As Audit Partner, Bryan works primarily with government contracting/DOD, manufacturing, including the craft beer industry, as well as employee benefit plans. He identifies opportunities to improve internal controls and accounting processes. Bryan also identifies clients’ specific needs and helps them make connections with people who can address those needs.
Bryan graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of San Diego, receiving a Bachelor of Accountancy with an emphasis in Real Estate and a Bachelor of Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance and Information Technology.
In addition, Bryan obtained a Professional Certificate in the Business of Craft Beer from San Diego State University. Since 2016, he has served as Treasurer of the San Diego Brewers Guild. Bryan participates in the CalCPA’s mentorship programs, which provide guidance and advice to college students and young professionals. He also teaches financial literacy to second graders in economically disadvantaged areas via Junior Achievement.
Bryan enjoys trekking on glaciers, climbing volcanos and discovering waterfalls and hot springs around the world, as well as visiting his hometown of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, to hike and kayak with his parents. He joined LevitZacks in 2008.
Tim Brackney serves as CEO of Springline Advisory, a financial and business advisory firm dedicated to reshaping the mid-market accounting and advisory landscape. Tim has guided Springline since its public launch toward the goal of building a top-tier, middle-market business advisory leader and one of the most irresistible, people-first firms in the industry. Prior to Springline, Tim had a successful 20-year career with Resources Global Professionals (NASDAQ: RGP), where he most recently served as President and Chief Operating Officer, leading RGP’s global operations which included full P&L and operational responsibilities across North America, the UK and EU, and Asia Pacific region. He earned his MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business and holds a BBA from the University of Notre Dame.
Seth Fineberg is an accounting industry consultant & Content Strategist. He has been an editor and journalist for over 30 years, the vast majority of which has been spent overseeing the accounting profession’s evolution. To this end, he has served as Technology Editor at Accounting Today and the head of AccountingWEB’s US team. Through his current business, Accountants Forward, he aims to see the accounting profession progress through the creation of quality practical and useful content from vendors, industry organizations and accounting firms themselves. He plays a variety of roles in such content’s creation and execution, be it articles, podcasts, webinars, white papers or even live events. He is also a regular contributor to CPA Trendlines, Karbon Magazine, Insight Magazine, a known speaker at industry events, and an advocate for the advancement of the accounting profession.
Randy Crabtree, co-founder and partner of Tri-Merit Specialty Tax Professionals is a widely followed author, lecturer and podcast host for the accounting profession.
Since 2019, he has hosted the bi-weekly “The Unique CPA,” podcast, which ranks among the world’s 5% most popular programs (Source: Listen Score).
You can find articles from Randy in Accounting Today’s Voices column, the AICPA Tax Adviser, CPA Trendlines, Intuit Accountants TaxPro Center and he is a regular presenter at conferences and virtual training events hosted by national accounting associations, state CPA societies and other industry associations.
In May 2022 Randy was appointed, for a 3-year term, to the Intuit Tax Council.
Prior to starting Tri-Merit, Crabtree was managing partner of a CPA firm in the greater Chicago area. He has more than 30 years of public accounting and tax consulting experience in a wide variety of industries and has worked closely with top executives to help them optimize their tax planning strategies.
I quit my job as a partner at a CPA firm to pursue my goal of disrupting the areas of the profession that don’t make sense. I am a tireless advocate for value vs. time, family initiatives, inclusion & belonging, work / life harmony, and challenging the historical norms the accounting profession clings to. My wife Jen and I have two daughters in college, Sofia and Julia. The four of us enjoy traveling and have set a goal to see all fifty states. I played baseball for 25 years, Jen and I enjoy running – we’ve completed several marathons and a bunch of half marathons, and all four of us love going to Disney.
I am a Director in Aprio Alliance, where future oriented firms convene to discuss challenges and solutions for running their firms. I am also the immediate past Chair of the CTCPA Board of Directors, a 2010 alumnus of the AICPA Leadership Academy, and past member of the Women’s Initiatives Executive Committee and other AICPA / CTCPA task forces & committees. In 2025, Mike received the Jack Brooks Leadership Award from the CTCPA.
Kristen Keats, CPA, is a tech-forward former tax firm owner with more than 25 years of hands-on experience building, scaling, and modernizing accounting practices. She is the former owner of Sherwood Tax & Accounting, founder of Breakaway Bookkeeping & Advising, and co-founder of Cadencia, an outsource staffing agency based in Guadalajara, Mexico and currently serves in an advisory role at Accrual (we can leave this last part off if it detracts).
Kristen has led firm growth, implemented technology systems, built remote teams, and successfully transitioned her practice, giving her a practical perspective on what actually works inside today’s accounting firms.
She serves on the Advisory Board for the Accounting Today Firm Growth Forum and on the Accountant Advisory Board for ADP.
Kristen speaks on firm growth, advisory services, staffing strategy, and technology adoption, with a focus on helping firms operate more efficiently while delivering better client experiences. Her mission is simple: Bring Joy to Accounting.
Heather Satterley is Director of Education and Media at Woodard, a company committed to empowering accounting professionals. Her career path, strongly rooted in public accounting, has been steered by a deep-seated passion for technology and a calling to help others. A critical part of her work involves designing and automating business processes using advanced technologies, supporting businesses in their journey towards streamlined operations and improved efficiency.
Heather believes in the collective power of community and the transformative outcomes achieved through united efforts. This belief is woven into the fabric of her leadership style and informs her work at every level.
Alongside her role at Woodard, Heather co-hosts The Appy Hour with Liz and Heather, a webinar series designed to clarify the often complex world of technology and apps within the accounting profession. This platform allows Heather to extend her influence, disseminating valuable knowledge and insights that enhance the professional skills of those in her field.
Her contribution to the accounting community extends to the co-creation and production of Appy Hour Camp, a retreat designed to foster relationships and encourage collaboration between accounting professional educators and software developers.
Doug is the Managing Director at The Visionary Group and is one of Accounting Today’s Top 100 Most Influential “Ones to Watch”. He balances his focus between overseeing Visionary’s M&A department and bridging the gap between the existing and next-generation leadership inside accounting firms nationwide. He brings a unique viewpoint to the industry as a younger professional who is helping senior leadership navigate through complex changes in where firms are heading.
At the heart of his role is the facilitation and structuring of fair traditional and private equity M&A transactions for both sides in any deal. Most of his time is spent engaging primarily with Managing Partners, CEOs, and key leaders within CPA firms. He’s known for building strong relationships with industry leaders, fostering innovative approaches in M&A activities, and cultivating a network of trusted consultants and advisors.
You probably have seen Doug speak at an industry event or running a webinar as he is quickly becoming a requested speaker and facilitator across the accounting world. Before joining The Visionary Group, Doug held client-facing positions in professional sports and startup technology. There, he led diverse sales, marketing, and account management efforts catering to Fortune 500 and 1000 companies. Doug holds a Bachelor of Science from Illinois State University.
Bob is President of The Visionary Group and one of Accounting Today’s Top 100
Most Influential People. He has relationships with key leaders in accounting firms
nationwide and is a frequent speaker on M&A, private equity, and organic growth.
Bob helps firms assess their ability to remain independent, build enterprise value,
and creates and facilitates dozens of material transactions annually.
He created an in-depth Firm Valuation model and Build to Evolve process. The
valuation model shows firms their market value and how to impact value. The
Build process assesses a firm’s alignment, accountability, profit refinement
opportunities and creates an Independence Plan. He focuses on getting firms to
make decisions based on data and facts and to avoid making emotional
decisions.
His thirty-plus years of exclusive support in the accounting profession has
provided Bob with the opportunity to learn from great firm leaders. Beyond his
deep experience in M&A and private equity he helps firms with pricing, client
upscaling, and overall growth tactics.
Bob Co-Chairs the Accounting Today Private Equity Summit, has an accounting
background, and his formal education is a Bachelor of Science in Finance, and
an MBA, both from DePaul University in Chicago.