2023-2024 Membership Webinar Bundle

Emily Zoet, CPA, MBA Related Seminars and Products

Assistant Professor of Accountancy

Ferris State University

Emily teaches for the Accounting department. Emily is a Certified Public Accountant in Michigan and previously worked as a Finance Manager in Ferris’ Administration and Finance division. Prior to joining Ferris in January of 2015, Emily worked in Finance and Accounting at Dow Chemical in Midland, MI.

Outside of teaching, Emily is pursuing a doctorate degree, volunteers for various organizations, and enjoys spending time with her husband and their two sons.

Neely Duncan, CPA, CFE FCPA, Related Seminars and Products

Neely Duncan is a member of BKD’s National Not-for-Profit group. She has approximately 20 years of audit and advisory experience in public accounting and served in the United States Navy for four years. Her expertise includes financial statement audits, single audits, grants management and compliance, outsourced accounting functions, standards implementation, internal audit procedures, strategic planning and tax-exempt matters for a wide range of not-for-profit entities. She also performs forensic work related to various cases, internal controls consulting and data analytics. In addition to handling the accounting and audit needs of her clients, Neely advises clients on operational efficiencies, internal controls and governance issues, and she routinely shares best practices with clients. She’s a highly sought after national speaker on technical matters in the accounting community. Neely is a member of the American Institute of CPAs and the Dallas Society of CPAs and serves as a board member for the Texas Society of CPAs. She is involved with many other professional associations including the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, Dallas Social Venture Partners, The Dallas Foundation Advisory Committee and Relationships First.

Salvatore LaMendola Related Seminars and Products

Salvatore J. LaMendola has been a member of the Trusts and Estates Practice Group at Giarmarco, Mullins and Horton, P.C. since 1996, and a member of the LL.M. adjunct law faculty at Western Michigan University Cooley Law School since 2016. He focuses his practice on basic estate planning, post-death trust administration, planning for retirement plan benefits, and modifying irrevocable trusts via trust “decanting” and other techniques. Sal has been published in CCH Financial and Estate Planning; the Michigan Probate and Estate Planning Journal, and the Michigan Bar Journal. He has also authored the book Estate Planning for Catholics: A Guide to Doing God’s Will in Your Will (and Other Estate Planning Documents) which is available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other book sellers.

Chris Picciurro, CPA Related Seminars and Products

Chris has been a CPA for over 20 years and spent the last sixteen years as founder and executive officer of Integrated CPA Group (ICPA). Since 2003, Integrated CPA Group has grown from a small, one office operation to a multi-state firm servicing well over 3,000 clients. Aside from public accounting, Chris’ experience includes:

• Personal Financial Specialist (PFS) designation is an accreditation held exclusively by CPAs who are members of the American Institute of CPAs that have broad expertise and are eminently qualified to assess client’s current financial situation, help define financial needs and goals, and work to develop and monitor a plan to meet client goals
• Accredited Retirement Advisor (ARA) is a credential that recognizes professionals who have thorough knowledge of: preparing clients for retirement, the essentials of estate and trust planning, and financial planning for the elderly
• Adjunct instructor in Davenport University’s MBA program
• Adjunct instructor in Baker College’s accounting, finance and entrepreneurship undergraduate programs
• Nationally recognized presenter on tax planning and compliance for National Association of Residential Property Managers, National Association of Realtors, Rich Dad educational events, Sound Mind Sound Body Football Academy, Michigan Association of CPAs, National Network of Estate Planning Attorneys, and Institute of Real Estate Management
• Chairman of Michigan Association of CPAs Curriculum Task Force
• Member of Michigan Association of CPAs Small Firm Practitioner Task Force
• Bachelor of Arts from Michigan State University
• Masters of Business Administration from the University of Detroit–Mercy
• Dave Ramsey - Endorsed Local Provider (ELP)

Steve Guarin, CPA Related Seminars and Products

Partner

Assurance, Cohen & Company

Steve brings a real energy to client engagements. Trusted for both his technical and business savvy, he continuously seeks ways to improve and grow, including learning about new ideas and techniques that may help clients achieve greater success. Steve remains dedicated to working beyond what is expected without being asked, communicating early and often, and treating clients and colleagues with respect.

With more than 30 years as a CPA, including national firm experience, Steve is one of the firm’s technical resources for the application and implementation of audit and attest requirements, as well as the proper presentation of GAAP financial statement disclosures. He also has deep expertise in the area of SOC 1 and 2 reports. In addition to not-for-profit entities, Steve works with clients in a variety of industries, including manufacturing and distribution.

Tricia Katebini, CPA, MBA Related Seminars and Products

Partner, Audit

GRF CPAs & Advisors

Tricia Katebini has spent her career in public accounting, specializing in the nonprofit sector since 2007. As an audit partner, she is in charge of and responsible for the planning and managing of financial statement audits and Single Audits, when applicable. Ms. Katebini has served a wide range of nonprofit clients including charities, foundations, private schools and associations, and has presented results to management and the board of directors. Ms. Katebini advises on internal control best practices, as well as other accounting and operational areas critical to the financial health of nonprofit organizations.

A seasoned speaker on technical accounting and tax topics affecting nonprofits, Ms. Katebini has presented at AICPA, MACPA, MACS and other accounting and nonprofit industry conferences. She has built a strong reputation for serving as a key advisor to nonprofit organizations in the Greater Washington, DC and Baltimore areas. Her nonprofit audit experience includes proficiency in technical accounting issues and the requirements of Uniform Guidance. She also provides valued guidance to clients on new accounting pronouncements such as the nonprofit reporting model, revenue recognition and the lease standards.

In addition to audit and assurance, Ms. Katebini’s background also includes knowledge of technical tax issues for nonprofit organizations including unrelated business income and state nexus issues. Her work across a wide range of accounting, tax and compliance concerns allows Ms. Katebini to bring clients a holistic view of their operations.

Ms. Katebini currently serves on the AICPA’s Joint Trial Board, a well-respected position within the CPA community. She was also named a 2021 Woman to Watch and received the Maryland Association of CPAs’ 2022 Max Teichmann Award. Ms. Katebini is a proud member of GRF’s Women on the Move, the firm’s women’s leadership initiative.

Diana Sobczak Related Seminars and Products

Doug Chalgian Related Seminars and Products

Attorney Douglas G. Chalgian is both certified in elder law by the National Elder Law Foundation and a Fellow with the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. He is also the only attorney in Michigan who has served as Chair of both the Probate and Estate Planning and Elder Law and Disability Rights Sections of the State Bar. Mr. Chalgian was appointed by the Governor to the Commission on Services to the Aging. He was one of about a dozen attorneys on the Michigan Trust Code Drafting Committee and has been selected five times as one of the top 100 lawyers in Michigan by Super Lawyers Magazine. Mr. Chalgian writes and speaks regularly on the topics of estate planning, elder law, and probate court litigation.

Laura Brownfield Related Seminars and Products

As General Counsel at the Community Foundation of Southeast Michigan, Laura works with individuals, business owners, and their professional advisors to identify their charitable objectives and implement strategies to accomplish their philanthropic goals. Laura’s experience also includes owning and managing her own law practice and working as a Visiting Clinical Assistant Professor in the Urban Communities Clinic, a transactional law and community and economic development clinic, at the University of Michigan Law School.

Laura received her J.D. from the Wayne State University Law School and has a Bachelor of Arts from Miami University. As a lifelong resident of Michigan, Laura shares the principles and values of the Community Foundation and is thrilled to help support our region. 

William Bluford Related Seminars and Products

William Bluford is Vice President of Huntington Technology, a trusted managed service provider (MSP), and has held various roles with the company since its inception in 2001. He has a proven ability to solve complex technical and business problems by working collaboratively with business and technology staff. William is an expert at managing a complete Information Technology (IT) framework including network, server, and telecom infrastructure. At Huntington Technology, William’s career has been focused on management and technical skills. William is responsible for working directly with Huntington Technology’s clients to ensure their business and operational needs are being adequately supported through both processes and technologies.

William has over two decades of experience working with small to medium sized businesses (SMBs) as a technology expert and has broad industry experience including medical, legal, finance and startup. His involvement in these industries has helped him develop the cybersecurity and compliance procedures that Huntington Technology uses to protect its clients against the latest threats. William is an accomplished speaker and has been asked to present at various business and industry events to discuss the latest trends in technology, cybersecurity, disaster recovery, business continuity and data protection and backup.

William has been involved in Detroit’s technology community for over 20 years and holds a Bachelor of Science in Management Information Systems from Oakland University and has several IT certifications.

Katerina Gaebel Related Seminars and Products

Manager in the forensics, litigation, and valuation services department at Citrin Cooperman specializing in forensic investigations, cryptocurrency tracing, matrimonial disputes, shareholder disputes, economic damages and employee embezzlement cases. Obtained a Masters in Forensic Accounting from the University at Albany. A licensed CPA in the state of New York, a Certified Fraud Examiner and a Certified DeFi Expert (certified by Blockchain Council).

Greg Light Related Seminars and Products

With over 14 years of experience, exclusively in valuation, Greg has performed nearly 2,000 valuations of companies with revenue ranging from less than $1 million to more than $150 billion across a broad spectrum of industries. A trusted consultant known for his responsiveness and unbiased advice, Greg advises manufacturers, service providers and other small businesses on mergers and acquisitions, purchase price allocation, shareholder buy-in and buy-out, employee stock ownership plan valuation, family law, and gift and estate tax reporting.

Greg keeps current on best practices and trends by regularly attending business valuation education seminars and conferences throughout the country.