Atlantic City CPE Cluster (E1808021)

Arthur Auerbach, CPA, CGMA is an independent tax consultant located in Atlanta, Georgia, specializing in tax consulting and estate and financial planning for individuals and closely held businesses. He is affiliated with the Asbury Law Firm as a consultant. He is a member of the Georgia, Virginia, New York, and Greater Washington CPA societies. Art was appointed to the AICPA Tax Executive Committee for a three-year term beginning February 1, 2018, and ending May 31, 2021. Beginning in May 2021, Art was appointed to be a member of the AICPA Tax Practice and Procedure Committee. He is an active member of the Georgia Society of CPAs and serves on the Georgia Department of Revenue Commissioners Advisory Group, the Financial Literacy Task Force, and Leadership Council, in addition to chairing the GSCPA Federal State Tax Task Force. He is also a member of the Virginia Society’s Tax Committee. He has served as an advisor to the District of Columbia Office of Tax and Revenue and the Tax Commissioners Advisory group in Virginia. Art is a nationally recognized speaker on a variety of tax topics offered for continuing education for CPAs and financial planners. He has authored several publications and articles. Art is licensed in Georgia, Virginia, District of Columbia, and New York, and he is a life member of the American Institute of CPAs.

Richard Ferdinand, CPA Rich Ferdinand, CPA, specializes in providing financial and general management services to the small- and medium-sized business markets (SMBs).

Mr. Ferdinand has served as Chief Financial Officer ranging from full time, interim or on a consulting basis for companies in various industries that are either early stage or mature, as well as requiring turnaround assistance.

He is a past recipient of the Outstanding Instructor Award from the AICPA and a recipient of the Education Foundation's Award for Instructor Excellence and the Meritorious Service Award. He has previously taught part time at UCLA in the undergraduate and graduate business programs.

Mr. Ferdinand is a licensed CPA in California and was formerly with Deloitte & Touche in Los Angeles. A native of New Jersey, Mr. Ferdinand graduated from Colgate University and received his MBA from the University of Chicago.

John M. Fleming, CPA, M.B.A. John M. Fleming, licensed as a CPA in Pennsylvania, has served as the Director of Content Development for Kaplan Financial Education, powered by SmartPros, and also as President and Director of Accounting and Auditing for Kaplan Financial Education, powered by Loscalzo Institute. John retired on October 1, 2017. In retirement, John continues to provide seminars as a discussion leader on a part-time basis. John’s prior practice experience includes audit, tax, consulting, office management, and human resource responsibilities with Deloitte LLP, Richard Eisner & Company LLP, and Ernst & Young LLP. John is a graduate of LaSalle and Drexel Universities with degrees in accounting and finance. John served as the 1999–2000 President of the 8,300-member Greater Philadelphia Chapter of the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA). In 2006, the PICPA recognized John as a Joseph E. Sterrett Fellow for his contributions to the accounting profession. In 2007, the Philadelphia Chapter recognized John with their Champion Award for his contributions to the PICPA, Chapter, profession, and community. John has also served as the 2002/2003 President of the American Accounting Association’s Mid-Atlantic Region.

Jeffrey heads his own consulting firm, Lieman Associates LLC, in Owings Mills, Maryland, where he provides consulting services, contractual assistance services and training to CPAs, their firms and their clients. He is recognized nationally as a lecturer for various accounting, auditing and technology topics and has been quoted in various trade journals. Since 2016, he has received the Surgent Outstanding Discussion Leader Award. Jeffrey's previous experience included serving as the chief financial examiner for the Maryland Insurance Administration and being a director for Ellin & Tucker, Chartered. He trained staff in many areas of accounting, administration and consulting. He also served as a senior manager and national trainer with KPMG in Baltimore, Maryland, where he developed training materials for staff and instructors. He was elected Chairman of the Year by the Maryland Association of CPAs for chairmanship of the Computer Resources Committee.

Jim Lindell is President of Thorsten Consulting, a strategic and financial consulting firm that offers professional speaking, training, and executive coaching. Over the past two decades, Jim has delivered over 5,000 hours of C-suite executive coaching. His professional experience includes Chief Financial Officer, VP-Finance, Corporate Controller, and Corporate Assistant Controller. Industries include manufacturing, healthcare, not-for-profit, distribution, and food processing.

Jim is a CPA and has received the Certified Speaking Professional designation, the highest earned designation from the National Speakers Association. Jim is a Vistage Chairman (Executive Coach and Facilitator) and responsible for two groups in the Milwaukee area.

Jim has authored Controller as Business Manager, Controllers Annual Update (Best Seller,) Analytics and Big Data for Accountants, and many other courses on strategic and financial leadership. Jim has been published by the AICPA and Wiley.

Jim is a twelve-time recipient of the AICPA’s Outstanding Discussion Leader Award.

Lawrence A. (Mac) McClelland, MBA, JD Associate, K2 Enterprises Carriere, Mississippi mac@k2e.com Mac McClelland, an attorney and accounting professional, is an associate of K2 Enterprises of Hammond, Louisiana, and Network Management Group of Hutchinson, Kansas. Mac was formerly the director of the Centre for Financial Studies at the University of Otago in Dunedin, New Zealand, where he lived and worked for seven years from 1990 to 1997. He was also a member of the faculty of the Advanced Business Programme, ranked in the top 100 MBA programs in the world by The Economist, specializing in business strategy and strategic management accounting. He gained his practical experience in information systems with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and has an established practice in business and technology consulting. Mac has taught hundreds of continuing professional education seminars to accountants and business managers in the United States, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, and Southeast Asia. His presentations are highly rated, and he has won several awards for teaching excellence. Mac has been published in leading business and practitioner journals, including Tax Ideas, Computers in Accounting, Journal of Accounting Education, Chartered Accountants Journal of New Zealand, and the top-rated Journal of Accounting Research.