Banco Popular de Puerto Rico

Rick is a Certified Public Accountant with over 25 years of accounting, taxation and business and industry management experience. In addition to currently owning his own full-service accounting and tax practice with ten employees, he is a former National Trainer with KPMG, LLP and has started and managed multiple successful business ventures. He is a QuickBooks® Pro Advisor and has been involved with the advisory council for Intuit Online Payroll (formerly Paycycle). When he is not assisting clients with their accounting and tax needs, Rick enjoys coaching his daughter’s nationally recognized softball team and spending time with his family in San Diego, CA.

Mont Levy, JD is a principal and investment advisor at Buckingham and CEO of BAM Advisor Services. He also sits on the executive committee for the firm.His background includes managing equity and bond portfolios, and he has worked extensively with numerous asset managers. He previously worked as vice president of finance and administration at Grand Center, Inc. — a not-for-profit real estate developer in St. Louis — and as a partner with Follman/Levy Acquisition Group.His civic contributions include serving as president of the Jewish Federation of St. Louis, Craft Alliance and the Jewish Fund for Human Needs, and he currently chairs Shakespeare Festival St. Louis. He served for many years as a member of the executive committee of the Forsyth School in St. Louis as well as other posts within the Jewish Federation of St. Louis, American Jewish Committee and many other not-for-profit boards.Mont was recognized by St. Louis Magazine as one of the “40 Under 40.” He was also recognized by the National Conference of Community and Justice for his role in the community.Mont holds his law degree from Washington University in St. Louis and is licensed to practice law in Missouri and Illinois. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Washington in Seattle.

Stephen A. "Tony" Batman is a visionary entrepreneur whose accomplishments have profoundly impacted the accounting and financial services professions. The AICPA has identified Tony as a "trail blazer" for his vision and entrepreneurial spirit concerning the future of the accounting profession. For 13 years in a row¬ - 1996 through 2008 - he was voted as one of the most influential accountants in America by Accounting Today magazine. In 2005 and 2006, he was also named by Investment Advisor magazine as one of the most influential people in the financial services industry. A true leader in the industry, Tony has established a successful financial services business development and resource partner to leading wealth management firms and is a frequent speaker to professional groups on a variety of financial services topics.Tony is chairman, chief executive officer and co-founder of 1st Global, a diversified financial services firm that is the business development and resource partner to leading tax, accounting and law firms. 1st Global works with these firms to provide comprehensive wealth management services to emerging affluent and affluent families, businesses, foundations, and other institutions. Through 1st Global, he has created innovative educational programs, advanced support services and cutting-edge technology tools that cater to the wealth management advisor.Tony is a Certified Public Accountant, Chartered Financial Analyst and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™. His professional memberships include the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Texas Society of CPAs, the Institute of Certified Financial Planners, the Financial Planning Association, the Investment Management Consultants Associations, the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts, the International Society of Financial Analysts, and the Association of Investment Management and Research. For 2004 and 2005, Tony served as Chairman of the Financial Services Institute. The Financial Services Institute is a membership association of broker/dealers and Registered Investment Adviser firms that serve registered representatives who are independent contractors. The FSI works for the success of its members through regulatory advocacy, conferences and education, peer networking and research. For 2006, Tony served on the board of directors of the FSI and served as chairman of its political action committee.Tony is a graduate of the University of Kansas and serves on the board of advisors to both its School of Business and its Accounting and Information Systems program. He is also an instrument-rated private pilot. Tony resides in Dallas, Texas with his wife of 26 years, Vicki.

Joe Woodard is an Advanced Certified QuickBooks ProAdvisor and Intuit Solution Provider with over 10 years of experience supporting clients who use QuickBooks. Since Joe began teaching QuickBooks 10 years ago, he has taught over 20,000 QuickBooks consultants across the country and he currently works state CPA societies and large CPA firms to present advanced QuickBooks instruction to accounting professionals and software consultants. Joe is the host of the Scaling New Heights conference and is also host and founder of The National Advisor Network.Joe Woodard has earned a unique, national reputation a trainer, consultant and author on Intuit-related topics. Joe regularly publishes articles as a freelance columnist for the Intuit ProConnection and QuickBooks ProAdvisor newsletters and he has a regularly, monthly column at AccountingWeb - an online magazine for accounting professionals. Joe periodically provides advisory services to Intuit regarding product development, project management, and Intuit's interaction with accounting professionals. In 2009, Joe self-published two technical manuals on QuickBooks: 100 QuickBooks Tips, Tricks and Workarounds, and Archiving QuickBooks Data Files. Joe is currently working on a book for release during 2010 called The Ultimate Guide to Troubleshooting QuickBooks Files and a technical manual on Method called The Official Method Solution Provider's Reference Guide.Joe has built two successful accounting software consulting practices: the first in New Orleans, Louisiana and the second in Atlanta, Georgia – The Woodard Consulting Group. In addition to consulting with small and medium sized businesses, The Woodard Consulting Group provides advisory services to CPA firms and other QuickBooks ProAdvisors/Intuit Solution Providers across the country -- helping them to better service their clients who use Intuit products.In 2009, Joe became the only Method authorized trainer for Method Solution Provider certification in the U.S. and the only Method recognized author of The Official Method Solution Provider's Reference Guide. Joe will host a series of Method Certification Boot Camps during 2010 to prepare professionals to provide Method consulting services to their clients. In 2009 Joe used the Method platform to develop Pendulum - an online timesheet application that integrates with QuickBooks.In 2006, Joe was also recognized in The CPA Technology Advisor's first annual 40 Under 40 recognition program as one of the tax and accounting profession's up and coming thought leaders who will help steward the continued evolution of technology in the practice.

John R. Ezell, CPA, CEPAFounding Principal and PresidentJohn R. Ezell, CPA, is the President of ProHorizons Network, Inc. ProHorizons is a national brokerage and consulting company focusing on tax and accounting practice sales, acquisitions, and business development services. John has advised hundreds of clients in the merger and acquisition of accounting and tax firms since founding the company in 1995.John is the principal author of the book, Successful Practice Sales: The Complete Guide to Buying, Selling or Merging Your Accounting, Consulting or Tax Practice. This 200-page book serves as a guide through every nuance of the potentially daunting business transactions, including financing your acquisition to exploring the complete lifecycle of a sale, and much more.  He is also a frequent speaker and presents seminars and webinars regarding buying, selling and merging accounting and tax practices. Previously, John operated his own CPA practice in the Washington, DC area that he successfully sold in 1994. Prior to starting his practice, John worked with two CPA firms in Washington, DC, including BDO Seidman, an international accounting and consulting firm.John is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in California. He has earned the designation of Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA) from the Exit Planning Institute® for completion of their spring 2009 program. He is also a licensed California Real Estate Broker. He holds a BS in Accounting from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia.He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the California Society of Certified Public Accountants.John served in the US Marine Corps and was an embassy guard in Moscow and Berlin.John is married to Jennifer and they have four children. He coaches youth baseball and soccer, and serves his community in a variety of volunteer leadership positions.

Bill Carlino joined Transition Advisors as Managing Director of National Consulting Services in 2012 after serving for nearly 12 years as editor-in-chief and editorial director of Accounting Today and AccountingToday.com, where he was responsible for all content both in print and online. During his tenure as editor, Accounting Today won a number of financial journalism awards including Excellence in Financial Journalism from the New York State Society of CPAs and was a two-time finalist for the Jesse R. Neal Award, the premier publishing accolade among business-to-business publications. In his new role as managing director of consulting, he helps match Transition Advisors� array of services such as succession readiness evaluations, new partner admissions, partner retirement and exit support, partner retreats and owner agreement evaluations and design, to the strategic transition and succession needs of CPA firms across the country.He has been a frequent industry speaker, presenter and panel moderator and has appeared as an expert commentator on such business channels as CNBC, Reuters, Bloomberg, CNN as well as National Public Radio.

Andy Armanino manages a $70 million “Top 100” firm in the nation. The firm has been named one of the 25 “Best of the Best” managed firms in the country for the past 8 out of 9 years. Under Andy’s leadership, the firm doubled its size in 5 years and has been named for five straight years as a “Best Place to Work” in the entire San Francisco Bay Area by the San Francisco Business Times. In 2009, Andy was named one of the “Most Admired CEOs” in the Bay Area by the San Francisco Business Times and Inside Public Accounting named him one of seven of the “Most Admired Peers” in the country.As managing partner, Andy focuses much of his time on firm strategy, vision and culture. This year, Andy implemented a four year strategic plan based on a high growth model with key areas of focus. His entrepreneurial spirit, ability to take risks and his talent to motivate and challenge people keeps the firm and its partners accountable and driven for success. Andy also recognized the need for a best-in-class training program for the firm and hired a training director who established Armanino McKenna University (AMU). AMU offers a variety of comprehensive programs with dedicated live and online resources and tools to go beyond traditional CPE with professional and personal development skills to assist firm employees in being well rounded. Andy has more than 20 years of accounting and consulting experience serving a wide variety of industries. After spending several years at a National Firm, Andy joined Armanino McKenna in 1989. In 1994, at age 29, Andy became the youngest person in the firm's history to be admitted to the partnership of Armanino McKenna. In 2005 Andy was named managing partner of the firm. Andy is regularly asked to speak on various topics in the industry.

Gary Sutherland has over 20 years of insurance experience and founded North American Professional Liability Insurance Agency, LLP (NAPLIA) in 1998. NAPLIA has grown to be one of the leading writers of professional liability insurance specializing in financial professionals and was named to Entrepreneur's list of fastest growing companies in America. Gary holds the prestigious designation of Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC), an honor attained by only 2% of all insurance brokers. Gary's expertise is well acknowledged and he regularly speaks at national conferences, including Fiduciary 360, CFDD and large accounting firms.