Management of an Accounting Practice Web Series (Replay) (E1908444)

Walter is the chief success officer at Prager Metis CPAs, a member of Prager Metis International Group. He has over 30 years of executive experience in accounting and business advisory. He possesses deep expertise in all facets of firm and practice management; firm/corporate strategy and execution; business development; practice growth and senior management mentoring. Walter also serves as a managing director at Whitman Business Advisors, where he provides advisory services to clients in areas such as strategic planning, practice management and mergers and acquisitions. He is also a regular and trusted advisor to boards and audit committees. Walter is a former president of the NJCPA and is a member of its Accounting & Auditing Standards Interest Group and the Governmental Accounting & Auditing Interest Group.

Rick was the Partner-in-Charge of a top twenty CPA firm for over thirty years. Rick is a CPA, and a SHRM-SCP with over forty years of diversified experience in accounting, finance and human resources. During that period, Rick had a unique combination of responsibilities including recruiting, mentoring, compensation strategies, development of personnel policies, staff scheduling, and budgeting including long range strategic planning. Rick was the plan administrator of the firm’s 401(K) retirement plan, profit-sharing plan and insurance programs. Rick was recognized as the Penn State University, Smeal College of Business Accounting Department Distinguished Alumnus of the Year in 2014.

John oversees the industry specific expertise and risk management for McGowanPRO’s accounting and financial clients. Mr. Raspante is the former Director of Compliance and Risk Management as well as the Director of Education for Graf Repetti & Co. LLP, Certified Public Accountants & Business Advisors. Prior to joining Graf Repetti, Mr. Raspante worked nine years for CAMICO Mutual Insurance Company, a provider of accountants’ professional liability insurance. Mr. Raspante’s primary responsibility at CAMICO was providing loss prevention services to the organization’s largest insured’s. Mr. Raspante is a frequent speaker within the accounting profession on issues relating to risk management and professional ethics. He presents regularly at different conferences for accounting firm associations and CPA State Societies. He is a published author and contributor for accounting firm periodicals such as Journal of Accountancy and Accounting Today.

Prior to establishing Richard Shippee Communications, Shippee had a four-decade career in marketing and communications for organizations and professional services firms. During the first dot.com boom he directed west coast marketing operations for management consultancy, A.T. Kearney. He later joined Deloitte in New York to manage public relations and media relations throughout the firm’s Boston-Philadelphia corridor. In 2008 Shippee became Director of Communications for EisnerAmper LLP, an Accounting Today Top 20 firm. In addition to his communications work there, he also directed marketing for the firm’s Personal Wealth Advisory practice, and was a member of its merger integration team.

Richard Shippee directs the Marketing and Communications consulting activities at Whitman Business Advisors. He provides Marketing Needs Assessment, Marketing Program Development and Pre- and Post-Merger Marketing Integration services to the leaders of accounting firms, and other professional services companies.

Kris Tufto joined the Netgain team in 2017 as VP of Financial Services Sales. He has entrepreneurial experience and expertise in early-stage technology companies, with a history of developing results-driven, integrated revenue growth investment plans across sales and marketing platforms.

Kris is responsible for Netgain’s short and long-term revenue expansion in the financial services vertical, including developing strategic direction to achieve revenue goals in addition to identifying and pursuing beneficial opportunities, while also managing the Sales and Account Management teams.

Kris grew up in western North Dakota and graduated from NDSU with a degree in Electrical Engineering. In his free time, he enjoys fishing, hunting, reading and traveling, having been everywhere in the world except the Middle East and Africa.

Philip J. Whitman is president and CEO of Whitman Business Advisors, LLC. Phil specializes in succession planning, mergers & acquisitions, strategic talent acquisition and practice management consulting.

With firm management experience ranging from three partners, twelve employees, and $2 million in annual revenues to one of the Top 30 CPA firms in the Nation, with 48 partners, 400 employees and almost $100 million in annual revenues, there’s nothing Phil hasn’t seen.

Prior to practice management, Phil spent nearly six years as a multi-unit owner-operator of a National restaurant franchise, which is where he began honing his knowledge of labor law, human resources management and organizational leadership. His accounting firm experience includes audit work at Price Waterhouse, and tax work at Spicer & Oppenheim.

Whitman has authored articles and has chaired numerous committees for the New York State Society of CPAs. He has been a featured speaker for various state societies of CPA, international CPA firm associations as well as a presenter for CCHs annual user conference. He has served as conference chair of the Foundation for Accounting Education’s Practice Management Conference and the CFOs, Controllers and Financial Executives Conference. For over 20 years he has advised firms across North America, working with top management in overseeing day-to-day operations to ensure efficiency & profitability.

David is a senior managing director at Whitman Business Advisors, LLC. In this capacity, he ensures the success of his team as well as creates and delivers coaching and training programs that will help clients reach their goals. He has been an entrepreneur and a guide for entrepreneurs throughout his adult life. After graduation from the University of Arizona, David started A Bridgewater Copy and Print. Remaining within the printing industry for the next 17 years, David next started In A Bind, and merged his operation with Action Fast Print. Action Fast Print became the second largest quick printer in New Jersey for 2002 -2004, according to NJBIZ.