Speakers

Markus Ahrens, Department Chair, St. Louis Community College-Meramec
Plenary Speaker, Friday, October 20, 9:15 am – 10:15 am
Strive to be the Best Teacher that You Can Be - Perspectives on Effective Teaching

Markus Ahrens joined the Accounting & Legal Studies Department at St. Louis Community College-Meramec in 2001 and currently serves as the department chair. Prior to his teaching career, he worked as an accountant for 15 years.

Markus has received national awards for his teaching and his innovation in the classroom, including most recently, the 2016 American Accounting Association / J. Michael and Mary Anne Cook / Deloitte Foundation Prize. In addition, Markus is the proud recipient of the AICPA Bea Sanders Innovation Award in Teaching Introductory Accounting Courses and the Innovation of the Year awarded by the League for Innovation. His primary research interests are experiential learning in accounting education and student engagement utilizing technology.  Also, Markus co-founded TeachingandLearningToolbox.com, a free website dedicated to providing educators with up-to-date teaching and learning resources “where technology connects with pedagogy to raise the learning bar.”

Currently, Markus serves on the Board of Directors for the Missouri Society of CPA’s, is a Trustee for the MSCPA Education Foundation Board and is a past Trustee for the for American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Foundation Board.  In addition, Markus is the Council Chair for the American Accounting Association. Markus served as the 2014-2016 President for the Two-Year Section of the American Accounting Association and is the past-chair for the Conference on Teaching and Learning in Accounting.  Furthermore, Markus serves on the AICPA Pre-Certification Education Executive Committee. In 2010, Markus served as president for the Missouri Association of Accounting Educators.  Markus is a member of the Teachers of Accounting at Two-Year Colleges, Institute of Management Accountants and the Association of Experiential Education organizations.

Ernest Almonte, CPA, CFF, CFE, CGFM, Partner, Assurance Services, RSM LLP
Lunch Speaker, Friday, October 20, 12:00pm-1:30pm
The Future of the Accounting Profession - Ascension or Extinction

Ernie is a partner at RSM and is a firm-designated government, not-for-profit, litigation support, and higher education specialist with more than 37 years of experience. Ernie works in the Boston Not-For Profit/Public Sector Industry team. He has managed the audits of numerous public sector and not-for profit organizations, and has provided technical assistance on accounting and financial reporting issues to these organizations. Ernie is a frequent speaker on industry related topics. Prior to joining RSM, Ernie spent 16 years as the R.I. Auditor General where he was responsible for the State of Rhode Island financial, performance and fraud audits. In that role, Ernie was responsible for the $8 billion dollar CAFR and overseeing the audits of the quasi-public agencies and municipalities. Ernie provided training nationally on topics such as the Yellow Book, GASB and FASAB accounting standards, and fraud risks for federal, state and local professionals serving government, not-for-profit and higher education clients. He has served in numerous positions as Chairman of audit committees including universities and the Department of Defense Audit Advisory Committee at the Pentagon. Ernie received his Bachelor of Science, Master of Science in Taxation, and Honorary Doctorate from Bryant University and his Senior Executives in State and Local Government and Innovations in Governance from Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

Anne L. Christensen, AAA President, Montana State University-Bozeman
Plenary Speaker, Saturday, October 21, 8:20 am - 8:50 am
Pathways to a Sustainable Future

Anne L. Christensen is a Professor of Accounting in the Jake Jabs College of Business & Entrepreneurship at Montana State University, where she has served as Director of the Master of Professional Accountancy Program, Director of the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, a member of the Graduate Council, and on the University Service Learning Advisory Board. She was previously a member of the faculty at Portland State University. Anne earned her Ph.D. from the University of Utah.

Anne has published in a number of peer-reviewed journals including Issues in Accounting Education, The Journal of the American Taxation Association, ATA Journal of Legal Tax Research, Advances in Accounting Education, Journal of Business Ethics, Financial Accountability and Management, and Advances in Taxation. She has served on Editorial Boards for Issues in Accounting Education, Accounting Horizons, Journal of the American Taxation Association, and .

Anne is currently serving as the President of the American Accounting Association (AAA). In the past she served as the AAA Director-Focusing on Segments and on AAA’s Sharpening Our Vision Taskforce I and II. She is a member of AAA’s ABO, ATA, and TLC Sections. During her career she served on AAA Council and as President and Program Chair of the Western Region, as President, Vice President, and Trustee of the ATA, as Chair of ATA’s Publication Committee, ATA/Deloitte Teaching Innovation Awards Committee, Accreditation & Curriculum Issues Committee, Awards Committee, and Nominations Committee. She has served on the AAA Strategic Region Leader Committee as Co-Chair, and as a member of the Council Committee on Awards Committee, Deloitte Wildman Award Committee, AAA Journals Task Force, and AAA Nominations Committee.

Anne has twenty-eight years’ teaching experience and has received twelve awards for academic excellence including Montana State University’s President’s Excellence in Teaching Award and President’s Award for Excellence in Service Learning; the College’s Distinguished Faculty Award and Dean’s Award for Outstanding Performance in Service, and the ATA’s Ray M. Sommerfeld Outstanding Tax Educator Award and the ATA Outstanding Service Award.

Guido Geerts, Professor, Lerner College of Business, University of Delaware
Workshop Presenter, Accounting IS Big Data: A How-To Workshop,
Thursday, October 19, 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Teaching Accounting Students Big Data Skills

Guido Geerts is a Professor at the Lerner College of Business, University of Delaware, where he teaches accounting information systems and big data technologies. He is the former chair of the Technology Task Force for the Pathways Commission Recommendation #4 (Curriculum and Pedagogy) and he currently serves on the AICPA Pre-certification Education Executive Committee (PcEEC). Guido earned his Ph.D. from the Free University of Brussels.

Michael L. Woodson, C|CISO, CISM, CAMS, CEH, CHFI, CTPRP, Principal, Enterprise Applications, Infosys
Plenary Speaker, 
Friday, October 20, 8:00 am – 9:05 am
Immediate Cyber Security Risks...Ransomware, Insider Threat and More!

Mr. Woodson is a Principal with Infosys, with a focus on Strategic Cyber Security Advisory services in sectors such as
Financial and Investment Banking, Insurance, Utilities and Manufacturing and Whole Sale Distribution.

He has an extensive background in Network and Information Security, Data Privacy, Fraud Management, Technical Investigations, Regulatory Compliance and Policy Development, Litigation Preparedness, Enterprise Governance, Risk Management, Computer Forensics and Application Security Threats and Countermeasures. He has 12 years of Law Enforcement experience obtained directly from the Boston Police Department and over 20 years of combined experience in Computer Forensics and Technology which includes conducting electronic evidence discovery investigations and litigation support for matters related to Internal Fraud, Intellectual Property Theft, Embezzlement, SEC issues, and Network Intrusions.