Virginia Accounting & Auditing Conference Sep 2019 Falls Church

Joseph Thornton , CPA/ABV, CFF, PFS, CFP®, CVA, has over 30 years of experience in business valuation, public accounting, banking and financial consulting services. He is a former founder, director and commercial loan officer for Regency Bank in Richmond, and has many years of experience in all aspects of public accounting. Joseph is responsible for the business valuation and litigation support services for Mitchell, Wiggins & Company LLP. As a valuation specialist, he has prepared valuation reports for a wide range of purposes including: business planning, business purchases and sales, gift and estate tax returns, planning for gifts, estates and trusts, and other valuation consulting services. He has been accepted as a qualified expert witness in various courts within Virginia in the area of business valuations and accounting, and he also provides other litigation support services for attorneys in valuation, divorce, income for support purposes, tax consequences and economic damage issues. He has published numerous articles on the subject of business valuations and has made presentations to various groups and college classes on valuation and litigation topics. Joseph has also been recognized as one of Virginia’s “Super CPAs” in the Business Valuation/Litigation category by the Virginia Business magazine and the Virginia Society of CPAs every year since its inception in 2001, and was profiled as the Business Valuation “Super CPA” in the November 2011 issue. Matt Towers is a product marketing manager and is responsible for managing the CPA.com assurance product line. Matt has nearly 20 years of experience working in the tax and accounting technology industry with a specific focus in A&A technology and process. Having worked with thousands of accounting firms over the years to help them understand how to interweave relevant technology and business process, Matt has a keen understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing the profession today. Matt has been a featured speaker at thought leadership events and author of A&A focused articles over the past several years. Garrett Wagner, CPA/CITP. He is the Entrepreneurial CPA, an industry thought leader and on a mission to fuel the entrepreneurial spirit and passion within the industry. With his ability to break free from the traditional CPA box, Garrett has embraced the entrepreneurial mindset and is on a mission to help others embrace the skills and knowledge needed to succeed. Garrett focuses on monitoring the evolving technologies and best practices in the industry to achieve the highest degree of success without being afraid to break free from traditional methods. Garrett’s background includes working inside successful CPA firms, speaking at conferences and events, and consulting for CPA firms across the country helping them to ignite lasting change by understanding the unique needs of each firm organization. Garrett believes that the public accounting landscape is undergoing a tremendous change and that by focusing on developing the next generation of leaders through education and leveraging technology any sized firm can be successful. Emily P. Walker , CAE, is the vice president of advocacy for the Virginia Society of CPAs (VSCPA). She oversees and provides strategic direction for VSCPA government relations programs, including VSCPA legislative and regulatory activities, grassroots initiatives and the VSCPA Political Action Committee (VSCPA PAC). She also oversees the peer review and ethics programs. Follow her on Twitter @VSCPAEmWalker. Bill Walter , CPA, is a partner at Dixon Hughes Goodman. He has more than 25 years of experience helping companies identify and resolve issues associated with cost accounting and financial management systems. He has an extensive background in the application and interpretation of rules, regulations and standards applicable to government contractors. Bill began his career as an auditor for the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA). He was responsible for evaluating contractor submissions to ensure that they were based on current, accurate and complete information and were prepared according to appropriate regulations. He has developed and taught courses on cost reimbursement contracting, accounting for cost on government contracts, contract pricing and more. He also participates presents to industry groups on current issues in the federal procurement arena. Duncan Will , CPA/ABV/CFF, CFE, leverages his more than 30 years of experience in accounting including public accounting, forensic accounting, consulting and audit and tax compliance, while working closely with the loss prevention specialists to manage the department's efforts to deliver to policyholders the high-touch, high-quality CAMICO experience. Will's specialty is accounting and auditing-related risk management services. He advises policyholders through the CAMICO Loss Prevention Hotline and speaks to CPA groups on a wide range of topics. Bill Young , CPA, CGMA, is a partner at Mitchell, Wiggins & Company, LLP, where he served as the Firm’s managing partner for 8 years. He has over 45 years of experience serving automotive dealerships, community banks and a variety of closely held primarily family-owned businesses. He also specializes in estate planning and estate administration and is a member of the Estate Planning Council of Richmond, Virginia. He is a member of the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and the Virginia Society of CPAs (VSCPA). He currently serves on the Boards of three private foundations and a community organization. Bill is a graduate of the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce. He has spoken at previous Virginia Accounting & Auditing Conferences, most recently on retirement planning and the Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017.