm first and a sales company last. This is evidenced by Wayne’s unwavering claim that he is the world’s worst salesman but perhaps one of the top at providing client service to his loyal base of clients (many of who have been with him since 1986).
David P. McClure is a technologist and business consultant whose career has included eight years with the NASA Space Shuttle Program and assignments in marketing, environmental services, software publishing and broadband.
Adrianne Machina is the Chief Velocity Officer of Tornado Marketing, a partner in The Art of Online Marketing, and an Authorized Duct Tape Marketing Coach. Adrianne has spent more than 15 years helping small businesses find their niche and systematically grow their businesses through effective marketing programs and persuasive messaging.
Eric Pulaski, CEO and Founder of SmartVault Corporation With over 20 years of experience in network security systems and a focus on cloud computing, Eric founded SmartVault Corporation in November of 2007, and currently serves as the company\'s Chief Executive Officer. Eric has made it his personal mission to deliver a simple, low-cost, paperless SaaS solution to small businesses and accounting firms. Reach Eric at eric@smartvault.com.
Ed Jennings leads the Copanion team as President and CEO. Ed has progressively emerged as a voice in the tax and accounting industry, specifically in the areas of tax document automation, scanning, and the paperless tax workflow. He has been featured as a content expert in several accounting trade publications and USA Today. He has been named a 40 Under 40 award winner and played an integral role in Copanion’s back-to-back Technology Innovation Award wins in 2008 and 2009. He is also a featured speaker at events hosted by the AICPA.
Joining Nitro in 2009, Nick Chandler oversees corporate communications and community, and is responsible for public relations, social media, and associated outreach activities. Prior to his appointment at Nitro, Chandler was based in Cambodia, heading up marketing and public relations for the Australian-founded Brocon Group, a leading South East Asian developer of high-end real estate projects, including Song Saa Private Island. He was also Key Relationships Manager at Andrews Corporation, a Melbourne-based project marketing and sales agency.
Steve Osborne, who has an Electronic Engineering from Cal Poly, worked with the construction clients of an accounting firm in Monterey and later become executive administrator of that three-office firm and spent 10 years in that position. During this period, he received an MBA in human resource management and developed a deep understanding of the inner workings of an accounting firm, its technology, client service issues, culture, and human capital management concerns.
In 1999, Osborne and his wife Edi Osborne launched Mentor Plus and the first Consulting Accountants’ RoundTable in 1997. From the start, the two collaborated on the development of curriculum for their workshops.
Besides his practical experience working with, Osborne has a special understanding of the dynamics of team building, conflict resolution, and people development. His education and certifications in the field of Behavioral Assessments provides a balanced perspective for the people side of any business. In addition to consulting directly with individuals and companies, he works with participants of the Consulting Accountants’ RoundTable and their teams. Presently, he is extensively involved in consulting on the Trimetrix Hiring and Coaching System.
Dan Kraus is the president of Leading Results and a certified Duct Tape Marketing coach. He\'s a fanatic about creating marketing strategies and tactics that work. He\'s worked in sales and marketing for over 20 years and has a true appreciation for the impact that effective marketing brings to his clients. Dan has a degree in Marketing from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and his CV includes companies like SAP, Alliaire, Great Plains Software and ADP to name a few. He can be reached on twitter @LeadingResults
A pioneer in the ASP market, Gary Feldman formed I-Business Network in 1999 as an outsourced application hosting service focusing on mid-market ERP systems. He achieved the first ASP agreement with Sage Software (State of the Art), Advanced Software Development Company and SAP Americas (for SAP Business One). Feldman also helped I-BN to innovate ERP deployment through the use of pre-configured databases with rapid deployment and subscription/fixed fee pricing.
I-BN was one of the first ASPs in this space to provide virtualized services and cloud computing to the mid-marketl. It is currently developing tools and techniques for automation of both technical and ERP provisioning for SAP Business One and Sage MAS EES to reduce total cost of ownership through application hosting.
Feldman was formerly an executive with Accenture and was a CIO for a mid-market company. He began his career as a CPA specializing in audit and accounting information systems with BDO Seidman and founded a consulting practice with a regional CPA firm.
Dustin Lubertazzi is a senior consultant for Sageworks, a provider of private industry data, financial analysis, and risk management software for accounting firms and financial institutions. Lubertazzi has worked with hundreds of CPA firms and banks to implement Sageworks' solutions for standardizing and documenting regulatory requirements, and adding value to client relationships. Prior to Sageworks, Lubertazzi gained professional experience in consultative roles for Takeda Pharmaceuticals and Morgan Stanley. His degree is from the University of Virginia.
Kimberly Hogan is Business Development manager for ScanSnap Sales at Fujitsu. Follow her on Twitter @ScanSnapKim or see her in person at any one of a number of accounting trade show. Contact Kim at 949-551-5601 or khogan@us.fujitsu.com.
Ed Jennings leads the Copanion team as President and CEO. He has progressively emerged as a voice in the tax and accounting industry, specifically in tax document automation, scanning, and the paperless tax workflow. Ed has been featured as a content expert in The CPA Practice Advisor, Accounting Today and USA Today. Contact Ed at 978.296.9503 or ejennings@copanion.com.
Michael Alter, President of SurePayroll, is responsible for the overall business model development, strategic planning, and day-to-day operations for SurePayroll. He joined SurePayroll in 2000 after five and a half years with McKinsey and Company, where he was a founder and leader in the Service Operations Practice. Prior to receiving his MBA from the Harvard Business School, Michael worked in various sales positions at IBM. He holds a bachelor\'s degree in economics from Northwestern. Michael serves on the Illinois Technology Association board of directors and maintains active memberships in the Young President\'s Organization, Executive\'s Club of Chicago, The Economic Club of Chicago, The Independent Payroll Providers Association and the American Payroll Association. Michael is a nationally-recognized spokesman on small business issues. He is a columnist for INC.com and appears regularly in publications across the country, including Bloomberg TV, the Wall Street Journal and Entrepreneur Magazine.
Andy Nguyen is a Client Development Manager (CDM) at Xcentric, which specializes in Cloud Computing and IT consulting for CPA firms. As CDM, Andy works strategically with firms to help position their technology for the future. Andy can be reached at 678.297.0066 ext 523 or at info@xcentric.com. For more about Xcentric, go to www.xcentric.com or follow them at www.xcentric.com/blog and www.twitter.com/xcentric.
Mario Nowogrodzki, CPA/CITP, is the founder and principal of Mendelson Consulting. The combination of his accounting background with the expert knowledge of QuickBooks financial software gives clients an unparalleled edge. He is a licensed CPA in the State of Florida and was recognized with the Certified Information Technology Professional (CITP) designation by the AICPA and earned a Master of Accounting Information Systems and Bachelor of Accounting degrees from Florida International University. Nowogrodzki, Mario is an Advanced Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor and Certified QuickBooks Enterprise and Point of Sale ProAdvisor. He is a member of the Intuit Accountants Speakers Bureau and currently serves on the Intuit Solution Provider Advisory Council. Nowogrodzki has ten years of QuickBooks consulting experience. Having also served as an adjunct professor (on QuickBooks) at Broward Community College and other continuing education programs, he is a frequent author and instructor of QuickBooks and technology topics, and is a contributing author and speaker for Intuit/QuickBooks and The Sleeter Group (a community of QuickBooks consulting experts).
Gary Adamson is the President of Adamson Advisory, specializing in practice management consulting for CPA firms. He is an Indiana University graduate and has extensive hands-on experience as the recent managing partner of a top 200 CPA firm. He can be reached at (765)488.0691 or gadamson@adamsonadvisory.com. For more about Adamson Advisory, visit www.adamsonadvisory.com or follow the company at www.adamsonadvisory.com/blog and www.twitter.com/adamsonadvisory.
Jim Buttonow, CPA, is cofounder and vice president of product development of New River Innovation. He serves as chief architect of Beyond415 (Beyond415.com), a web-based application that enables tax professionals to manage their clients' post-filing compliance. Buttonow is a 19-year veteran of the Internal Revenue Service with expertise in IRS practice and procedure. While with the IRS, he led multifunctional teams stationed across the United States in the areas of examination, collection, filing and appeals. Entries from his popular blog, IRSMind, which provides practical solutions to IRS matters, have appeared in the Wall Street Journal. Contact him atjbuttonow@NewRiverInnovation.com.
Tamera Loerzel is a partner at ConvergenceCoaching, LLC, a leadership and marketing coaching consulting and training firm that specializes in helping leaders achieve success.Learn more about the company and its services at www.convergencecoaching.com.
Hillel Sackstein is President and CEO of Virtual Graffiti, an IT solutions provider that specializes in business, government and education. Recognized as one of the fastest-growing IT solution providers in the nation by Inc. Magazine, CRN and the VAR500, Virtual Graffiti has more than 55,000 customers worldwide and has sustained an annual growth rate of 30 percent over the past ten years. The company's product teams help customers make smart IT buying decisions while lowering IT budget costs and improving efficiency. For more information, please visit www.virtualgraffiti.com.
sales and marketing coach with small technology companies selling Great Plains Software, or as a consultant developing fundraising strategies with foundations and organizations, Laura has been in the trenches working as a team member, hand in hand, to develop and implement strategies that drive results. She brings her expertise to the forefront in the development and execution of: • Marketing planning - pragmatic and practical strategies that are affordable and able to be implemented with the resources available. • Strategic thinking - cross industry experience that allows for introduction of effective programs and strategies to new markets • Fundraising - organizational establishment, grant oriented funding as well as grass-roots funding and support. • Sales 2.0 - The integration of the sales and marketing processes in logical and meaningful ways • Marketing tactics - dynamic interpersonal skills that drive accountable results. Laura\'s affiliation with long time colleague, Dan Kraus and the Duct Tape Marketing system gives her a platform to effectively leverage her passions and expertise. Most business begin and end using marketing tactics void of a planned strategy. Laura\'s client engagements clearly demonstrate her ability put strategy before tactics in order to drive effective results. In example, she has: • Collaboratively built marketing and business kickoff plan for a technology start up that allowed for consistent year-over-year growth for 5+ years • Created focus in helping a client refine their overall business strategy to focus on their profitable core competencies • Coached a client\'s executives to focus on their core business competencies, enabling them to clearly see improved process and results through delegation to current and new staff
Joanie Mann is a recognized authority in the areas of ISV cloud enablement and ASP service delivery. Her extensive work with accounting professionals worldwide has positioned her as an expert consultant and adviser to practitioners looking to leverage cloud accounting solutions, web-based applications and Internet technologies in their firms and with their clients.
John Hedtke is the award-winning author of 26 books. He has more than 30 years in the software business and technical writing, and seven years in technical publications management. John has developed and written documentation and books for many leading software products, and has received 26 writing awards to date. (A complete list of books, articles and projects can be found online at his web site, www.hedtke.com.) John owns a company that offers writing, business, and disaster preparedness consulting services for private, public, and governmental clients. He became a Fellow of the Society for Technical Communication in 2003. When not otherwise occupied, John writes magazine articles and sleeps late as much as possible.
Bill Kizer works as a consultant for a number of different VARs and Solution Providers. He also created more than 7,500-member LinkedIn Group, Sage Partners, Employees & Alumni LinkedIn. He serves a consultant for the Gerson Lehrman Council in the software industry and has been consulting for them since 2005.
He worked at Blytheco, the largest reseller of Sage 100 in North America, and was later sales manager for Barsa Technologies in San Diego. Before joining Blytheco, he was sales manager for Kerry Candles, the world's largest manufacturer of artificial candles for churches.
Randy Werner J.D., LL.M./Tax, CPA is a loss prevention specialist with CAMICO (www.camico.com). She responds to CAMICO loss prevention hotline inquiries and speaks to CPA groups on various topics. Werner has Big Four public accounting experience in federal and state tax as well as regional accounting firm experience. She has practiced as a sole practitioner in estate planning since 1984.
Werner has been a member of the California State Bar since 1983 and is a member of the Taxation section as well as the Taxation Section's Procedure and Litigation Committee. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Commerce, majoring in finance with an emphasis in marketing, from the Santa Clara University School of Business. She also earned a Juris Doctor from the Santa Clara University School of Law in 1983, a Master of Laws in Taxation from Golden Gate University, and a Master of Science in Accounting from San Jose State University.
Robert Prusa is a Client Services Manager at Xcentric, where he oversees client service and project management. Prior to joining Xcentric, He served in management roles at Follett Higher Education Group and Great American Days, where he incorporated technology to simplify customer management and broaden marketing reach and scope. Prusa graduated from the University of Georgia and currently lives in Georgia with his wife and two daughters.
Randy Johnston is a nationally recognized educator, consultant, and writer with more than 30 years experience in Strategic Technology Planning, Accounting Software Selection, Paperless, Systems and Network Integration, Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Planning, Business Development and Management, Process Engineering and outsourced managed services.
Dustin Hostetler, founder of Flowtivity, is also and the practice leader and lead consultant for Lean4CPAs. As a Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt with extensive experience working inside a large regional CPA firm, he has taken proven Lean techniques from the manufacturing floor and tailored them to bring ground-breaking value to public accounting firms. His innovation and passion has brought true efficiency to accounting — helping accounting firms unleash the potential of their professionals. Hostetler is also a member of the CPA Consultants’ Alliance. The CPA Consultants’ Alliance is a working group of thought leaders united in their efforts to further leadership within the CPA profession.
Michelle has a unique background in that she has worn all the hats in an organization; sales, marketing, service, support and operations at all levels. However, her favorite hat always been marketing and sales.
A business consultant for more than 15 years, she has helped scores of small companies grow their business. Also a trainer, Michelle has taught thousands of people to use technology effectively. One of her specialties is implementing processes that create repeatable, definable, systems so businesses‹small, medium, or large‹can expand by working smarter rather than harder.
Michelle understands the challenges that companies face trying to ensure that sales and marketing become a cohesive unit. By using the Duct Tape Marketing System, marketing processes can be implemented to support the sales team to make sure that prospects move through the Like, Trust, and Try stages before they engage in Buying. Moving prospects consistently through the process makes selling much easier which leads to increased revenue and profitability.
Michelle¹s specialties are in coaching, training and speaking. Michelle has been a speaker at customer and partner conferences including SugarCon 2012. She speaks to associations and does partner webinars on a regular basis. She has been a Marketing Evangelist with Leading Results since August of 2012.
Chuck Hayes is president of ABA Advisors, LLC, a nationwide consulting and brokerage firm specializing in working with accountants. Since 1999, Hayes has helped hundreds of CPAs, EAs and other accounting and tax professionals with the sale, acquisition, merger or financing of their firms. ABA Advisors is located in Indianapolis, Ind. He currently represents practice owners, buyers and those seeking financing all over the United States. He can be reached at (317) 546-7720 or email at ch@acctsales.com. The firm website is www.acctsales.com.
Ann Lootens been in the media and public relations industries for more than twenty-five years, working in broadcast for CBS, independent stations, and WGBH in Boston. Her roles have ranged from programming to public affairs and advertising. She has a love for the classroom and taught public relations as an adjunct professor at Boston College for 15 years. Lootens has the knowledge of the inner workings of the press and the best ways to pitch a story so it is win-win for all involved. A self-proclaimed “Media Geek”, Lootens has also taught digital non-linear editing and can help with video production and editing needs a client may have.
The Progressive Accountant also occasionally features contributions from these fine authors
With more than eight years of public accounting experience, Jeremy Gooding works in the areas of creation and review of financial statements, income tax compliance, and consulting services. His experience extends to serve a variety of client types, including estates, trusts, individuals, privately held companies, family-owned businesses (including family limited partnerships), consolidated corporations, and multi-state corporations and partnerships. Jeremy is also an expert specializing in retail, manufacturing, and auto dealerships, and he provides client services in the areas of hospitality and professional services. Jeremy holds the CPA designation and is with Eide Bailly, LLP in Boise, Idaho, office. He can be reached at JGooding@eidebailly.com.
Steven Ladd is co-founder of Copanion -- a leading innovator in tax document automation. Copanion’s GruntWorx products help tax professionals save up to one hour per return by automatically identifying, organizing and extracting information from scanned tax documents. Prior to founding Copanion, Ladd was chairman of Systematic Accounting. Earlier in his career, he founded InterChip Systems, Inc. -- an electronics product development company that was subsequently purchased by Honeywell. He has also acted as a consultant to technology businesses and has managed sales, manufacturing, and design operations at venture-backed and Fortune-500 sponsored start-ups.
Brian Hamilton is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Sageworks, where he manages overall strategy and product development. He is an original co-developer of “FIND” (Financial Information into Narrative Data), the company's core artificial intelligence technology which converts financial numbers into plain-language reports. “FIND” is the basis of profitCents® and Sageworks Analyst®, applications that are used today by thousands of financial institutions and accounting firms throughout North America and the United Kingdom.
Barry is CEO of BizActions, which he co-founded in September 2000. Previously, he was co-founder and CEO of GovCon from 1993-1999 where he developed an online electronic commerce community that brought together thousands of IT contractors and hundreds of government entities. He was also the CEO of Friedman and Fuller, an accounting and business consulting firm that was sold to American Express in 1996. He stayed with American Express as a Regional Director until 1999. Barry holds an MBA in business administration from Loyola College and taught Financial management in their Executive MBA program. He has been a CPA since 1961.
Brett Owens is CEO and Co-Founder of Chrometa, a Sacramento, Calif.-based provider of software that records activity in real time. Previously marketed to the legal community, Chrometa is branching out to accounting prospects; gains include the ability to discover previously undocumented billable time, save time on billing reconciliation and improve personal productivity. Brett is also blogger and founder at CommodityBullMarket.com and ContraryInvesting.com, as well as a regular contributor to two leading financial media sites, SeekingAlpha.com and BeforeItsNews.com.
