North American Conference 2023

Alicia Rainwater

The Center for Generational Kinetics

Alicia Rainwater is a Certified Keynote Speaker at The Center for Generational Kinetics (CGK). Her speaking clients range from Bayer and Ebby Halliday Realtors to The Federation of State Medical Boards.

Alicia is a Millennial who has a reputation as a leader in her own generation. She has extensive experience working firsthand to bridge generations in a variety of organizations from hospitals to global non-profits.

Alicia has received a tremendous response to her engaging delivery that combines CGK’s latest research and how-to with her unique experience working with clients. She has spoken to thousands of people across the United States.

Alicia’s personal experiences working with multiple generations as a non-profit leader, school counselor, and licensed medical social worker make her a powerful and inspiring speaker that effectively demonstrates how to solve generational challenges with employees and customers.

Allan Fisher

President, Premier Financial Search

Founder and President Allan Fisher has been the recruiter of choice to elite local, regional, and national accounting firms for 24 years. Leveraging his extensive industry expertise, Allan is driven to facilitate transformative change for organizations and candidates, alike. With a mission to further client strategic visions and goals, Allan has keen insight into accounting talent market trends and forces, enabling him to make placements that surpass industry averages for engagement and retention.

Allan originally began his career in accounting, spending two years with a professional services firm. From there, he moved to a division of a $500 million publicly traded software manufacturer. In January 1998, seeking to utilize his accounting background in service to others, Allan made the jump to recruiting, joining Accounting Principals, a national staffing firm. In his three and a half years with Accounting Principals, he was ranked as one of the top executive recruiters nationwide, winning the “Consultant Of The Year” award by the California Staffing Professionals Association (CSP) in 2000.

Knowing his unparalleled integrity could deliver an elevated client experience and his industry-specific insight could provide more effective talent solutions, Allan decided to strike out on his own, founding Premier Financial Search in June of 2001. In the 20 years since PFS’ inception, Allan has cultivated lasting relationships with many of the industry’s most innovative and respected firms. With a reputation for unqualified integrity and the climate of candor and unmitigated confidentiality Allan brings to each engagement, many of his clients now call on his decades’ worth of industry expertise to function in a capacity as strategic advisor for his talent recruitment, engagement, and retention expertise – a role he considers his greatest success.

Today, Allan has established himself as an industry thought leader having spoken at meetings of the California Society of Certified Public Accountants, the California State Board of Accountancy, The Westside Firm Administrators Group, and ProVisors. He has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, and the San Fernando Valley Business Journal. Allan has been nominated twice as one of the San Fernando Valley’s Top Human Resource Consultants by the San Fernando Valley Business Journal (2009, 2010).

Charles Hylan

The Growth Partnership

Charles Hylan joined The Growth Partnership as a Shareholder after dedicating 12 years consulting with, and working in, accounting firms ranging from sole-practitioners to National and Big 5 firms. During this time, Charles spent more than eight years working at Price Waterhouse and Arthur Andersen where he began his career as an auditor before transitioning into a strategic planning and marketing role. Charles entered the accounting consulting industry in 1999 as a Vice President in the Consulting Services division of Waugh & Co.  As a shareholder, Charles’ passion is to help each client succeed as a business owner. To this end, he is a trusted advisor to clients within several areas of TGP’s service offerings, including marketing, strategic planning, partner compensation, partner buy-in/out, partner succession and leadership development.

Charles works closely with TGP clients to create high-impact marketing plans focused on implementation. As a practice management consultant, he draws upon his practical, “can-do” approach to help firms create and execute long-term plans, effective compensation systems and realistic succession strategies. On the leadership development side of TGP, Charles facilitates several different training offerings that equip partners and future partners with the skills needed to successfully manage and lead their firm.  Finally, Charles leads the efforts on bringing The Rosenberg Survey, a benchmark report comparing over 100 metrics across nearly 400 firms, to the accounting marketplace.  No matter what service Charles is providing, his passion is to help TGP clients succeed as business owners.  Charles is an inspiration to clients due to his unique ability to focus on implementation…the only true way to bring about change.  Charles has been recognized as one of the Top 100 Most Influential People in the accounting profession by Accounting Today and has written articles featured in various accounting publications and has spoken at many accounting firms, associations and other industry meetings and conferences.

Charles Rettig

Former Commissioner, United States IRS

Charles P. Rettig was the 49th Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, presiding over the nation’s tax system managing an agency of almost 80,000 employees and an annual budget of more than $12.6 billion. The IRS plays an important role generating more than 95% of the gross revenue of our country, more than $4.9 trillion in Fiscal Year 2022.

Mr. Rettig was heavily focused on implementation of the multi-year IRS Integrated Modernization Plan and the Taxpayer First Act (known as IRS NEXT), and the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (enacted August 16, 2022 - providing almost $80 billion to enhance IRS service, modernization and compliance efforts).

During the pandemic, following enactment of the CARES Act, the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021, and the American Recovery Plan, the IRS processed more than 500 million payments totaling more than $1.5 trillion in record economic relief and individual refunds. The IRS response to the unprecedented COVID-19 challenges illustrates the importance of every American to the IRS and the importance of the IRS to every American.

The IRS aggressively pursued multi-lingual, multi-cultural efforts expanding awareness, information and assistance available to taxpayers in additional languages, including providing the Individual Income Tax Return, Form 1040, in Spanish for the first time. Taxpayers now have the opportunity to indicate whether they wish to be contacted in writing in a non-English, basic tax information is newly available in 20 languages on IRS.GOV and during FY21, there were more than 90 million visits to the non-English pages on IRS.gov. Multilingual outreach has been significantly increased on Instagram, Twitter and other social media platforms. The IRS now has relationships with more than 15,000 community organizations and 13,000 public school districts.

Mr. Rettig received the Alexander Hamilton Award from Treasury - the highest honor for individuals selected by the Secretary whose performance and leadership demonstrate the highest standards of and dedication to public service benefiting our country. He’s the co-founder of the UCLA Extension VETS COUNT Scholarship Fund designed to provide scholarships for active duty and retired military personnel who are working to realize their career goals in tax, accounting, wealth management, and other areas of the financial services industry.

Chris Kuehl

Managing Director, Armada Corporate Intelligence

Kuehl is pronounced Keel – like the bottom of a boat

Dr. Chris Kuehl is a Managing Director of Armada Corporate Intelligence. He provides forecasts and strategic guidance for a wide variety of corporate clients around the world. He is the economist for several national and international organizations – Fabricators and Manufacturers Association, American Supply Association, Chemical Coaters Association International and others.  He is also the economic analyst for several state accounting societies including Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Minnesota, North Dakota and Kansas.

Prior to starting Armada in 1999 he was a professor of economics and finance for 15 years – teaching in the US, Hungary, Russia, Estonia, Singapore and Taiwan. He holds advanced degrees in economics, Soviet studies and East Asian studies.

Chris is the co-author of The Flagship and the Strategic Intelligence System - both publications from Armada. He is also responsible for Fabrinomics from the FMA and The Advisor for ASA.

Peter Scavuzzo

Chief Executive Officer, Marcum Technology

Peter Scavuzzo is the CEO of Marcum Technology as well as a principal and chief information & digital officer of Marcum LLP, one of the largest independent public accounting and advisory services firms in the world.  He creates and executes the strategic technology roadmap across all Marcum companies. He is the Firm leader in digital transformation and drives the strategy for leveraging technology to ensure long-term viability and competitiveness. Peter is a recognized leader in the accounting industry, currently services on the board of Inspire CIO, serves as Chair of the Technology Task Force for ECOVIS International, is on multiple AICPA’s committees, and speaks globally on topics such as Generative AI, innovation, and digital transformation.

 

Tarek El Moussa

TAREK EL MOUSSA - Tarek El Moussa is the star and co-star of several hit HGTV shows, including Flip or Flop, Flipping 101, and The Flipping El Moussas. He brings together almost  90 million viewers and his shows have ranked as the No. 1 cable show in their time slots. In addition to successfully flipping more than 800 properties over the years, Tarek is a family man, successful Entrepreneur, Real Estate Expert and Investor with a portfolio of over 200 Houses, multiple apartment buildings and self storage facilities, a wholesale and fix and flip real estate company called Tarek Buy’s Houses, a real estate education company called Homeschooled by Tarek, and a real estate investment company called TEM Capital.

Tarek was born into an immigrant family and grew up in Buena Park, California, and his hard-driving parents taught him the value of hard work, the importance of a healthy competitive spirit, and how to push himself to higher limits. At the age of 20, Tarek dropped out of college to pursue real estate full time. By 21, he quickly made a name for himself in Orange County, California, becoming one of the top agents in his company. By 22, he had bought his first million-dollar home.

At the height of the housing boom, he was selling multi-million-dollar homes like hotcakes, but when the housing bubble burst, Tarek went broke and was forced to sell everything he owned. After years of fighting to get back on his feet, Tarek devised a plan to rebuild his wealth. He then carved out a new niche for himself in the world of real estate: flipping distressed properties. Through his drive and the generosity of friends, family, and business mentors, Tarek landed back on his feet and became a multi-millionaire. Since then, Tarek has purchased and flipped hundreds of properties. In 2010, during his very first flip, he sold the idea of a house-flipping show to HGTV with a guarantee of ten episodes. Eight years later, he had 141 episodes and counting under his belt, with his biggest on-air profit of over $340,000. His show has inspired the Flip or Flop franchises in Nashville, Chicago, Atlanta, Las Vegas, and Fort Worth.

Tarek’s solo series for the network, Flipping 101 w/ Tarek El Moussa, premiered on March 5, 2020, at 9 pm ET. This series features Tarek as he mentors real estate novices to help them learn the secrets of a successful flip and how to avoid costly mistakes. With over 1000 profitable sales under his belt, Tarek is ready to lend his invaluable expertise to those who want to win big in the competitive real estate game. Tarek’s newest series, The Flipping El Moussas, premiered on March 2, 2023 at 8 p.m. (EST). In this series, viewers get to follow along with Tarek and his wife, Heather’s, personal and professional journeys as newlyweds and real estate experts.

After being diagnosed with thyroid cancer by a Flip or Flop viewer in 2013 and soon after with testicular cancer, Tarek is thankful to now be cancer-free. As a two-time cancer survivor, Tarek donates his time and lends his voice to a number of cancer-focused charities, including the American Cancer Society and the Movember Foundation, to help create awareness. In addition, Tarek is involved with Habitat for Humanity, helping to bring affordable housing to those in need.

Tarek continues to build businesses and most recently founded TEM Capital, a private real estate investment company. His passion is to share the success he has found through real estate investing with as many people as possible. TEM Capital currently invests in multifamily, self-storage facilities, and other commercial asset classes across the country.

Tarek’s No. 1 priority is being a hands-on husband and father and spending time with his wife, Heather, and three children, daughter Taylor and sons Brayden and Tristan. When he is not filming his hit HGTV shows, Tarek travels the country as an in-demand speaker, sharing his experiences as a successful businessman, investor, house flipper, and two-time cancer survivor.