Michael Green is Senior Director of Research at Arizent, where he leads the development and execution of primary research initiatives across the company’s portfolio of financial and professional services brands, including American Banker, The Bond Buyer, National Mortgage News, Digital Insurance, Financial Planning, Accounting Today and Employee Benefit News.

With more than 25 years of experience in market research and business intelligence, Michael has worked closely with Fortune 1000 organizations to uncover insights on the technologies, consumer behaviors, and market trends shaping business transformation and growth.

A skilled moderator and interviewer, Michael is known for leading thoughtful, insight-driven conversations that connect industry trends and research to real-world business challenges across webinars, executive interviews, conference sessions, and research presentations for senior business audiences. Prior to joining Arizent, he served as Director of Survey Operations at Forrester Research. He holds an MBA from Saint Joseph’s University and a B.S. in Marketing from Thomas Jefferson University.

Neal Schneider is the Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer at K1x, a leading fintech company revolutionizing the alternative investments landscape through innovative technology solutions. Before co-founding K1x, Neal served as a Principal at Crowe, where he honed his expertise in technology and financial services. Neal is not only a tech visionary but also enjoys spending time with his family, cheering on his kids at baseball and cheerleading events, and embracing the lake life.

As CEO and Managing Partner of Armanino, Matt Armanino leads one of the nation’s 20 largest accounting and consulting firms, recognized for its technology-forward culture and bold approach to transformation. He has guided the firm’s Vision 2030 strategy, a roadmap to becoming a $2.5 billion, technology-enabled professional services leader, grounded in innovation, and impact.

Previously, as COO, Matt helped drive the rapid expansion of Armanino’s Consulting practice, tripling revenues through targeted acquisitions, new partnerships, and broader CFO advisory capabilities. His leadership centers on empowering people to thrive amid disruption and balancing modernization with humanity. A frequent speaker on firm growth, leadership, and AI transformation, he brings an optimistic and practical lens to the future of professional services.

Matt’s background spans corporate strategy, market development, sales, and operations management. Before joining Armanino, he held senior executive roles at Zebra Technologies (NASDAQ: ZBRA) and WhereNet, where he helped scale the business from product launch to more than $50 million in annual revenue. He also spent several years at PeopleSoft in M&A and strategy, and earlier in his career advised technology clients as a corporate attorney, negotiating global software and strategic business agreements with Fortune 500 companies.

Cathy Knepp is a people-first executive leader committed to evolving the accounting profession into a more sustainable, human, and high-performing industry. As Senior Director and Head of Human Resources at Platform Accounting Group, she aligns people strategy with business objectives, helping leaders build trust, improve execution, and create cultures where accountability, empathy, and high performance coexist.

With more than a decade of experience inside accounting firms and eight years helping scale Platform from its early stages to a national organization, Cathy brings deep operational credibility to her work. She has lived the realities of tax season, client pressure, and rapid growth, and now designs people systems that support both professional success and business results. Her focus includes leadership development, manager effectiveness, employee engagement, flexible work models, and award-winning, operationally sound People Operations. Under her leadership, Platform consistently outperforms industry benchmarks for engagement and retention.

Cathy believes the accounting profession advances through better leadership, not longer hours. She challenges outdated assumptions and represents the employee perspective at the executive table, helping the organization grow in ways that honor both business priorities and the relationship-driven strengths of small firms.

Beyond her corporate leadership, Cathy is dedicated to giving back through her work mentoring young women across Utah. She guides high school and college-age students in cultivating confidence, clarity, and a sense of direction, fostering self-awareness and a lifelong commitment to learning and personal growth.

Cathy is a frequent speaker on leadership, workplace culture, and the future of professional services, and is driven by a simple belief: when people are supported to do their best work, organizations and entire industries thrive.

Jonathan Moore is Managing Partner at PKF O’Connor Davies, one of the nation’s leading accounting and advisory firms. He leads the firm’s growth initiatives focused on expanding advisory capabilities and strengthening client relationships.

Under Jon’s leadership, advisory services have become one of the firm’s fastest-growing areas, and PKF O’Connor Davies earned The M&A Advisor’s “Accounting/Due Diligence Firm of the Year” award for three consecutive years, recognizing excellence in deal execution and client service.

With more than 30 years of experience, Jon has advised on hundreds of transactions, including venture investments and public company LBOs with a cumulative aggregate value exceeding $5 billion. His work spans industries such as aerospace, consumer products, distribution, entertainment, healthcare, industrial services, logistics, medical devices, manufacturing, professional services, retail, specialty chemicals and software, as well as cross-border transactions in the UK, Japan, Korea, Australia, Colombia and Canada.

Jon is known for helping firms move beyond compliance-focused services to advisory-led models that drive growth, deepen client relationships and deliver measurable business outcomes.

As Chief Growth Officer at Duffy Kruspodin, LLP, Tracy Kapteyn leads the firm’s unified growth strategy—a cross-functional mandate that connects strategy, marketing, client experience, operations, and innovation into a single, scalable system. She also serves as Chief Marketing Officer, where she is transforming the firm’s marketing operations into a digital-first, AI-accelerated platform for scalable growth.

Tracy is spearheading the deployment of AI-enabled systems across content, campaign, and reporting functions—designing intelligent workflows that reduce manual effort, expand visibility, and improve strategic alignment across the firm’s service lines. She also led the development of the firm’s internal AI Playbook, a foundational resource guiding the responsible and strategic integration of artificial intelligence across functions.

With over 25 years of cross-industry experience spanning financial services, SaaS, education, telecom, and consumer products, Tracy brings a rare combination of strategic insight and executional rigor. She is especially focused on modernizing growth models through better segmentation, expanded advisory services, and technology-enabled service delivery.

Her Skinny Playbook™ framework helps firms turn strategy into action—aligning teams, accelerating decision-making, and creating clear, measurable results. Whether building new revenue streams, launching digital tools, or improving pipeline performance, Tracy helps firms turn complexity into clarity.

Before joining Duffy Kruspodin, Tracy founded and led ThinkpinTK LLC, a fractional CGO consultancy for accounting firms and mid-market businesses. She also served as Chief Growth Officer at Windes and EVP of Marketing at CeriFi, where she led high-impact initiatives in brand evolution, service development, and digital transformation.

Tracy holds a B.B.A. in Management from Athabasca University and a Management Certificate from Grant MacEwan University. She thrives at the intersection of strategy, innovation, and execution and believes the most powerful growth comes from seeing around corners and helping clients do the same.

Michael Meihaus is the Owner of Meihaus CPA, PC, a San Diego–based accounting firm that focuses exclusively on employee benefit plan audits. He founded the firm with a clear goal in mind—to reinvent the benefit plan audit experience by making it more efficient, transparent, and less stressful for clients.

Before starting Meihaus CPA, Michael led the California benefit plan audit practice at a Top 100 CPA firm, where he managed more than 55 plan audits each year, including 401(k), 403(b), ESOP, and defined benefit plans. With deep expertise in ERISA, DOL, and IRS regulations, he helps plan sponsors navigate complex compliance requirements with confidence and clarity.

At Meihaus CPA, Michael is focused on building a firm that values quality, clarity, and balance. He’s dedicated to creating smarter processes that make audits run smoothly while also fostering a healthy, sustainable environment for his team. Michael remains closely involved in every client engagement, ensuring each audit meets the highest professional standards while maintaining the firm’s commitment to personal service.

Outside of client work, Michael enjoys sharing ideas about firm culture, leadership, and the future of public accounting. He often speaks about how small, intentional changes in process and mindset can lead to lasting improvements in both client outcomes and team well-being.

A graduate of San Diego State University, Michael earned his accounting degree with honors. When he’s not working, he enjoys cooking, traveling with his wife and kids, and exploring the San Diego community he proudly calls home.

Liz Scott is a visionary leader in accounting technology, an award-winning trainer, and a prolific writer. As founder of Liz Scott Training & Consulting, she creates engaging courses, articles, and resources that help firms harness technology, automation, and AI. Recognized as a Top Trainer by Insightful Accountant, Liz is also co-host of the “The Appy Hour” webinar series and author of practical guides that make innovation simple and actionable. Through her speaking, writing, and training, Liz empowers accountants to embrace change with confidence and drive lasting growth.

Dominic Piscopo, CPA, the founder of Big 4 Transparency and host of the Big 4 Transparency Podcast, is on a mission to bring salary transparency to the accounting profession. He created Big 4 Transparency just over 4 years ago, which has since amassed a crowd-sourced database of over 21,000 records and has become the place over 300,000 accounting professionals go for compensation data. Over the last few years, he’s been working directly with firms ranging from 10 person firms all the way to the Big 4, providing them with the most granular, timely and easy to use benchmarking solution on the accounting market.

The dataset that Big 4 Transparency has amassed can drive insights on what is happening in the accounting industry, and has been used in many analyses in the industry on a wide variety of topics from employee satisfaction trends to hours being worked by accounting professionals.

Megan Leesley is a seasoned CPA with a robust background in public accounting, currently serving as the Director of Tax at Dark Horse CPAs. With over a decade of experience in management and product management prior to beginning her career as a CPA over 10 years ago, Megan brings a unique blend of strategic insight and practical expertise to her role, offering a fresh perspective in the industry.

Megan is also an active member of various focus groups and councils, where she collaborates with other tax professionals and firm owners to shape the future of public accounting. She is a sought-after speaker at industry conferences, having presented on planning strategies for tax law changes, making the transition from compliance to advisory services, and various other topics designed to help practitioners see their value, embrace learning and growth, reduce burnout, and elevate their relationships with both clients and peers. She is committed to helping other professionals navigate the complexities of the industry and achieve their career goals.