Banco Popular de Puerto Rico

Matt Haller is a senior leader in the Consulting group and leads the Cloud ERP service line. He has been a Principal with the firm since 2004. Matt combines manufacturing and distribution industry knowledge with experience in the evaluation and implementation of Cloud based software products. Prior to joining Baker Tilly, Matt owned and operated his own management consulting firm, held a variety of supply chain management positions in industry, and worked for a national consulting firm. Matt frequently meets with software vendor executive teams to stay abreast of important trends and strategies for application into Baker Tilly’s clients and service delivery model.

Jina Etienne, CPA, joined the AICPA as Director - Taxation after a 22-year career in public accounting. She began her career in the tax department of Touche Ross (now Deloitte) where her focus was tax planning and compliance for corporations, partnerships, and S corporations ranging from government contractors and vending companies to hospitality and retail firms. She left Deloitte in 1993 to start her own practice and shift her focus to the needs of small- and medium-sized businesses.At Etienne & Associates, LLC, Jina provided a wide range of accounting services for businesses and individuals, including tax planning and preparation, business consulting and representation before the IRS. She started speaking professionally in 1995. She taught for private companies, clubs, conferences, and various organizations, including 5 years in the Financial Management division at Management Concepts and 3 years as a Gear-Up speaker. She has also served as an adjunct accounting professor at American University.Now, as Director – Taxation for the AICPA, her focus is on delivering timely and useful resources for AICPA members of the Tax Section and general AICPA members interested in tax. The Tax Division develops resources and services that address members’ technical needs and practice management issues. She is also responsible for ensuring that AICPA continually strive to increase awareness and understanding of the AICPA Statements on Standards for Tax Services (the AICPA’s enforceable ethics for tax services).Ms. Etienne earned an M.S. in taxation in 1993 and a B.S.B.A. in accounting in 1989 from American University. She lives in Silver Spring, Maryland, with her husband, two sons and her shepherd/lab mix named Coda. In her spare time she loves Sudoku, cake decorating and karaoke. 

After beginning his professional service career at Price Waterhouse, Bob became the first professional employee of Frazier & Deeter, shortly after the firm was founded in 1981. In 1985, Bob became a partner and over the next 18 years he served the firm as head of the Audit and Strategic Consulting services departments. In 2000 Bob founded iLumen, Inc., the CPA profession’s leading business intelligence and analytical platform which is today used by leading CPA firms and financial institutions across the country. Bob served as CEO of iLumen through 2010 and is currently an active board member and advisor to the company. In 2010, Bob lead the creation of the FD Alliance, a strategic collaborative of non-merged CPA firms located in several metropolitan areas. In 2011, Bob returned to Frazier & Deeter where he serves as the leader of the firm’s entrepreneurial consulting practice and directs the firm’s strategic growth initiatives on both a national and local level.Bob has been involved in numerous private company board positions and assists clients in developing and optimizing strategies that impact their business in the spectrum of the entrepreneurial life cycle; including capital formation and exit strategies.

Barry C. Melancon is the CEO of the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, the most influential body of professional accountants in the world with 650,000 members and students. Formed in 2017, it combines the strengths of The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) and the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), which Melancon also leads as president and CEO.

Kacee Johnson, MBA, is a strategic advisor at CPA.com, and founder of Blue Ocean Principles. Previously, she served as executive vice president at Cloud9 Real Time. She was named one of CPA Practice Advisor Magazine's Top 40 Under 40. She is a regular speaker and commentator at industry events nationwide. A graduate of the University of Arizona with a double major in English Literature and Political Science, she later earned a master's degree in business administration.

Gary is a partner in the firm of Raphael Sanders Goldberg Nikpour & Cohen CPA’s PLLC, in Woodbury New York. The firm has expertise in the areas of Health Care Audits, Co-op Audits, and Gary’s area of specialization which is centered on Tax issues and Consulting for businesses in varied industries. He has established relationships with second generations of business owners in his over Thirty years as a CPA.In addition to serving as a member of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants, Gary has been a long-time member of the Nassau/Suffolk Chapter of National Conference of CPA Practitioners, and before serving as the current President, he has served as co-chairman of the Management of Accounting Practice Committee (MAP), as well as an executive officer.Gary, and his wife Karen live in Merrick, and they have two adult children. Gary is also proud to of served on various committees in Synagogues in his area, and currently serves as Treasurer of the Merrick/Bellmore Jewish Community Council which is an organization of all of the Synagogues of that area.

Noelle Geiger, JD, is a Tax Principal at Grassi & Co. She has approximately 20 years of experience handling tax dispute resolution matters. She represents individuals, corporations, partnerships and estates before the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and state taxing authorities at the pre-audit, audit and appeal stages.Noelle has extensive experience handling both New York State and New York City residency audits that examine domicile, statutory residency and allocation of income and as well as situations involving potential dual residency. She also handles sales tax examinations including the taxation of information services, nexus and responsible person assessments.She assists non-filers with voluntary disclosures and works to bring them back into compliance. Noelle negotiates the release and withdrawals of liens, levies and warrants. She also assists clients who may need installment- payment agreements or have collection issues. Noelle has successfully negotiated substantial penalty abatements for many clients.Noelle is an active participant in industry events and networking groups including the IRS Practitioner Liaison Committee and the New York State Practitioner Liaison Meeting in Albany. These committees liaise with the government to identify systemic problems occurring during dealings between the IRS and New York State. Noelle co-authored the article entitled, “IRS Fast-Track Settlement for Small Business/Self Employed Taxpayers” that was published in The CPA Journal.Noelle is a member of the New York City Bar Association and serves on its State and Local Tax Committee. She was previously the chairperson for the Nassau Chapter of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA) Attorney and Accountant Joint Committee. She also was on the Executive Board for the NYSSCPA, Nassau Chapter and served as the Editor of the NYSSCPA Nassau Chapter’s newsletter.Noelle holds a Juris Doctor degree from Hofstra Law School and a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Bucknell University.

For more than thirty seven (37) years, Paula A Sheppard has assisted hundreds of public and closely-held companies as well as attorneys, with business planning, acquisitions and sale of businesses, litigation support, computerization, representation at tax audits, as well as, financial planning and consulting.Her Big Five experience in tax as well as audit has ranged from publicly held corporations to the needs of individuals, partnerships, trusts and estates. In many instances, she has worked in conjunction with other accounting firms accumulating information and preparing documentation needed to support their services.Paula is a member of; The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants; New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants; National Conference of CPA Practioners, formally holding the office of National Education and Issues Chairperson and Co-Education Chair of the Long Island Tax Practitioner Symposium (LITPS) committee.