Speakers

Cydney Aiken, PwC
Excellence in Auditing Education Workshop
Thursday, January 16, 2020, 1:00 pm – 5:45 pm

Cydney Aiken is a Director at PwC in our People & Organization solution. For over 20 years, she has specialized in the implementation of comprehensive people, change, communication and marketing strategies. She has worked with clients in the areas of:

People strategy and change management for business transformations, M&A, ERP and Cloud implementations, process redesign, external and internal strategy
HR transformation and system selection
Creation of internal change COEs and capabilities for clients

Within PwC Cydney is the Product Owner for our Adoption Central suite of Digital Change tools, and is on the Global Culture, Leadership and Change committee. Most recently Cydney has been working with companies to implement new technologies and automation, merge HR organizations, and shifts to new back office and operational delivery models.

Cydney graduated from Babson College and is a certified Human Capital Strategist (HCS). She also speaks Spanish at an intermediate level.

Catherine Banks, Ernst & Young Foundation
Excellence in Auditing Education Workshop
Thursday, January 16, 2020, 1:00 pm – 5:45 pm

Catherine Banks is the Director of the Ernst & Young Foundation and the Academic Resource Center (EYARC). Prior to this role, she served as the Director of Operations for the Foundation. Before working with the Foundation, she was the Campus Recruiting Leader for the Pacific Northwest Area and also a Senior Manager in the Assurance practice. She began her career in Chicago and then later transferred to Seattle where she currently resides.

Beyond her role with the firm, Catherine serves as the Chairman of the Accounting Advisory Board for Seattle University. She is a CPA and a member of the Washington Society of CPAs, the AICPA and the American Accounting Association.

Catherine has two daughters-Halle (19) and Hanna (16). Catherine is a Girl Scout troop leader and also serves as the Treasurer for her local Girl Scout Service Unit. She is married to Ken who is a retired USAF Lt. Col. and who currently flies the friendly skies with United. Catherine enjoys any DIY project and her power tools.

Catherine graduated with a Bachelors of Accounting from the University of Illinois. You may reach Catherine atcatherine.banks@ey.com or +1.206.654.7793.

Margaret H. Christ, University of Georgia
Excellence in Auditing Education Workshop
Thursday, January 16, 2020, 1:00 pm – 5:45 pm

Margaret H. Christ, Ph.D, CIA is an Associate Professor of Accounting, and PwC Faculty Fellow in the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia. Her research focuses broadly on management control systems. She has earned several research awards from the American Accounting Association, including the Accounting Horizons Best Paper award, and outstanding paper awards from the Management Accounting, Information Systems, and ABO Sections. Her research is published in The Accounting Review, Contemporary Accounting Research, Accounting, Organizations and Society, Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory, Accounting Horizons, and The Journal of Management Accounting Research (JMAR). She is an editor for JMAR and serves on several editorial boards. Dr. Christ’s research contributes to research and theory. As a result, she serves on the AAA COSO Committee and the Institute of Internal Auditors Committee of Research and Education Advisors and her research has received grants from The Institute of Internal Auditors, Institute of Management Accountants, and Institute for Fraud Prevention.

Dr. Christ teaches accounting information systems and has developed a case-based curriculum that relies heavily on data analytics techniques. She works with the Ernst and Young Academic Resource Center to develop and disseminate educational materials on the analytics mindset.

John DeMelis, EY
Excellence in Auditing Education Workshop
Thursday, January 16, 2020, 1:00 pm – 5:45 pm

John DeMelis is a Partner in EY’s Americas Professional Practice Auditing group and has over 30 years of experience serving companies across diverse industries, including serving as coordinating partner and engagement quality review partner for both public and privately held clients in the consumer products, manufacturing, service and commodities trading industries. In his role as a member of EY’s Professional Practice group, John currently leads the Digital & Technology topic team, which is responsible for the development of the firm’s audit methodology, guidance and enablement relating to automated tools and technologies used to conduct and enhance the quality of EY’s audits. John and his team are also working with standard setters and others to educate the profession on the use of data and technology and to drive meaningful changes to support the expanded use of automated tools and technologies in the audit.
John received his BS degree in business economics with a minor in accounting from the State University of New York College at Oneonta and his MBA in management from New York University’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business.
John is a member of the AICPA and the New York State Society of CPAs. He serves on the CAQ’s Research Advisory Board and is a member of the Business Advisory Council to the School of Economics and Business, State University of New York, College at Oneonta.

John Farrell, KPMG
Excellence in Auditing Education Workshop
Thursday, January 16, 2020, 1:00 pm – 5:45 pm

John Farrell is the Chief Innovation Officer for KPMG LLP, the U.S. member firm of KPMG International. In his role, John works with the Vice Chair of Audit and is responsible for cultural and strategic advancement of Audit’s innovation program with a focus on Audit quality.
John has thirty-one years of management and risk consulting experience and has served clients and the firm in several capacities. His most recent role was National Managing Partner, Innovation & Enterprise Solutions. John joined KPMG in 1998 and entered the partnership in 2000. Previously John had financial leadership roles in Industry and began his career with Arthur Andersen’s audit practice.

Brandon Haarmann, KPMG
Excellence in Auditing Education Workshop
Thursday, January 16, 2020, 1:00 pm – 5:45 pm

Brandon Haarmann is the Technology Lead within the audit practice for the Houston business unit of KPMG LLP, the U.S. member firm of KPMG International. In his role, Brandon leads a local network of audit technical professionals instructing audit professionals within the Houston business unit on new innovative technologies within the audit practice. He also works directly with audit engagement teams and clients in implementing the Firm’s innovative technologies within the audit practice with a focus on Audit quality.
Brandon has over ten years of experience providing audit services to both large and mid-size SEC registrants and privately held companies. He is an alumni of Sam Houston State University’s College of Business Administration where he obtained a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting and a Master’s of Science in Accounting.

T’Shaka Lee, Deloitte
Excellence in Auditing Education Workshop
Thursday, January 16, 2020, 1:00 pm – 5:45 pm

T’Shaka Lee is the Global & US Audit Process Transformation Leader, where he is responsible for transforming the way in which Deloitte executes audits, through design and redifining audit methods and the use of technology and innovative solutions.

T’Shaka is a designated specialist in IFRS, providing training and consultation to clients and Deloitte professionals. In addition to these responsibilities, T’Shaka leads the Next Gen Leaders program – a national program for early identification of high talent college students that are mentored and provided with leadership development from campus through to their first 3-4 years with the firm.

T’Shaka joined the Tri-State practice of Deloitte in 2000 and spent the majority of his career predominantly serving global clients. He led the Southern California Emerging Growth Company practice. His expertise includes international accounting, operations and compliance, internal control systems, diversified industries, mergers and acquisitions, SEC and foreign filer compliance, filings and reporting issues.

T’Shaka has also developed and championed the Finance Leadership Program, a experiential program for futute finance leaders, which has been deployed nationally.

He holds a Master of Business Administration in Finance and Accounting from Pace University, New York and graduated with high honors in 2000. He also holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Public Accounting, Pace University, New York, 2000. He is a certified public accountant licensed to practice in California and New York.

Paul Sheward, PwC
Excellence in Auditing Education Workshop
Thursday, January 16, 2020, 1:00 pm – 5:45 pm

Paul is a member of PwC’s Assurance Innovation Leadership Team with primary responsibility for leading Citizen-Innovation activities for PwC’s US Assurance practice. Paul is responsible for the development and implementation of a strategy to ensure that PwC’s Assurance professionals both develop and apply advanced digital acumen in delivering services to our clients.

A deals partner by background, Paul has more than 25 years experience supporting companies based in the UK, Europe and the US with their US GAAP and IFRS conversion activities and US and international capital market transactions.

Paul started in the UK assurance practice in 1992. He moved to Boston on his first overseas assignment in 2000/2001, following which he returned to the Capital Markets Group in London until his relocation to the US in 2008. He was previously a member of the Capital Markets and Accounting Advisory (CMAAS) leadership team and has held various roles including as the US Accounting Advisory leader and the CMAAS Technology leader.

Paul has supported many multi-national companies with their capital markets transactions (Initial Public Offerings; acquisitions and divestitures; 144A transactions), the application of complex accounting standards and full scale accounting conversions.

Paul's wide ranging experience means that he is able to provide companies with relevant and practical support in the execution of their capital markets transactions, wide-scale accounting conversions, as well as with the application of US GAAP and IFRS to complex transactions.

Andrzej Stewart, Johnson Space Center
Life in Simulated Space
Friday, January 17, 2020, 8:45 am – 9:45 am

Andrzej Stewart is an experienced spacecraft operator for a wide variety of NASA missions. He’s worked as a spacecraft mission controller for the Spitzer Space Telescope, Juno, GRAIL, and NASA’s Mars orbiter fleet. Andrzej now works in Mission Control at the Johnson Space Center, training as a Navigator for the upcoming Artemis missions of the Orion spacecraft. He is also a 1st Lieutenant in the Civil Air Patrol, serving as an Assistant Aerospace Education Officer and Assistant Public Affairs Officer, and is currently training as a Search and Rescue/Disaster Relief Mission Pilot.

Andrzej earned degrees in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and aspires to be a NASA astronaut. In pursuing that, he has served as the Flight Engineer of HERA C2M2, a two-week asteroid mission simulation at the Johnson Space Center, and as Chief Engineering Officer of HI-SEAS IV, a year-long Mars simulation in Hawaiʻi.

Dan Sunderland, Deloitte & Touche LLP
Excellence in Auditing Education Workshop
Thursday, January 16, 2020, 1:00 pm – 5:45 pm

Dan Sunderland serves as Deloitte’s Chief Auditor and National Leader – Audit and Assurance Services. Dan leads the group which is responsible for developing Deloitte’s policies and methodology (on a US and a global basis), engaging in standard setting, and consulting with the field. In addition, the group has significant interaction with those responsible for technology, learning and innovation. Dan also serves as the Chairman of the Research Advisory Board for the CAQ and is a former Vice President – Practice of the AAA Auditing Section.

Dan has over 37 years of public accounting experience, serving many of Deloitte’s most complex multinational clients in manufacturing, financial services, life sciences, and high technology. He has significant experience in mergers and acquisitions, including due diligence and purchase accounting; equity compensation; employee benefit plan structures and accounting; and other complex accounting areas.

Dan is a graduate of Dickinson College, and holds an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Tawei (David) Wang, Purdue University
Excellence in Auditing Education Workshop
Thursday, January 16, 2020, 1:00 pm – 5:45 pm

Dr. Wang receives his PhD from Purdue University. He is an award-winning professor in both teaching and research. He mainly teaches audit analytics, data mining, IT auditing and accounting information systems. He has been invited by conferences and universities around the world to discuss curriculum design and teaching strategies. He is currently listed on the Fulbright Specialist Roster for developing analytics curriculum for accounting programs. Dr. Wang’s research interests are IT management and information security management. He has published in leading academic journals, including Accounting Horizons, Decision Support Systems, European Journal of Information Systems, Information & Management, International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, Information Systems Journal, Information Systems Research, Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Journal of Banking and Finance, Journal of Information Systems, among others. He is currently the 2nd most productive accounting information systems researcher based on Brigham Young University’s accounting researcher ranking and his papers have more than 30,000 full text downloads from the Science Direct academic network. He has been regularly invited by universities to present his research. He actively serves in the professional community as an editor, reviewer, conference/workshop coordinator. He is currently the president of the American Accounting Association Midwest Region. Dr. Wang also actively engages with practitioners. He was the 2018 KPMG James Marwick Professor in Residence (https://bit.ly/30emiC1) and was a speaker as well as a facilitator of a chief audit executive roundtable about audit analytics hosted by the Institute of Internal Auditors.