MSATA 2017
 

MSATA 2017 Conference Speakers


Keynote Speakers:  

Frank Abagnale is one of the world’s most respected authorities on forgery, embezzlement and secure documents. Frank’s rare blend of knowledge and expertise began more than 50 years ago when he was known as one of the world’s most famous con men. He has spent the last 40 years working with, advising and consulting with hundreds of financial institutions, corporations and government agencies around the world regarding their fraud prevention programs.

CJ McClanahan is an author, speaker and executive coach. Over the past 14 years, he has spoken to thousands of professionals and has helped more than 300 business owners and corporate management teams achieve record sales and profits. After beginning his career with Arthur Anderson, where he helped organizations utilize technology to improve their business processes, CJ shifted his focus toward the small business. His last corporate role, CJ was responsible for managing operations, finance and IT.  

Kelly Mitchell was elected as the 55th Treasurer for the State of Indiana in 2014. As State Treasurer, she serves as the Chair of the Indiana Bond Bank, Statewide E-911 Board, Indiana Education Savings Authority, ABLE Authority and as the Sole Trustee of the State Police Pension Trust, among a number of other positions.  As the Chief Investment Officer for the State, she is responsible for the management of approximately five to seven billion dollars on a daily basis. For seven years prior to becoming Treasurer, she worked in the Treasurer of State’s Office as the Director of TrustINdiana, Indiana’s local government investment pool. Prior to joining the Indiana Treasurer of State’s Office, Kelly was a County Commissioner for eight years in Cass County, Indiana.

Daniel J. Mitchell  is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute who specializes in fiscal policy, particularly tax reform, international tax competition and the economic burden of government spending. He also serves on the editorial board of the Cayman Financial Review. Prior to joining Cato, Daniel was a senior fellow with the Heritage Foundation, and an economist for Senator Bob Packwood and the Senate Finance Committee. His work has been published in numerous outlets. He has appeared on all the major TV networks, and has given speeches in almost 40 states and more than 30 countries


Guest Speakers:

Bobi Adams started her career with the South Dakota Department of Revenue 17 years ago. Bobi has served as a territory agent, Revenue Supervisor, Strategic Initiatives Manager and is currently the Deputy Director of Strategy and Communications. She also serves as the department’s tribal liaison to seven of the nine Indian tribes in South Dakota who have tax collection agreements.  

Michael Alford  has been a Special Agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Indianapolis for over nine years. Special Agent Alford has a Master's of Science in Digital Forensics from the University of Central Florida, and has over 15 years of experience in computer security and computer forensics. Special Agent Alford routinely investigates complex computer intrusions, including national security intrusions and intrusions into industrial control systems. 

Richard C. Auxier is a research associate in the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center at the Urban Institute. His work focuses on state and local tax policy, budgets and other finance issues. Before joining Urban, Auxier was on the staff of the D.C. Tax Revision Commission, and helped write the commission's final report on recommendations for improving the District's tax system. He also was previously a researcher and editor at the Pew Research Center. Auxier attended the University of Maryland for his undergraduate degree and his master's degree in public policy.

Gila J. Bronner is President and CEO of Bronner Group, LLC, a woman-owned, multi-disciplined professional services company delivering comprehensive strategy, transformation and accountability consulting services to state and local governments, federal agencies and government-related organizations. Gila has also assisted several hundred government entities throughout the United States and Puerto Rico in streamlining business practices, implementing improved internal controls and developing strong public oversight mechanisms. She is highly respected as an expert on auditor independence and internal control issues, and is a nationally recognized authority on government compliance and oversight.

Rodney Davis has been employed as a Federal Criminal Investigator for more than 30 years working in Philadelphia, Atlanta, New York, Boston and Washington D.C.  He is currently the Special Agent in Charge for the United States Treasury Department, Washington Field Division.  He previously worked as an Instructor at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. and is on the Board of Directors for the United Way of Greater Philadelphia & Southern New Jersey.   

Eric Davison is the Financial Manager of Operations for the City of Kansas City, Missouri Revenue Division.  In his position, he oversees the Customer Service, Business License, Document Processing and Administration Sections for the division. He has been with the City of Kansas City for over 18 years. In May 2017, he served as a volunteer consultant to the General Directorate of Taxation for the government of Albania, assisting them with the establishment of a taxpayer call center.  

Azalea De Ford is the Director of Strategic Planning and Programs for the Indiana Department of Revenue. Azalea has previously worked overseas where she focused her legal career on international business law and policy, along with advising multinational companies during the negotiation process. Azalea served as the Director of International Affairs at Marion County Prosecutor’s Office, where she served as the Chair of the Hispanic Task Force; the Indiana Governor's Commission on Hispanic and Latino Affairs; and the Mayor of Indianapolis Commission on Latino Affairs. 

Andy Gerlach was appointed Secretary of the South Dakota Department of Revenue in December of 2010. He previously served with the Department of Military and Veteran's Affairs, first as Finance Officer and later as Deputy Secretary. Andy earned his bachelor's degree from Northern State University, Aberdeen. He continued his education and earned his Masters of Business Administration from The University of South Dakota and a Master of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College. He is a Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve and has served in Afghanistan.

Jennifer and Michael Hathaway own and operate Certified Fraud & Forensic Investigations (CFFI), a forensic accounting and fraud investigations firm based in Indianapolis. Their careers span a wide variety of audits and investigations for both public and private entities. Michael and Jennifer have dedicated the past three years to combatting stolen identity refund fraud (SIRF) in the individual income tax arena through data analytics, continuous monitoring and case development.  

Alison Jares graduated from the University of South Dakota with a degree in Business Administration. Upon graduation she spent 7 years working in the grocery retail industry throughout the Midwest. Alison is the Deputy Director of Business Tax at the Department of Revenue. She has made Pierre her home for 20 years with her husband and two daughters.

Craig Johnson is the Executive Director of the Streamlined Sales Tax Governing Board, Inc.  In this position, he is the Chief Operating Officer for an organization currently made up of 24 different state governments.  He is responsible for the day-to-day needs of the Governing Board and its committees.  Craig has been involved with the Streamlined Sales Tax Project since 2006 serving as one of Wisconsin’s representatives. Prior to this position, Craig worked at the Wisconsin Department of Revenue for over 20 years.  

Nicole Kaeding  is an economist with the Center for State Tax Policy at the Tax Foundation, where her research analyzes trends in state budget and tax policy. Her analysis of tax issues has been featured in numerous national, state and local publications. Previously, Nicole was a budget analyst for the Cato Institute focused on federal and state fiscal policy, and the state policy manager for Americans for Prosperity Foundation where she oversaw the policy activities of AFPF’s 34 state chapters. In 2014, Nicole was selected as a National Review Institute Washington Fellow

Jon Kroehler is the Chief Human Resources Officer for Navient Corporation, a leading provider of asset management and business processing solutions for education, healthcare and government clients at the federal, state and local levels. Jon has a distinguished record of successfully building and leading complex organizations and projects in information technology and service delivery operations. His passion for, and dedication to, positive leadership practices and principles has resulted in impressive success, for the organizations he has led and the people who have been fortunate to be on his team. Jon also has a long history of developing positive leaders who are equally impactful to their organizations and teams.

Scott Lockwood serves as the Supervisor and Fraud Program Manager within the Iowa Department of Revenue. Serving as the Internal Revenue Service Iowa State Co-Lead for the Security Summit IDTTRF-ISAC initiative for the second year.  Scott also serving on the Steering Committee for the ISAC Analyst Community of Practice and the ISAC Metrics Committee as subject matter expert.

Ted London is a partner with FICO helping their government clients improve their operations. Actively working with government agencies around the country to identify and implement opportunities to increase revenue without increasing taxes. Ted is a recognized subject matter expert with over 20 years of experience in collections, predictive modeling, fraud identification, benefits estimation and measurement, and tax administration for government decision management solutions. 

Pilar Mata is a Tax Counsel for Tax Executives Institute, where she supports the State and Local Tax Committee, the European Indirect Tax Committee and the Canadian Commodity Tax Committee in their advocacy and educational efforts on behalf of the Institute. Before joining the Tax Executive Institute, Pilar served as counsel to Sutherland Asbill & Brennan, LLP for more than six years, associate with Morrison & Foerster, LLP, auditor for the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and account administrator with Wells Fargo. 

Steve Matteson is the Senior Technical Advisor with the Office of Safeguards providing data security guidance and oversight for IRS tax information sharing programs. Steve is a co-chair of the Safeguards Advisory Council and works regularly with FTA and state agencies to foster collaboration and reduce risk to Federal tax information. Steve has been with the IRS for almost 24 years spending his first 15 years with the IRS Collection Division before coming to Safeguards.  

MaryAnn Totino Mindrum is an Assistant United States Attorney in the Southern District of Indiana.  MaryAnn joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office in 2012 and has prosecuted a variety of cases, including fraud offenses, white collar offenses, civil rights violations, violent crime, drug offenses and child exploitation matters. MaryAnn is currently the cybercrime coordinator at the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Sher previously served as the litigation associate for Barnes & Thornburg and as a law clerk for the Honorable Joseph F. Bianco in the U.S. District Court. MaryAnn graduated from Cornell University and Harvard Law School. 

Fred Nicely is Senior Tax Counsel for the Council on State Taxation (COST). Before joining COST, Fred served in the Ohio Department of Taxation for four years as Deputy Tax Commissioner and for the prior seven years as the Department’s Chief Counsel.  Fred’s provides testimony before legislative committees, participating as an alternative delegate for Ohio at Streamlined Sales Tax Project meetings and reviewing legal documents issued by the Department, including deciding the merits of filing an appeal. 

Kathy Pickering is the Executive Director of The Tax Institute at H&R Block. With more than a decade of experience in tax operations and 25 years in information technology, Kathy is responsible for the strategic direction and management for a team of the nation’s top experts on tax issues.  As head of The Tax Institute, she oversees enrolled agents, CPAs and attorneys who provide information and analysis on the real-world implications of tax policy and tax proposals. She also leads H&R Block’s relationships with the Internal Revenue Service. 

Patti Reid serves as the Partner Engagement Director for the Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC). Since the IRS Security Summit initiative in 2015, Patti has worked on efforts to continue that partnership through the development and deployment of the IRS’ first-ever Public Private Partnership, the Identity Theft Tax Refund Fraud ISAC. Her last position at IRS was on the Commissioner’s staff in the Office of Communications as the Director for Social Media.  This work involved the development of a new Social Media Division in IRS as well as deploying social media platforms to improve the customer experience with the IRS. 

Patrick J. Reynolds joined the Council on State Taxation (COST) as Tax Counsel in 2016. He is part of the COST advocacy team, where he is staff liaison to the Unclaimed Property Committee and the Sales Tax Committee, and he contributes to tax policy development, drafting and legislative advocacy. Previously, he was Senior Managing Counsel with J.C. Penney and for 14 years provided legal support for audits, litigation and appeals for income, franchise, sales/use, property and transfer taxes, as well as unclaimed property. He also advised in strategic planning efforts, state tax aspects of financial accounting, and tax minimization and incentive strategies. 

Toni Richardson serves the South Dakota Department of Revenue as the Director of Administration. Before serving the South Dakota Department of Revenue, Toni led the Organizational Developmental team for 15 years with the Bureau of Human Resources. She has been with the state of South Dakota for 17 years.

Sandra Richtermeyer is Dean of the Manning School of Business. She brings more than 25 years of higher education experience to University of Massachusetts Lowell, including more than 12 years in academic leadership roles ranging from global professor-in-residence of the Institute of Management Accountants to department chair and associate dean of the Williams College of Business at Xavier University in Cincinnati. Sandra’s teaching and research interests are in the areas of corporate governance, accounting information systems and nonprofit and governmental accounting. 

Paul H. Sinclair is a partner in the Labor and Employment Group at Ice Miller, LLP, has a primary practice concentration in labor and employment law. In addition to counseling clients, he handles all aspects of employment related legal claims on behalf of employers. Paul assists clients with preventative training in a wide variety of employment topics, such as sexual harassment, union-free maintenance, basic employment law for managers and how to properly document and discipline, to name a few. 

Kirk Stark is the Barrall Family Professor of Tax Law and Policy at the University of California, Los Angeles. In addition, he regularly serves as faculty coordinator of the UCLA Colloquium on Tax Policy & Public Finance, an interdisciplinary workshop designed to explore leading research on taxation. His research focuses on taxation and public finance, with an emphasis on state and local tax policy and U.S. fiscal federalism. His work has examined fiscal disparities among the states, the federal government’s role in state tax reform, and the question of how best to allocate fiscal responsibilities among federal, state and local governments.  

Michael Tooley serves as general employment counselor and advocate for employers at Ice Miller, LLP regarding their workforces inside and outside Indiana, including daily employee issues, collective bargaining, arbitration, administrative proceedings before the NLRB, EEOC and other federal and state agencies, and employment litigation in state and federal courts. Mike spends a considerable amount of his practice coaching and training human resource professionals and other business executives on how to comply with the various employment laws that affect them, while still getting the best from their workforce.

Nate Weber is the Director of the Office of Technical Services in the Income, Sales & Excise Tax Division at the Wisconsin Department of Revenue. Nate and his staff are responsible for implementing legislative changes, responding to technical tax rulings, updating forms, and writing instructions and publications, among many other duties. Nate was a field auditor for the department for over 12 years and also held positions as the Pass-Through Entity Specialist and Research Credit Specialist for the Department's Field Audit Section. 

Dawn Wenzel is Chief of the Income Tax Section in the Tax Operations Bureau of the Income Sales & Excise Tax Division at the Wisconsin Department of Revenue.  Income Section staff are responsible for reviewing and adjusting individual income, fiduciary income, homestead credit, partnership, composite partnership, S corporation, composite S corporation and pass through withholding returns and payments. In addition, staff are responsible for system testing, procedure documents, handling undeliverable mail and exception payment items.

David Wiest has served as the Deputy Secretary for the South Dakota Department of Revenue since 2007. Prior to his role, David was the Assistant Attorney General for more than 28 years. David has a bachelor’s degree from the University of South Dakota and earned his Juris Doctorate from the University of South Dakota School of Law. 

Amber Ying is Director of Internal Affairs for the Indiana Department of Revenue, reporting to Revenue Inspector General Dwaine Brinson. In her role, Amber and her team investigate internal policy and misconduct violations and assist in the development of internal policies and procedures. Amber is a graduate of the University of Michigan and the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law.