2024 Employee Benefit Plans Virtual Conference

Michael Auerbach

Michael E. Auerbach, CPA, Chief Accountant, Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor. As the Chief Accountant, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Mr. Auerbach is responsible for managing the resources of the Office of the Chief Accountant and implementing various comprehensive, nationwide enforcement programs relating to certain provisions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). He also provides ERISA related accounting and auditing technical expertise within the Employee Benefits Security Administration and is the liaison with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and other professional organizations. Mr. Auerbach provides executive oversight and leadership for EBSA’s fiduciary oversight program for the federal government’s Thrift Savings Plan (TSP). The TSP is the largest defined contribution plan in the world, with assets of in excess of $550 billion and 5.8 million participants. Mr. Auerbach is a certified public accountant and earned his B.S. in accounting, from the University of Maryland.

Rance Buss

Rance Buss, CPA, leads Weaver’s employee benefit plan practice and is responsible for directing and overseeing these special audits. He also performs quality assurance and controls, in-house consultations, and engagement/ concurring partner reviews. Rance has more than 25 years of experience providing auditing and accounting services to various industries and employee benefit plan sponsors, both public and private. For the last 20 years, he has performed and directed hundreds of employee benefit plan engagements for plan sponsors ranging from Fortune 500 multinationals to small private companies and not-for-profit groups. Rance regularly participates in the leadership activities of the AICPA’s Employee Benefit Plan Audit Quality Center (EBPAQC), where he currently serves on the Executive Committee and the Expert Panel’s Special Task Force for Audits of 403(b) plans. He regularly speaks at National Conferences on Employee Benefit Plan Audits as well as national teleconferences over specific benefit plan audit topics. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in accounting from The University of Texas at San Antonio.

David Barrer

David Barrer is a career advocate and supporter of the private pension and retirement system. As the National Director of TPA Markets, David serves as an expert resource for the organization in expanding Pentegra’s TPA footprint and in working with our advisors and partners nationwide to market Pentegra’s fiduciary, consulting and TPA solutions.

David joined the financial services industry in 1984 with American United Life. It was there that he helped a client install a 401(k) plan for the first time in 1985. A Financial Advisor, he went on to found Allegiant TPA Services, Inc. in 1995 to provide retirement plan design, consulting, and administration. Allegiant merged with Advanced Pension Solutions (APS) in May, 2000 and as Vice President at APS, David played a key role in the growth of the APS organization. Since Pentegra’s acquisition of APS, he has been an integral part of Pentegra’s business development efforts. Today, his extensive knowledge of the retirement plan marketplace has made him a sought-after speaker on retirement benefit topics.

David holds Qualified Pension Administrator (QPA), Qualified 401(k) Administrator (QKA), and Tax-Exempt and Governmental Plan Consultant (TGPC) designations from ASPPA as well as FINRA Series 7 & 63 licenses.

Emily Deming

Emily is a Manager with Johnson Lambert’s Virginia office with 6 years of experience. She actively participates in all stages of client engagements, including planning, executing, directing and completing audits as well as managing budgets for audits. Emily has experience auditing defined benefit pension plans and outside Johnson Lambert she attends various industry events including GWSCPA women’s leadership activities.

Susan Hicks

Sue is the Associate Director, EBP Audit & Accounting, with the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants. In her role, Sue serves as the primary subject matter expert on employee benefit plan audit and accounting for the Association. She directs the activities of the Employee Benefit Plan Audit Quality Center (EBPAQC) and the Employee Benefit Plans Expert Panel while serving as our primary point of contact for DOL and standard setters on EBP matters. She also partners with the Vice President, Audit & Accounting Quality, to develop and execute strategies to serve AICPA members in the employee benefit plans space. In addition, Sue works closely with AICPA Peer Review and Professional Ethics and other Association teams on EBP related issues and serves on the annual AICPA Employee Benefit Plans Conference Committee.

Prior to joining the AICPA, Sue served as Controller at the Westfield’s Conference Center, and before that was an Audit Manager with Touche Ross & Co.

Omid Mohebbi

Omid Mohebbi, CPA, is a Manager with GRF CPAs & Advisors and specializes in audits of nonprofit organizations and employee benefit plans. Mr. Mohebbi is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and events on the nonprofit sector, employee benefit plans, and the latest accounting standards. He currently serves as Chair of the Greater Washington Society of CPAs Nonprofit Academy Committee and Co-Chair of the Greater Washington Society of CPAs Employee Benefit Plan Conference Committee. Until recently, he also served for a number of years as Board Treasurer and Chair of the Finance Committee of a prominent nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C.

Omid Mohebbi

Omid Mohebbi, CPA, is a Manager with GRF CPAs & Advisors and specializes in audits of nonprofit organizations and employee benefit plans. Mr. Mohebbi is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and events on the nonprofit sector, employee benefit plans, and the latest accounting standards. He currently serves as Chair of the Greater Washington Society of CPAs Nonprofit Academy Committee and Co-Chair of the Greater Washington Society of CPAs Employee Benefit Plan Conference Committee. Until recently, he also served for a number of years as Board Treasurer and Chair of the Finance Committee of a prominent nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C.

Julia Lafferty

Julia Lafferty is a partner and director of not-for-profit services at CBM. She has nearly 30 years of accounting and auditing experience with a concentration in the not-for-profit sector and employee benefit plans audits. She provides consultative support to clients including by drafting accounting policies and procedures, and collaborating on operational efficiency reviews, agreed-upon procedures and federal grant compliance and reporting. Julia is a former chair of the GWSCPA nonprofit symposium and currently serves as GWSCPA treasurer.

Kerri Franz

Kerri Franz is a full-time employee benefit plan assurance partner for Weaver and Tidwell LLP. She has 30 years of experience in public accounting, with her practice emphasis in the last 20 years in employee benefit plan audits for a variety of industries and plan sponsors, including several publicly traded companies that sponsor multiple plans. She is responsible for tracking audit and accounting issues that impact the Firm’s employee benefit plan audit practice, and she participates in the development of the Firm’s positions on such proposed audit and accounting pronouncements. She is experienced in planning and supervising numerous employee benefit plan audits, including those with various funding arrangements, such as defined contribution (savings, ESOP and 401k plans), defined contribution plans requiring Form 11-K filings, defined benefit plans, health and welfare plans and master trust investment accounts.