Banco Popular de Puerto Rico

Joseph Calamia II is a Senior Tax Specialist with Sales Tax Defense LLC. The firm specializes in sales, use, and transaction taxes. Joseph has been with the firm for over 5 years and has experience in multiple areas of tax representation. Areas of PracticeMulti-state sales and use tax consulting Sales and use tax audit defense Disputing Responsible Person Assessments Sales and use tax refunds and recovery Sales tax planning and research Due diligence reviews Payment Plans Voluntary Disclosure Agreements Nexus Studies Offers-in-Compromise Bulk Sales Filings Penalty Abatements Sales and Use Tax Checks Ups Representation before government revenue agencies and auditors Representing clients at Bureau of Conciliation and Mediation Services hearings

Jay Nisberg is an internationally known management consultant to the CPA community. Well known for his work in practice management, partnership issues and business development, he is a frequent speaker at MAP conferences around the world.His work encompasses consultation on the development of the firm by means of encouragement of growth in its individual members. He is also concerned with professional services marketing and executive coaching, including professional influencing skills and partner and staff attitudes as well as practice imaging. Jay's areas of expertise include partner retreats, marketing the firm's services, partnership agreements, client satisfaction surveys as well as mergers and acquisitions among CPA firms.His specialties are in performing as a consultant to partnerships and in designing partner-in-training programs for accounting professionals. His work has included acting as a discussion leader and professional development coordinator for the American Institute for Public Accountants and as a lecturer in accounting and management at several state and local societies as well as universities and colleges. Presently president of his own management-consulting firm, Jay has been consulting to CPA firms for over 30 years and has worked for national, regional and local practices.Jay has had extensive experience in strengthening partnership relations and firm management. He has been a consultant to numerous major corporations including General Motors, Corp., RCA Corporation and the White House. He is frequently quoted as an expert on accounting issues in such newspapers as the Wall Street Journal, Accounting Today, and Public Accounting Report. He is the author of two nationally known business reference books published by Random House as well as being the contributing author of the Guide to Buying & Merging CPA Firms section of the Practitioners Publishing Company’s Strategic Practice Issues Resource Series. Jay is also the coauthor with Gary Shamis and Marsha Leest of the recently publisher book, How to Manage Your Accounting Practice: Taking Your Firm from Chaos to Consensus.Jay is the founder of the Accountants Financial Services Group which provides consultation to CPA firms on the financial services industry niche and is on the Editorial Advisory Board of CPA Practice Management Forum, CPA Managing Partner Report and CPA Financial Services Advisor.Jay’s passion is functioning as a strategic coach for CPA firm partners and other high potential individuals as well as facilitating retreats. Jay has published numerous articles for business journals and professional publications on accounting trends. For the past 20 years, Jay has been honored by Accounting Today, the leading industry magazine, as a member of the Top 100 Most Influential People in public accounting. Jay has been on this list longer than anyone else in the industry.

As founding principal of Hollinden | professional services marketing, Christine Hollinden, CPSM is passionate about helping professional services firms distinguish themselves from the pack. Her energetic and forward-thinking approach has earned her industry recognition and status as a sought-after marketing consultant and speaker.Prior to founding Hollinden in 1993, Christine�s career included serving as Director of Marketing for KPMG in Houston, Regional Communications Manager for Coopers & Lybrand, and Marketing Coordinator for Grant Thornton. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Houston at Victoria, and a Master of Business Administration from Texas A&M University. She also holds the prestigious CPSM (Certified Professional Services Marketer) designation and is a Kolbe Certified� Consultant.Dedicated to her field, she served as an adjunct professor of marketing at the University of St. Thomas in Houston for over ten years and currently teaches Social Media for Business at Rice University�s School of Continuing Studies.

Art, a practical and results oriented professional services marketing leader, delivers more than just marketing and business development coaching and advisory services. He delivers an insider's perspective gained from working as a marketing director for two leading CPA firms, and also the global perspective from working with dozens of local, regional and national firms annually on the complex marketing and sales challenges they face. All told, his experience spans nearly 15 years in professional services marketing and sales.

Jim Secord is the CEO of Kashoo: simple cloud accounting for small business via the web and the App Store's most downloaded iPad accounting app. A life-long technologist, his first computer was an Apple II+. This machine featured a game called Lemonade Stand which likely sparked Jim's obsession with small business accounting and software development at way too early of an age. Follow Jim on Twitter at @JimSecord or learn more at http://kashoo.com.

Lawrence is a senior partner and leads Raffa’s Forensic Accounting Services Group. He has more than 35 years of forensic consulting, audit and accounting and tax experience in public accounting and the private sector. He has performed forensic accounting services for governmental entities, public and private companies, nonprofits and individuals.Lawrence has been involved in numerous high-profile cases as a consulting and testifying expert. He has conducted and led teams of forensic accountants on fraud investigations ranging from small family-owned businesses to large governmental organizations with losses of over $500 million.Lawrence is a CPA licensed in Virginia. He is also certified by the ACFE as a Certified Fraud Examiner, is Certified in Financial Forensics by the AICPA and certified by NACVA as a Certified Valuation Analyst. He is a frequent lecturer and instructor with various professional and educational organizations.

Armando brings more than 25 years of experience to the support industry. In 2001, he was named Support Director of the year, and 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 business and technology solutions that facilitate increased productivity and revenue, often while reducing cost and downtime. He is an industry leader as well as an accomplished public speaker, and in 2007, he was named CMIT Rookie of the Year. In 2009, Armando co-wrote and published his first book entitled: I Just Want My Computers to Work!

Mr. Lang is the principal shareholder accounting firm of Stuart G. Lang, C.P.A., P.C., 2303 Grand Avenue, Suite 200A, Baldwin, New York, 516-377-2700. He specializes in representing small to medium sized businesses performing compilations, reviews and audits, and has performed or participated in many peer reviews under the AIPCA Peer Review and National Peer Review Programs. He is an active member of the AICPA, NYSSCPA and its Nassau Chapter, and the National Conference of CPA Practitioners (NCCPAP). Mr. Lang serves on the and continues to serve Public Schools Committee. He has frequently acted as a discussion leader and lecturer at the Nassau Chapter Compilation and Review Conference and the Nassau/Suffolk Chapter of NCCPAP Accounting Seminars. He has also served as member of the New York State Society's AICPA Peer Review Committee (the committee whose charge is to accept peer reviews performed in NYS), NYSSCPA’s Nassau Chapter Accounting Procedures Committee and the NYSSCPA’s Professional Ethics Committee. He is a Past-President of the Nassau/Suffolk Chapter of NCCPAP. In addition, he is a consultant to other CPA firms in the area of Governmental Auditing with an emphasis on School Districts. Mr. Lang also serves as a consultant to school districts in accounting matters, including financial statement preparation and internal controls, and has also performed external audits of school districts.Mr. Lang received his Bachelors of Arts in Accounting from Queens College, CUNY in June, 1982, and his Associate in Science in Business from Queensborough Community College, CUNY in August, 1980. He was elected Phi Theta Kappa at Queensborough Community College in June, 1980. He was granted a license to practice as a Certified Public Accountant in New York State on April 2, 1987. He is a Fellow, American Board of Forensic Accounting.

Firdaus Bhathena founded Ziptr on the belief that people should not have to sacrifice convenience for security. Frustrated by the myriad tools his own CPA used, Firdaus and his team created Ziptr to make protecting and sharing private information easy for everyone.Ziptr provides trusted communication for trusted advisors, with one elegantly simple solution for encrypted e-conversations, file sharing, storage and sync. With his MS and BS from MIT, Firdaus previously founded two successful software companies: Relicore (acquired by Symantec) and WebLine (acquired by Cisco). When he is not focusing on creating a great experience for Ziptr’s users, Firdaus serves on the Board for two Boston-area schools.

Krista M. McMasters became the Chief Executive Officer of Clifton Gunderson LLP in June 2009 becoming the firm’s fourth CEO and the first female CEO in the history of the accounting profession among the top 50 firms. She led Clifton Gunderson into a historic merger with Larson Allen in January 2012 becoming Co-CEO of CliftonLarsonAllen LLP (CLA), a national CPA firm of more than 3,600 professionals, until retiring on April 1, 2013. McMasters spent her 35 year career with Clifton Gunderson and CLA having joined as an associate accountant in 1978 and being admitted as partner in 1985. She is currently providing consulting to professional service firms in such areas as executive coaching, strategic planning, partner and staff engagement, communication, leadership development and operational excellence.