Ohio IMA Kent State Pre-Conference Workshop 2004 Speakers

Speakers

	Dr. Norman R. Meonske is Professor of Accounting, Kent State University. Dr. Meonske has conducted many continuing professional education presentations for state CPA societies, corporations, CPA firms, IMA meetings, and other professional organizations. He is the 2004 recipient of the prestigious R. Lee Brummert Award (IMA national professor of the year) and the Ohio Council IMA’s distinguished service award. His public accounting experience was with Arthur Andersen & Co. He is an online instructor for the Becker CPA review courses.

	Robert Biskup is a Director of Forensic & Dispute Services in Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP. Prior to joining Deloitte, Mr. Biskup was an assistant general counsel, assistant secretary, and the chief compliance officer at Ford Motor Company where he had global responsibility for the company’s compliance programs. He has extensive experience in developing, enhancing, and assessing corporate compliance and anti-fraud and anti-corruption programs, overseeing major corporate investigations, and managing regulatory inquiries and enforcement proceedings involving federal and state regulators and other branches of government.

	Kimberly Burke is a manager in the Forensic & Dispute Services practice of Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP. She has provided litigation consulting and forensic investigation services to clients in numerous industries. Kimberly has experience calculating lost earnings in wage loss claims and quantifying damages in product liability matters, intellectual property disputes, failed merger and acquisition transactions and shareholder disputes. She is a Certified Fraud Examiner and her experience also includes work in forensic accounting matters, corporate investigations and fraud examinations.

	Gregory A. O’Hara is a Managing Director and the business valuation practice leader in the Valuation & Financial Opinions Group at Stout Risius Ross, Inc. He has extensive experience in the field of valuation and mergers & acquisition. His asset and business valuation experience encompasses a broad range of industries. Mr. O’Hara has valued equity, debt, and derivative securities (stock options and warrants), as well as intangible assets, for a variety of purposes including: financial reporting (SFAS 141R, 142, 123R); purchase and sale advisement;

	Jay B. Wachowicz is a Managing Director in the Valuation & Financial Opinions Group at Stout Risius Ross, Inc. Mr. Wachowicz has extensive experience domestically and internationally in several financial advisory fields including valuation, litigation advisory, mergers and acquisitions, and financial reorganizations and restructurings. He has provided valuation and consulting services for numerous purposes including bankruptcy proceedings, intangible asset valuation, purchase and sale advisement, purchase price allocation (SFAS 141R), goodwill impairment testing (SFAS 142), stock options and warrants, fairness and solvency opinions, valuation discounts and other tax, corporate, and litigation related matters. Mr. Wachowicz has also testified in litigation related matters.

	Aaron Beam Jr., was Chief Financial Officer of HealthSouth from 1984 – 1997. Beginning in 1996, he was involved in the corporation’s fraudulent accounting practices. Mr. Beam’s story reads like the "Great American Success Story"…:start a company from zero, raise some venture capital, take the company public in two years, become a millionaire overnight and see the company become the darling of Wall Street. But this success story didn't end there. Instead, Beam found himself in the middle of a corporate scandal, lost almost everything and ended up in prison. That's not the way success stories are supposed to end, but for Beam, that was the harsh reality. As revenues grew to more than $3.5 billion, Beam enjoyed the many rewards that corporate success can bring - until 1996, when the company's earnings fell just slightly short of its goal. That's when, according to Beam,

	Evan Scocos is Controller for the North American Tire Division for the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company. He is responsible for the oversight of accounting and reporting functions, SOX compliance, segment financial results, and the coordination of external audit. Previously, he was responsible for GAAP compliance policies and accounting support for Goodyear’s debt financing activities. Prior to that, he was Sr. Manager

	Florian Kete is the Vice-President of Human Resources for Excel Polymers, LLC. He is responsible for attending to the Human Capital issues of the company, thereby ensuring that the company has the right people in the right positions necessary to execute its strategy. Prior to joining Excel, Mr. Kete was the Vice-President of Human Resources and Administration for FedEx Supply Chain Services. Before his tenure with FedEx, he was Director Human Resources at Invacare Corporation. Mr. Kete has a Bachelors Degree from Cleveland State University, and a Masters Degree in Business Administration from Case Western Reserve University. He also serves on the Board of Directors for Brittany Corporation in Cleveland.

	Lisa Morgan is the Branch Manager for Robert Half International. Morgan has worked for Robert Half in both the Akron and Canton markets, holding management positions in each. She joined Robert Half in 2000, and quickly proved herself an expert at finding highly-skilled employees for great companies in Akron and Canton. Ms. Morgan is a frequent public speaker on hiring trends, author of numerous industry articles and has been quoted as an expert source in media throughout the Akron/Canton area.

	Jeffrey L. Bissell is a senior financial professional who is Corporate Controller and a CPA. He has industry expertise in high-tech manufacturing, tax planning and compliance, commercial and financial services, and retail. Mr. Bissell’s background includes 13 years with E&Y’s audit division and three years in the firm’s National Office developing audit and IT training. Jeff is a graduate of Miami University of Ohio, a Hudson Job Search volunteer counselor, and an award-winning Toastmaster.