Balancing Performance and Conformance

Cory Campbell is widely recognized as a thought leader at the intersection between accountancy and technology. He regularly facilitates continuing education workshops for various state CPA societies, delving into the realm of emerging technologies. A recognized subject matter expert from AICPA, he has contributed valuable insights on blockchain technology, automation, digital assets, data analytics, and cybersecurity.

Dr. Campbell is a member of the accounting faculty at Indiana State University. His research seamlessly aligns Accounting Information Systems and Data Analytics in Accounting, with an emphasis on cutting-edge technology topics such as blockchain and more recently, Generative AI tools, such as ChatGPT. He remains a keen observer of the potential for emerging technology to improve business processes and produce superior performance and governance outcomes.

As a former CFO of a private college, Dr. Campbell has relied heavily upon Management Information Systems to ensure the completeness, accuracy, and integrity of both financial and non-financial data. Prior to academia, he founded Field Tuff LLC, which designed, sourced, and imported products for various farm and ranch stores nationwide.

Dr. Dijo Alexander is a seasoned tech executive with the heart of a maker and over 25 years of experience in building innovative products and leading high-performing global teams for enterprises. He was the Head of Engineering at SAP Litmos, where he oversaw the R&D of enterprise learning and knowledge management SaaS solutions. Before joining SAP, he was the CTO of BridgeFront, a healthcare learning platform startup that was acquired by SAP in 2015. He has also designed and managed multiple software solutions for business domains such as manufacturing, customer service, field service management, and eLearning.

Dr. Alexander currently serves as Professor of Practice at the Lubar College of Business in University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, where he directs the Information Technology Management graduate and undergraduate programs and teaches various enterprise information science courses covering artificial intelligence, data mining, data analytics, data engineering and architecture, and global IT and knowledge management. He holds PhD in Management Information Systems from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University, MS in Industrial Engineering from Marquette University, and BS in Mechanical Engineering from Kerala University.

He is currently participating in multiple software engineering startup projects that integrate Predictive and Generative AI innovations into enterprise software service solutions. He is actively researching the effect of Gen AI in enterprise digital transformation where he is developing activity-based token-predictor AI models that can help optimize business tasks and automate operational decision-making.

Dr. Sri Ramamoorti is renowned as an authority on corporate governance, risk management, internal auditing, behavioral forensics, and blockchain. Dr. Ramamoorti currently serves as Associate Professor of Accounting at the University of Dayton and taught previously at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Kennesaw State University.

Possessing a blended academic-practitioner background, he spent 15 years with professional service firms such as Andersen Worldwide, EY, and Grant Thornton in thought leadership and client/practice development roles. Sri earned a BComm. from Bombay University, India, and the MAcc, and PhD degrees from The Ohio State University.

Dr. Ramamoorti holds numerous professional certifications and is extensively published co-authoring over 60 research and professional articles and some 15 books and monographs. He has previously served on the prestigious Standing Advisory Group of the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) and currently serves on the Boards of Financial Executives International, the National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts, and the Institute for Truth in Accounting. Over the last two decades he has spoken at Conferences in 16 countries.

Dr Cynthia Arthur is an audit professional and prolific researcher with a unique blend of experience in software, healthcare, financial services, professional services, and public accounting firms (Deloitte and Ernst & Young).

Dr Arthur has worked on multiple significant engagements for large corporations. Her diverse expertise revolves around Initial Public Offering (IPO), IPO Readiness, Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) Implementation, Operational and Financial Audit Processes, Internal Control Over Financial Reporting (ICFR), CFO Attestation, HUD & USAP, Anti-Money Laundering, Consent Order Validations, and Mergers and Acquisitions.

Dr Arthur's research focus areas, which include technological acquisitions, intellectual capital, and financial performance, are areas of expertise that she has applied in a more comprehensive approach. This approach offers much broader insight into the key factors that drive the success or failure of corporate dealings, both quantitatively and qualitatively, making her a well-informed professional.

Dr Arthur consistently adds value to her roles by utilizing her superior knowledge, hard work, project management skills, and the synergy effect of teamwork. Her commitment to value addition reassures the audience of her contributions.

Tobias M. Mendelson is an attorney and retired Assistant Teaching Professor in the Personal Financial Planning Program, Division of Applied Sciences at the University of Missouri. During Toby’s forty-year distinguished legal career working in privatepractice, the financial services industry or teaching accounting, business law and financial planning, “pracademics” or the practical application of technical legal theories in planning scenarios is his practice in trade.

Toby has taught various tax, accounting and law course at the University of Missouri, University of Alabama Huntsville and Kennesaw State University. Prior to joining the world of academia, Toby’s expertise in tax, corporate, partnership and trusts were put to good use in the financial services industry at MetLife, New York Life, Mass Mutual and Canada Life serving as an advanced markets attorney.

As member of the Florida Bar for over forty years, Toby is also an active member of the American Bar Association serving as an exam reviewer for the Estate Planning specialty and judge for the Law Student Division National Appellate Advocacy competition and Negotiation competition. Toby is currently the Co-Chair of the ABA’s Real Property Probate and Estate Section Deferred Compensation Committee. Toby has been a speaker and panelist for many CLE, CPE and CE courses sponsored by the ABA, NHBA, NBA, AICPA, NABA, and SFPP.

Kris Murphy is a seasoned business intelligence professional with 18 years of analytics experience. Significant experience working with global organizations to report and analyze their accounting, finance, operations, human resource and customer. Specialized in the design of integrated, effective, efficient, and agile ERP, EPM, BI, and AI solutions. Kris has had leadership positions at Accenture, The Hackett Group and Brightstar-Softbank.

• Business Intelligence and advanced analytics, BI and EPM blueprints, architectural design and builds: As a Principal, Kris executed IT strategy and developed multiple roadmaps for BI and EPM deployments at several large organizations.
• Azure platform SME, implemented complex modern analytical platforms for numerous Fortune 500 organizations that incorporate structured, semi-structured and unstructured data. These flexible platforms enable AI in the form of machine learning to provide unique organizational insights.
• Oracle analytics SME for OAC, ADW the OAX products.
• Knowledge of advanced analytics and methods including longitudinal data analysis, structural equation modeling, data mining, visual analytics and geo-spatial analysis. Expert knowledge of causal analysis, moderation and mediation techniques.
• Hadoop Ecosystem: Led the implementation of several Hadoop ecosystem components to maximize opportunities for the buy back and trade service line. Using components of the ecosystem and advanced analytics we were able to reduce refurbishment costs and improve time to market.
• Power BI, Tableau/Qlik Sense: Led in the development of robust dashboards to support financial and operational reporting. Served as visualization subject matter expert, providing teams and business customers in the organization with best practices and data integration advisement.
• Former practice lead for advanced data management and integration practice which utilized EDM, OIC, Informatica, Azure data Factory, Data Bricks, Talend and other tools.
• Keynote speaker for best practices around big data and analytics and CFO.com. Developed an executive course: Big Data Simplified: Savvy Analytics for Better Business Decisions.

Kris supports our organization and is a Business Analytics and Business Technology Lecturer at the University of Miami. Kris’ research focuses on steering committees and their effectiveness in large, complex projects.

Tanmay Patani is an acknowledged leader with over 20 years of diverse experience spanning Cybersecurity and Legal and Business consulting domains. As a trusted advisor to numerous Global Fortune 1000 companies and PE firms, he has collaborated closely with executives, CISOs, legal counsel and law enforcement spearheading a multitude of digital forensic investigations and significantly enhancing cyber maturity and resilience across organizations.

As a Managing Director at KPMG Tanmay had adeptly led diverse teams, forging strategic partnerships with global clients and third-party vendors to fortify defenses against ransomware and emerging cyber threats. His expertise extends to orchestrating intricate global digital forensic investigations encompassing IP theft, litigations, FCPA, DOJ, and GDPR matters, and driving incident response initiatives ensuring swift recovery, remediation, and transformation.

Tanmay is also a diversity and inclusion champion. Recognized as a thought leader, he serves as a member of the Electronic Crime Task Force and is a sought-after speaker at various cybersecurity industry events.

Sayeed Patel is a strategic business partner with extensive experience in Internal Audit, Risk Management and SOX Compliance at both Fortune 500 and smaller entrepreneurial companies. He is a dynamic, results-driven professional who has leveraged his diverse expertise in the areas of Internal Controls and Enterprise Risk Management for risk mitigation to facilitate sound control environment.

His expertise is multi-disciplinary enabling him to bridge gaps across internal stake holders in order to achieve mutual objectives. He has served as a Subject Matter Expert on a number of engagements providing advisory oversight on new and existing business processes to ensure risks are appropriately identified and related mitigating controls are designed, assessed, and implemented. Sayeed has partnered with QA, QC, Legal and Compliance teams on many steering committee meetings providing valuable input from an Internal Audit perspective on a variety of control matters and exchange of information on business process weakness issues.

Sayeed is a trusted leader with solid analytical skills to identify control weaknesses and the ability to drive process improvement and efficiencies. He leverages his broad knowledge of financial, operational and compliance issues to conduct risk-based assessments across all aspects of company operations and recommend improvements to internal control and business operations. He has successfully assisted companies to enhance risk coverage while optimizing overall risk spend.

David Sems is the Director of Communications & Technology for the City of Strongsville, Ohio. He is also the founder of Sems & Associates, a computer forensic consulting firm, and serves as the Managing Director for the White Elm Group electronic discovery practice. David was with Ernst & Young for 11 years and led America’s Forensic Data Analysis team.

With over two decades of experience, David is well-versed in providing forensic technology services to clients across different industries. He has worked extensively internationally, providing services in 13 countries across Europe, Africa, and North America. David's expertise covers various services, from computer forensic analysis to transactional data analytics.

His specialty is helping clients navigate vast sets of disparate data to uncover patterns, artifacts, and anomalies that can identify high-risk, non-obvious, or suspicious activities. He uses cutting-edge techniques such as fuzzy string matching, link analysis, text mining, computer forensics, and cluster analysis to find the proverbial "needle in the haystack."

David has also provided valuable forensic consulting and advisory services to local law enforcement agencies. He has assisted them in investigating cases and providing feedback via analytics. He is a sought-after national speaker, regularly presenting to groups such as the Institute of Internal Auditors, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.

Additionally, David guest lectures at various universities, including Notre Dame, Baldwin-Wallace, University of Dayton, and Kennesaw State University. David holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Akron. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Ohio Society of CPAs. He is a Certified Information Technology Professional (CITP) and Certified in Financial Forensics (CFF) from the AICPA. David is also an associate member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners.

Tommie is an adjunct professor at the University of North Alabama teaching four classes a year primarily in the Master of Accountancy program there. He has been providing training for the AICPA in areas of accounting related to his experience and CPE seminars for professional organizations.

As a Consultant for a large regional CPA firm, Carr Riggs & Ingram (CRI) from 2008 to 2012, in top 25 largest firms in the US. Duties were as corporate officer over “Consulting Service”, which included everything except audits, tax and write-up. His responsibilities included research, quality control, training, selecting tools for the services, and input on the line of services.

From 2012 to 2020, he was a full-time Line Leader for Consulting Services. His duties involved corporate oversight and responsibilities for all that was involved in developing services, delivering services, training, quality control, and growth of the series of services that were included in Consulting. Services included forensic accounting, IT auditing, service organization control reports, agreed-upon procedures, business valuation engagements, and anything not in the other 3 lines. When he came to CRI in 2008, the Consulting line produced less than $100,000 a year in services. When he left in 2020, revenues for Consulting were over $3,000,000. CRI was the 19th largest public accounting firm in the U.S. at that time with revenues over $300,000,000.

Prior to that, as a Professor at three universities he taught classes in accounting, IT audit, Fraud, and Information Systems. Tommie was also a President of a family business in the information technology industry (Southern Automated Systems Inc. - SAS). His duties included management, programming, building computer systems, sales, and installing systems.

Alan has served as an audit committee chair, financial expert, and board member with over ten years in a Big Four CPA firm partner/director role, and over 30 years in a senior risk management/internal auditing leadership role with large financial services organizations. He has extensive background in internal auditing, enterprise risk management (ERM), internal controls, governance, IT auditing, operations, customer service, business processes, and strategy.

He has achieved significant cost savings for a multitude of organizations by identifying risks and creating systems/processes that enhanced organizational efficiency and productivity. Alan possesses astute strategic, leadership, and analytical competencies and has proven success in developing strategic relationships, building and leading audit teams, and effectively communicating internal audit strategies to chief executives and board members. His international organization experience includes six years as a UNICEF Audit Committee member and Vice Chair, four years as a Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) Audit Committee member and chair, five years as the Auditor General of the Inter-American Development Bank, and two years as the World Bank/IMF Federal Credit Union Director of Internal Audit. He has served 8 years as an outside independent director for the Horizon Farm Credit, ACA Bank.

Horizon is a $6B financial institution that is part of the US Farm Credit Administration System. He also serves as an adjunct professor of graduate internal auditing, information systems auditing, and ERM courses at the University of Maryland’s Smith School of Business for the past 18 years. He is a 2015 inductee of the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) into the American Hall of Distinguished Audit Professionals. He was awarded The IIA’s 2020 Bradford Cadmus Memorial Award for his global service to the internal audit profession.

James H. (“Jim”) Wanserski is an experienced, multi-industry, and ‘staff-to-executive’ producer with a career thus far encompassing public, private, and private equity roles in industry, consulting, turnaround, and education/not-for-profit. His Midwest education includes undergraduate and graduate studies at Rockhurst University, including two stints as an adjunct professor while working in the telecom industry. He is a published author on fraud, prevention and detection and has nearly 150 presentations and lectures on the topic, mirroring his multiple fraud-busting experiences from his business and consulting roles. His personal and co-authored publication topics include best practices, management experiences and lessons-learned, and insights on risk management and the associated governance knowledge-space.

Mr. Wanserski has held numerous roles with public companies in industry: finance and regulatory accounting, as chief audit executive, CFO, multiple times as COO and CEO, including court-ordered assignments to oversee technology acquisitions subject to anti-trust oversight by several Federal and state agencies. His consulting projects have included ‘Big-5”, specialty firm(s), and turnaround work; his oversight roles have included public companies, private, private equity portfolio, and family office organizations. He is actively consulting currently with business lines including C-Suite roles, consulting project work, advisory services, and speaking/publication work for universities, business organizations, and key clients.

Stephen (Steve) Minder has served a variety of organizations over his 45+ year career specializing in internal auditing in both the public and private sector, public accounting in a Big Four CPA firm, as a founder and CEO of a software development, consulting and training firm, and as a founder of a North American golf club. He has extensive background in IT audit, internal auditing, internal controls (SOX), risk management, fraud and forensic investigations, acquisitions, corporate compliance and ethics, organizational governance, and strategic planning.

He has provided value-added audit and consulting recommendations to clients to improve overall business operations with specific emphasis on IT control processes. Steve has strong skills to build and motivate teams to meet organizational objectives. He served as Corporate Compliance Officer and Vice President of Internal Audit at Archer Daniels Midland Company. He also held senior internal audit leadership roles in the Illinois Department of Revenue and the Supreme Court of Illinois. Steve is also a founding member of the Amateur Players Tour which provides golf competitions to over 5000 members across North America.

Steve has volunteered for over 30 years with the Institute of Internal Auditors working primarily in promoting Research and providing training for Internal Auditors. He also served on numerous non-profit boards in the communities where he has lived.

Since October 2017, Mark Ruppert has led Northern Arizona University (NAU) as the Chief Audit Executive and Enterprise Risk Management Facilitator, bringing over 30 years of extensive experience in internal auditing, primarily in academic medical centers. He distinguished himself in chief audit roles at the Cedars-Sinai Health System in Los Angeles and the Johns Hopkins Health System in Baltimore. A respected voice in the field, Mark has been a national speaker since 2000 and has contributed insights on audit, compliance, and risk topics in publications like College & University Auditor, Compliance Today, and New Perspectives. He has also shared his expertise as a lecturer on Information Systems Auditing and Internal Audit at the University of California, Los Angeles, and Riverside.

Mark’s academic foundation in accounting was laid at Towson University, a peer institution of NAU. His professional acumen is further backed by credentials as a CPA, CIA, and CISA, alongside his previous certifications in healthcare finance (CHFP), healthcare compliance (CHC), and agile project management (CSM), which have enriched his diverse skill set. Mark’s leadership is not just defined by his professional achievements but also by his commitment to ethical and efficient practices in audit and risk management.