Kent State Hosts 42nd Annual Meonske Accounting Conference

KENT, Ohio - April 11, 2016 - PRLog -- The Ohio Council of the Institute of Management Accountants will host its 42nd Annual Meonske Accounting Professional Development Conference and Workshop on April 28 and 29 at Kent State University.

"This conference is recognized as one of the top five accounting conferences in the country," said Norman Meonske, Ph.D., professor emeritus at Kent State, national online instructor for the Becker CPA Review Course and conference namesake. "We are going to have two days packed with high-quality practical training for members of the accounting and financial community. We encourage registrants to take advantage of the early and group discounts since an annual sellout is expected."

The chairman for the 2016 conference is Nicholas Sucic, vice president and controller for the Davey Tree Expert Company in Kent, Ohio.

Friday's financial reporting panel features Dennis R. Beresford, executive in residence of the J.M. Tull School of Accounting at the University of Georgia and former chairman of the Financial Accounting Standards Board; Wayne E. Carnall, partner of National Professional Services Group at PricewaterhouseCoopers; Brian Croteau, deputy chief accountant of the Professional Practice Group of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Office of the Chief Accountant; James L. Kroeker, vice chairman of the Financial Accounting Standards Board; and Alison T. Spivey, partner of Professional Practice - National Accounting at EY.

Also on Friday, the keynote luncheon address"Innovation: One Hit Wonder or Competitive Differentiator" will be presented by Jeffrey C. Thomson, certified management accountant, president and chief executive officer of the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA).


Friday afternoon sessions include "Revised ERM Framework - It's Here" by Robert B. Hirth, Jr., chair of the Committee of Sponsoring Organization of the Treadway Commission and senior managing director of Proviti, and Frank Martens, director of risk assurance at PricewaterhouseCoopers;  "The Cyber Financial Threat: Law Enforcement Perspective" by Bryan P. Smith, supervisory special agent at the Federal Bureau of Investigation; "Sustainability Accounting for Investors" by Robert H. Herz, sustainability accounting standards board member and executive in residence of the Columbia School of Business and former chairman of the Financial Accounting Standards Board.

Thursday morning preconference workshops include "Lessons Learned - 2 Years Out - COSO 2013 and Sarbox 404?" by James W. DeLoach, managing director of Protiviti and Robert B. Hirth Jr., chair of the Committee of Sponsoring Organization of the Treadway Commission and senior managing director of Proviti and "Fraud and the Pressure of Rationalization" by Timothy F. Gearty, partner of Gearty & McIntyre, LLP and national director and editor-in-chief of Becker Professional Review.

The Thursday keynote luncheon address, "Is a Career Renaissance in Your Future? Life Lessons on Career Development from a Recovering CPA," will be presented by George Boyadjis, corporate services director of Cresa Minneapolis.

Two concurrent Thursday afternoon tracks will be offered.  Track One includes "Mobility | Digital Disruption: Best Practices for Executive Productivity,"presented by Donald R. Tomoff, founder of Invenio Advisors LLC., and "Creating Sustainable Improvements in the Financial Close," presented by Gabe Zubizarreta, founding principal of Silicon Valley Accountants.  Track Two includes "Ohio Professional Standards and Ethics,"presented by Dr. Norman Meonske, professor emeritus at Kent State University and national online instructor of Becker CPA Review Course.

Attendees for both days will earn 16 hours of Continuing Professional Education (CPE), plus Friday attendees will have an opportunity to win an iPad.

For more information or to register, contact the Kent State University Conference Bureau at 330-672-3161 or go to www.ohioimanet.org (http://www.ohioima.org/).

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Media Contacts:

Norman Meonske, nmeonske@kent.edu, 330-554-7211

Emily Vincent, evincen2@kent.edu, 330-672-8595