Ron Seigneur, MBA, CPA/ABV, Moderator

Ron Seigneur is a partner in Seigneur Gustafson Knight LLP, a CPA firm located in Lakewood, Colorado.He holds the AICPA specialty designation of Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV), and is a Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA) with the National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts.

Mr. Seigneur has over 25 years experience working with complex valuation and litigation support matters. He has published over 50 articles on business valuation and related subjects, and has developed and taught a number of intermediate and advanced business valuation courses for the AICPA, NACVA and state Bar Associations.

Mr. Seigneur is co-author of Financial Valuation: Applications and Models, a 100+ treatese on business valuation published by John Wiley & Sons and is a charter member of the Financial Consulting Group. He is a past chair of the AICPA ABV Credential Committee and has been a member of the AICPA BV Committee, the AICPA Consulting Services Executive Committee, and continues to serve as a member of the AICPA BV education and CSO task forces. Mr. Seigneur is a fellow of the College of Law Practice Management and is an adjunct professor at the University of Denver College of Law where he teaches financial, management and leadership courses. He has a Bachelor of Arts in Hotel, Restaurant and Institutional Management from Michigan State University, and a Master of Business Administration in Corporate Policy and Finance from the University of Michigan.

Christine Baker, CPA/ABV, ASA, Speaker

Christine Baker, CPA/ABV is a Principal with Rehmann Consulting, a Member of The Rehmann Group. She conducts her practice from the firm’s Grand Rapids, Michigan office.

Ms. Baker is currently serving a three-year term on the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Business Valuation Committee. She is also actively involved in the Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants (MACPA) Business Valuation / Litigation Support Task Force, and is a member of the Greater Michigan Chapter of the American Society of Appraisers (ASA).

Ms. Baker has spoken nationally, regionally and locally regarding a variety of business valuation topics. Over the prior decade, she has valued several hundred businesses, business ownership interests and intangible assets in a broad-reaching spectrum of industries. Ms. Baker is a Certified Public Accountant, Accredited in Business Valuation (CPA/ABV). She is a member of the American Bar Association (ABA) – Associate Member; the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) – Member, Business Valuation Committee 2002 – 2005; Member, 2006 National Business Valuation Conference Planning Committee; the American Society of Appraisers (ASA) – Greater Michigan Chapter; The ESOP Association – Michigan Chapter; Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants (MACPA) – Member, Litigation / Business Valuation Task Force and the West Michigan Estate Planning Council.

Ms. Baker earned her B.A. degree in Business Administration from Hope College in Holland, Michigan. She is enrolled in an accreditation program offered by the American Society of Appraisers, business valuation section.

Ed Dupke, CPA/ABV, Speaker

Edward J. Dupke, CPA/ABV, is a Senior Consultant with Clifton Gunderson, LLP, based in the firm’s Phoenix office. He is active in the firm’s Business Valuation and Forensic Services. He holds the AICPA specialty designation of Accredited in Business Valuation (CPA/ABV). Mr. Dupke is a former chairman of the AICPA Business Valuation Committee and a past chairman of the Michigan Association of CPAs.

Ed has over 35 years of professional experience in Public Accounting and Business Valuation Practice, has been qualified as an expert witness in both State and Federal courts, and is a regular instructor in business valuation at both the State and National level. He is a co-author of the text: Financial Valuation: Applications and Models (Hitchner) John Wiley & Sons, New York, 2003.

Mr. Dupke is a past member of the AICPA Board of Directors and Chair of its Strategic Planning Committee. He is a past member of the AICPA Forensic and Litigation Committee and Chairs the AICPA Task Force writing Business Valuation Standards for CPAs.

In 1998, Mr. Dupke was awarded the Distinguished Service Award from the Michigan Association of CPAs and in 1999 was inducted into the AICPA Business Valuation Hall of Fame. In 2002, he received the AICPA Business Valuation Volunteer of the Year award. In 2005, he received the Special Recognition Award from both the Michigan Association of CPAs and the American Institute of CPAs for his work on the AICPA Business Valuation Standards. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree from Wayne State University in Detroit.

Allan Koltin, Speaker

Allan Koltin, President of PDI Global, Inc., is a nationally recognized speaker and industry analyst and has appeared on the CNN, WGN and FOX Television networks and has been quoted frequently in such media as Forbes, Business Week, Newsday, Crain’s Business, BBC World Service, Bloomberg News, Reuters Newswires and USA Today, as well as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, New York Post, Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times. He has also spoken nationally and internationally at hundreds of conferences on the topics of leadership, partner compensation, mergers and acquisitions, Human Resources, professional practices, auto dealerships, assurance services, federal taxes, business valuation, litigation support, fraud and practice management.

Allan is the author of two books for professional services firms: CPA Firm Merger Strategies That Work and CPAs That Sell. He also edited the AICPA’s new book, Marketing a Consulting Niche. Allan is on the editorial advisory boards of Accounting Today, Law Firm Management, the CPA Practice Management Forum, Managing Partner Report and the CPA Leadership Report. In September, 2005, he was also voted by Accounting Today as one of the most influential people in the profession, a recognition he has received in each of the past six years. Allan was also one of the first inducted into the Accounting Marketing Hall of Fame, by the Association for Accounting Marketing. In October 2004, he was voted by the Leading Edge Alliance as the Most Influential Person in the Accounting Profession. He has also been a recipient of the NACVA Instructor of the Year Award and winner of the Journal of Accountancy Literacy Award. Previously he was recognized by the Illinois CPA Society with the Distinguished Service Award for outstanding service and commitment to the profession.

Allan is a founding member of the Advisory Board, a think tank to professional and financial services firms. He serves or has served on the board of directors of Outsource Partners International (OPI), BKD Financial Advisors, HRB Business Services and NACVA, and on the AAM Advisory Council. He is an active member of the CEO Club of America, National Speakers Association, Association for Accounting Marketing, Law Marketing Association, American Bar Association and Professional Speakers of Illinois. Allan graduated from the University of Wisconsin (Madison and Milwaukee) in 1980 with business degrees in accounting and marketing.

Gary Trugman, CPA, ABV, MCBA, ASA, Speaker

Gary Trugman is the president of Trugman Valuation Associates, a firm specializing in business valuation and litigation support services. His business valuation experience includes a wide variety of assignments including closely-held businesses, professional practices and thinly traded public companies. Industries include but are not limited to security, automotive, funeral homes, health care, securities brokerage and financial institutions, retail, manufacturing, service, and professional business establishments. Assignments have also included the valuation of stock options and various types of intangible assets.

His business valuation and litigation support services have been rendered for a variety of purposes including, but not limited to family law matters, business damages, lender liability litigation, buy-sell agreements, shareholder litigation, estate and gift tax matters, buying and selling businesses, malpractice litigation, wrongful death, sexual discrimination, age discrimination, wrongful termination, and breach of contract. Representation in litigation includes plaintiff, defendant, mutual, and court-appointed neutral.

Gary has been qualified as an expert witness in State Courts of New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Florida, Federal District Court in Newark, New Jersey and Hammond, Indiana, and has performed extensive services relating to court testimony. Testimony has also been provided in arbitration cases before the National Association of Securities Dealers and the American Stock Exchange, as well as other forms of arbitration.