ASCPA Converge Conference - Two Day

Barry S. Graham, Wallace, Plese + Dreher, LLP

Barry S. Graham is a senior audit manager at Wallace Plese + Dreher (WP+D), an Arizona-based public accounting firm. A licensed Arizona CPA and Certified Management Accountant (CMA®), he brings almost two decades of business and public accounting experience. Graham manages financial statement audits, reviews and AUP engagements for private companies across industries including heavy equipment, manufacturing, construction, hospitality and distribution. He guided clients through the adoption of new lease accounting standards, helping them document leases, implement tracking systems, and meet disclosure requirements.

Cara McDaniel, Ph.D.

Dr. Cara E. McDaniel is Clinical Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at Arizona State University, where she also serves as Teaching Lead and Assistant Chair. She earned her Ph.D. and M.S. in Economics from ASU (2008, 2004) and holds a B.A. in Economics from Washington State University (2002). Dr. McDaniel teaches macroeconomics, microeconomics, and money & banking, blending rigorous theory with real-world context.

Her research spans macroeconomics, taxation, time allocation, and policy effects, with her work published and cited in respected journals and platforms. She has explored topics such as effective tax rates, hours worked across OECD countries, and the interplay between consumption, investment, and labor. Her scholarship has earned recognition in academic circles and contributes to policy discourse in economic taxation and labor economics.

At ASU, Dr. McDaniel is a leader in curriculum development, undergraduate education, and teaching innovation. She is the recipient of the “Entrepreneurial Approach to Learning” Teaching Innovation Award (2021) and the Huizingh Outstanding Service to Undergraduate Students Award (2019). She is committed to advancing the academic and professional impact of economics, particularly in bridging research and practice for students, policymakers, and practitioners.

David Seibel, EA, McGuire Sponsel

David Seibel is a Principal for the R&D Tax Credit Practice. He combines his knowledge of tax law with his engineering expertise to maximize companies’ research credits and reduce their overall tax burdens.

Seibel ensures clients are receiving studies that meet the highest level of quality. He conducts fieldwork, produces detailed technical calculations, and builds narratives that accurately reflect each company’s research and experimentation activity. Seibel is an Enrolled Agent (EA), which enables him to represent clients in audit defense cases with the Internal Revenue Service.

Prior to joining McGuire Sponsel, Seibel worked with an industrial furnace company and an electro-mechanical company designing prototype power converters for coal haulers in the mining industry. He earned a degree in the mechanical engineering program at the University of Notre Dame.

Tracy is a banking executive with over 25 years’ experience in commercial lending with most of that time in community bank’s lending to a wide variety of businesses and industries having diverse and unique banking needs. He has expertise in Non-performing/Workout Credits and SBA and government guaranteed lending.

Tracy’s background includes working as a contract CFO and as a community bank Chief Credit Officer. He currently is the Senior Vice President over Special Assets at BNC Bank in Arizona. Tracy holds numerous certificates in the banking industry including an Exemplary Credit Professional diploma. He received his bachelor of business administration degree from the University of Phoenix.

Tracy is a CPA in the State of Arizona. He has served on the board of directors at the Peoria Chamber of Commerce since 2018 and served as Chair of the Board 2021 -2022. Tracy is active in other local charity and civic organizations and is committed to seeing others succeed.

Edward K. Zollars, CPA, Thomas, Zollars & Lynch, Ltd.

Edward K. Zollars, CPA, is in public practice in Phoenix, Arizona as a partner with the firm of Thomas, Zollars & Lynch, Ltd. He has been in practice for more than 35 years, specializing in tax issues for closely held businesses and individuals. Zollars has been professionally involved with both tax and technology issues, combining the two disciplines in producing the Current Federal Tax Development Update Podcast and website, dealing with current tax issues. He has been a member of AICPA Tax Division Committees focusing on tax and technology issues and was the Tax Section’s representative on three occasions to the AICPA’s Top Ten Technologies project. He is also a member of the Phoenix Tax Workshop’s Advisory Committee and currently serves on the Tax Legislation Liaison Committee for the Arizona Society of CPAs. Zollars was selected as a Life Member by the Arizona Society of CPAs in May, 2010. Along with writing, editing and presenting courses for Loscalzo Institute, Zollars has written articles published in Practical Tax Strategies and the Tax Adviser. He has been a frequent contributor to a number of professional tax discussion groups, and served as systems operator on the AICPA’s Accountants Forum in the mid-1990s. He has spoken regularly on tax and technology topics since 1996, speaking before conferences sponsored by the AICPA and a number of state societies of CPAs.

Fady Salama, SimplifyIT A-Z

SimplifyIT A-Z was founded in 2007 by Fady Salama, who has over 20 years of experience managing, consulting, and securing CPA firms. His deep knowledge of the industry allows him to understand the unique pain points CPA firms face. Built on the core principle, “We do what’s right when no one is looking,” the company treats each partner as though it were their own. Acting as a virtual Chief Information Officer, SimplifyIT A-Z helps clients define five-year goals and create SMART goals, while providing top-tier customer service and real-time security monitoring. The team confidently states, “We’re doing it better than anyone else.”

Jerry J. Maginnis, CPA (licensed in PA)

Maginnis serves as an Independent Director and the Chair of the Audit Committee for the Cohen & Steers Mutual Fund Complex. He is also a board member and Chairs the Audit Committee of inTEST Corporation (INTT; NYSE), a publicly traded technology company.

Maginnis also serves as the Senior Advisor, Strategy and Growth to the CEO and leadership team of Centri Consulting LLC, a professional services firm. The Firm specializes in providing financial reporting, internal controls, valuation, technical accounting research and CFO advisory services to clients in a variety of industries. He is also an Executive in Residence at Rowan University, supporting the accounting program and coaching and mentoring students as they transition from academia to the business world.

Maginnis spent 36 years with KPMG where he was an audit partner serving a variety of clients and specializing in emerging growth companies. He led KPMG’s audit practice in Pennsylvania for five years and served as the Firm’s Philadelphia Office Managing Partner for the last eight years of his career.

Maginnis is the author of “Advice for a Successful Career in the Accounting Profession, How to Make Your Assets Greatly Exceed Your Liabilities” published by Wiley and released nationally in October of 2021. The book is a resource for college and university students studying accounting, early career professionals and accountants of all ages. The book is also a helpful tool for accounting educators, state CPA societies and others focused on ensuring a strong pipeline of talent into the Accounting Profession.

Maginnis previously served as the President of the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA), a member of the Council of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), a member of the Board and Treasurer of the AICPA Foundation and the Chairman of the PICPA Foundation. He is also a past chair of the Rowan University Accounting Advisory Board. He served as a board member of Gwynedd-Mercy University, Saint Joseph’s Preparatory School and the Union League of Philadelphia and The Faith in the Future Foundation, a non-profit organization focused on preserving Catholic education at the secondary level in the Philadelphia region. Maginnis graduated from Saint Joseph’s University in 1977 with a BS in Accounting. He is a CPA, licensed in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Jon Lokhorst, CPA (licensed in MN)

Jon Lokhorst, CSP, CPA (licensed in Minnesota), PCC, is a leadership coach, corporate trainer, keynote speaker, and the author of Mission-Critical Leadership: How Smart Managers Lead Well in All Directions. He works with organizations to develop leaders everyone wants to follow, build teams no one wants to leave, and deliver exceptional results. Before launching Your Best Leadership LLC, Jon enjoyed a 30-plus year career as a CPA, CFO, and organizational leader. He has a Master’s degree in Organizational Leadership and is recognized by the International Coach Federation as a Professional Certified Coach. Jon is member of the National Speakers Association and served recently as President of the Minnesota chapter. He has earned the Certified Speaking Professional Designation (CSP), a distinction held by less than 20 percent of NSA members

Karen Bentley, Guidant Law Firm

Karen Bentley is a distinguished attorney who focuses her practice on student loan debt discharges, debt resolution, bankruptcy, and litigation. A prominent advocate, she tirelessly assists clients in finding relief from debt burdens.

Lamar Hawkins, Guidant Law Firm

A leading voice in Arizona bankruptcy law, Lamar chairs the Arizona Board of Legal Specialization’s Bankruptcy Law Advisory Commission. He filed Arizona’s first Subchapter V petition and is deeply attuned to the complexities of bankruptcy code.

Melisa F. Galasso, CPA (in NC), Galasso Learning Solutions LLC

A CPA with nearly 20 years of experience in the accounting profession, Galasso designs and facilitates courses in advanced technical accounting and auditing topics, including not-for-profit and governmental accounting. Galasso is a Certified Speaking Professional, a Certified Professional in Talent Development and has earned the Association for Talent Development Master Trainer designation. Within the industry, Galasso serves on FASB’s Not-for-Profit Advisory Committee (NAC), AICPA Council and serves as a Subject Matter Expert for the Center for Plain English Accounting. She previously served on the AICPA’s Technical Issues Committee (TIC), the VSCPA’s Board of Directors and is past-Chair of the NCACPA’s A&A Committee.

Paul Mellor

Paul Mellor, author of Finding the Keys, was a finalist in the USA Memory Championship, where he recalled the names of over 90 people in less than 15 minutes, remembered in exact order over 100 single-digit numbers after a five-minute study, and recalled the exact order of a shuffled deck of playing cards after less than a three-and-a-half minute review. His engaging and energetic programs have been delivered to audiences in all 50 states.

A Communications graduate of Western Carolina University, Mellor is also the author of You’re Almost There, chronicling his journey as having run a marathon (26.2 miles) in all 50 states; Summer in the Saddle, about his 4700-mile bicycle ride across America; and Strokes of Kindness, about his solo kayaking trip down the Mississippi River.

Rich Brody is Professor Emeritus in the Accounting Department at the Anderson School of Management, University of New Mexico. He holds a Ph.D. from Arizona State University, an M.S. from Colorado State University, and a B.S. from the University of Delaware. Rich’s professional experience includes roles as a staff auditor at Deloitte Haskins + Sells, a cost analyst at Hewlett-Packard, and a senior financial reporting analyst at Tandem Computers. He is a Certified Fraud Examiner, a Certified Public Accountant, and a Chartered Global Management Accountant, also holding the Certified in Financial Forensics designation. His research focuses on forensic accounting, auditing, and corporate governance. With over 100 refereed publications and more than 150 presentations at national and international conferences, he is widely recognized in his field.

A Regent Emeritus of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), Brody was named 2012 ACFE Educator of the Year and has twice been honored as Outstanding Educator by the New Mexico Society of CPAs. Rich has served as an expert witness in both civil and criminal cases, collaborating with agencies such as the U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Department of Justice, New Mexico Attorney General’s Office, and the Second Judicial District Attorney’s Office in New Mexico.

Shailesh Ghimire, New Wine Digital

Shailesh Ghimire has spoken to a wide variety of audiences across many industries. Whether speaking to small gatherings of just a handful of people or presenting at a large industry event - his goal is the same - make digital marketing understandable and actionable. As a speaker, Shailesh communicates complex digital marketing concepts in a clear, succinct manner. Participants always leave knowing they can leverage their new knowledge to build a stronger business. Shailesh approaches digital marketing strategically as part of the overall goals of a business. His presentation is understandable and immediately actionable. He brings insights from years of experience working with brands across a range of industries. His practical insights, tips and tricks means - participants walk away with valuable information that they can implement right away in their business.