Accounting & Auditing Conference

Thursday, November 12, 2026
8:25 a.m. – 4:50 p.m.
Virtual
8 CPE Credits

Early Bird Cost: $405 Member | $505 Non-Member
Standard Cost: $435 Member | $535 Non-Member
Use code EARLYBIRD_A&A by October 22 to receive the early bird rate.

New guidance is only part of the challenge. Accounting and auditing professionals also need to apply it consistently, address issues that affect engagement quality, and exercise sound judgment when risks emerge.

This one-day conference brings together updates on U.S. GAAP, recurring peer review findings, ethics, fraud, AI governance, and quality management. Hear from specialists on the developments and professional issues affecting your work in public practice and industry.

Accounting and auditing professionals in both public practice and industry who are looking to gain valuable insights, stay informed on emerging trends, and remain at the forefront of the profession.

Mary Laidman, CPA, DHJJ

Heather Lindquist, CPA, Illinois CPA Society

Carmen F. Mugnolo, CPA, Mugnolo & Associates Ltd.

Jodi Seelye, CPA

Ralph Nach

Founder and CEO, SkillSmart LLC

Ralph is the author and instructional designer of the popular Accounting and Auditing Clinic™ presented annually across the U.S. for scores of firms and thousands of attendees. He is a sought-after conference speaker and course facilitator throughout the U.S. and internationally.

Ralph has served the accounting profession for over 45 years in a variety of capacities including audit partner, quality control director, and external peer reviewer. He also served as a partner in the National Office of Accounting and Auditing of the fifth largest international accounting firm, the U.S. Chief Learning Officer for American Express Tax and Business Services, Inc., an adjunct lecturer in accounting, finance, and economics at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, and the co-author, for a ten-year stint, of the annual updates to the popular handbook, Wiley GAAP: Interpretation and Application of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles

In his current capacity, Ralph also serves as a technical quality control consultant and pre-issuance financial statement reviewer for U.S.-based CPA firms.

Andrew Merryman

Senior Manager - Audit and Accounting Technical Services, AICPA - Center for Plain English Accounting

Andrew Merryman, CPA, Senior Manager - Audit and Accounting Technical Services

AICPA - Center for Plain English Accounting

Andrew Merryman joined the Center for Plain English Accounting as a Senior Manager in December 2022. At the CPEA, Andrew's main responsibilities include responding to technical inquiries, assisting with webcasts, and preparing monthly reports. He is a co-host of the AICPA's monthly A&A Focus webcast series and is also a frequent speaker at conferences. Before joining the AICPA, Andrew spent his entire 12-year career in public practice, with the last 8 years at Bumgardner Morrison (BMC). As a Partner at BMC, Andrew was responsible for the firm's A&A and Peer Review Practices and his main industry areas of expertise were Defined Contribution 401(k) Plans, non-profits, nonpublic companies, and financial institutions. In addition, Andrew performed peer reviews from 2018-2022 and was a member of the Texas Peer Review Committee from 2020-2022.

Kathy Enstrom

Kathy is the Chief Operating Officer and Director of Investigations for the Moore Tax Law Group based in Chicago and New York. She assists clients facing governmental investigations and civil matters involving all manner of alleged tax fraud and white collar fraud. Kathy Enstrom began her career as a Special Agent with IRS Criminal Investigation (CI) in 1995. In this role she investigated numerous complex federal tax and financial crimes cases. She was promoted into management in 2005 and eventually rose to the executive level. Kathy departed CI in 2021, and her time in federal law enforcement concluded with her role as Chicago’s Special Agent in Charge of FDIC-Office of Inspector General.

Jeremy Dane

Principal, BDO USA

Jeremy's career has focused on providing consulting in civil and criminal matters with a particular emphasis on forensic accounting, fraud investigations, fraud due diligence reviews, and compliance assessments. With more than 27 years of investigations and compliance experience, he is frequently engaged as both a litigation consultant and forensic accountant, primarily in the areas of fraudulent schemes (e.g., kickbacks) and corruption and bribery (e.g., Foreign Corruption Practices Act). His work conducting investigations and compliance assessments has taken him around the globe to service clients in North America, South America, Europe, Africa, and Asia.

Jeremy has experience in helping his clients enhance their controls to prevent, detect, and monitor for fraud; he also helps catch the individuals who are defrauding them. His strengths include designing and implementing anti-corruption compliance programs, performing compliance assessments, and investigating potential fraud at his clients.

Prior to joining BDO, Jeremy was in the Forensic Services practice at two Big Four firms, where he helped clients address key business issues and mitigate risks from a forensics perspective.

Josh Heine

Vice President, Corporate Controller and Principal Accounting Officer, Verano Holdings Corp.

Josh Heine

Vice President, Corporate Controller and Principal Accounting Officer

Mr. Heine was promoted and appointed to Vice President, Corporate Controller of the Company in April 2025, and serves as the Company's Principal Accounting Officer. He joined Verano in February 2024 as Director of Finance - Technical Accounting, following an extensive tenure with the global accounting and consulting firm Deloitte, where he most recently served as Audit & Assurance Senior Manager for four years. Mr. Heine is a certified public accountant with a Master's degree in accounting, and undergraduate degrees in accounting and management from the University of Iowa's Tippie College of Business.

Jeanne Dee

Partner, Anders

Jeanne is a partner in audit and assurance where she specializes in audits of financial statements for not-for-profit organizations, government entities, employee benefit plans and closely held businesses. She is the practice leader for the Not-for-Profit Group at Anders. Jeanne enjoys working with business owners, executive directors and board members to help them better understand the financial reporting process. As a leader on standards and regulations of the accountancy profession at the local, state, and national levels, Jeanne is knowledgeable and skilled in researching accounting principles and new or changing audit standards, and professional ethics for CPAs, and she is a frequent author and speaker on these topics.

Heather Lindquist

CPA, Director, Peer Review & Professional Standards, Peer Review Alliance, Illinois CPA Society

Heather is the Director of Peer Review & Professional Standards for the Peer Review Alliance. The Alliance administers peer reviews for firms across seven states, including Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, South Carolina, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Heather is a member of the AICPA Peer Review Board's Technical Reviewer Advisory Task Force (TRATF) and also serves as a member of the Board's Education and Communication Task Force (ECTF).

A graduate of Illinois Wesleyan University, Heather spent six years with RSM US LLP working mainly on not-for-profit and local government audits before joining the Illinois CPA Society in 2016. Heather's work centers around peer review, but she also serves as the staff liaison for the Illinois CPA Society's Audit and Assurance Services Committee.