The trainers at GAAP Seminars are experts in U.S. GAAP and IFRS and are well-versed in the rules of accounting of other countries. Collectively, we have over 100 years of experience in public accounting. Our trainers do not just present the materials; we also research and develop the courses ourselves. We are energetic speakers who convey the course materials in a captivating manner in order to make your training experience not only informative, but interesting as well. We have the high level of technical proficiency required to train a knowledgeable audience in a wide variety of accounting topics. We keep up-to-date with recent accounting changes and can develop specific courses at your request to educate employees at any level in your business.
We invite you to peruse information regarding our trainers below.
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Chris Brundrett
Chris Brundrett is an independent professional training consultant and specializes in delivering U.S. GAAP programs to accounting professionals around the world.
Prior to joining GAAP Seminars, Chris was a Senior Manager with KPMG LLP where he spent 9 years and served a variety of clients, predominately in the Energy and Financial Services industries.
Chris has significant experience with SEC reporting matters, initial public offerings, as well as a variety of other industry specific accounting matters.
Chris is a U.S. CPA and holds a BS in Accounting from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. He is based in Roanoke, Virginia, USA.
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Dwayne Cook
Dwayne Cook is a former Senior Manager with KPMG. His professional experience also includes 6 years as Chief Financial Officer of a U.S. mortgage banking company.
Dwayne has extensive experience in presentations to audit committees and accounting professionals, covering a wide range of topics including U.S. GAAP, industry specific accounting standards, internal control and audit methodologies. He is a U.S. CPA and is based in Richmond, Virginia, USA.
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Lisa Fernihough
Lisa Fernihough is a professional training consultant and specializes in delivering U.S. GAAP and IFRS programs to accounting professionals and executives of large, global companies.
Lisa is a former partner of KPMG. In that capacity she was based in the U.S., Switzerland and the UK. She led KPMG Consulting's IFRS and U.S. GAAP conversion area, developing the methodology and tools used in such implementations to U.S. GAAP and IFRS.
In total, Lisa has 20 years experience in financial reporting and accounting in the finance sector, specializing in banks and insurance companies.
Lisa has spoken and taught at a number of seminars on IFRS and U.S. GAAP, including at conferences jointly sponsored with the IASB and the Financial Times. She is a U.S. CPA with a BS in Accounting from Taylor University and is based in Zürich, Switzerland.
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Bob Laffler
Bob Laffler is a U.S. CPA who joined GAAP Seminars in 2004 and has facilitated numerous courses in U.S. GAAP and IFRS around the world. His high-energy teaching style and industry experience are appreciated by those attending his seminars.
Prior to becoming a full time instructor, Bob gained experience from both the public accounting and private industry sectors. In his 6 years with KPMG in the U.S., Germany and Switzerland, Bob worked on audits primarily in the financial services industry, as well as on first-time SEC registrations for Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse.
In 2001, Bob joined Credit Suisse First Boston (CSFB), the former investment banking division of Credit Suisse Group, as a Vice President. In his role as GAAP specialist responsible for establishing and implementing the Bank’s accounting policies on a global basis, Bob gained a comparative understanding of various GAAPs worldwide, with particular focus on U.S. GAAP and IFRS.
Bob is based in San Diego, California, USA.
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Philippe Longerstaey
Philippe Longerstaey is a training consultant with over 25 years of experience in instructing IFRS and U.S. GAAP seminars for accounting professionals in multinational companies and audit firms, lawyers and senior civil servants, in Europe, the Middle East and South East Asia.
Philippe is a former audit partner with KPMG. He has served a large number of clients in several industries (commercial and manufacturing, insurance, not-for-profit, government) on various audit and consulting engagements (statutory audits, due diligence, reviews of internal control, fraud investigations, training programmes etc).
Since 1996, he has led two projects of economic cooperation funded by the European Commission and the World Bank to assist the Vietnamese Ministry of Finance in adopting International Accounting Standards and International Standards on Auditing. He has acted as independent consultant and expert witness in several high-profile litigation cases.
Philippe has a BA in Economics from the University of Louvain (Belgium) and an MBA from the University of Chicago. He is a U.S. CPA and a recipient of an Elijah Watt Sells award. He is based in Brussels, Belgium.
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Carrie Preston
Before joining GAAP Seminars, Carrie Preston was Senior Vice President and Controller of Saxon Capital, Inc. where she established, documented and ensured adherence to the Company’s technical accounting policies including hedging, transfers of financial assets, mortgage servicing rights and fair value measurements. Carrie was responsible for the preparation of the Company’s consolidated financial statements and filing them with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as implementation and overall compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley. In addition, she played an integral role in the financial due diligence process in connection with the sale of the Company to Morgan Stanley, after which she was acting Chief Financial Officer.
Carrie is also a former Senior Manager with KPMG where she managed the financial statement audits of clients primarily in the financial services and retail industries. In addition, she served as a National Instructor for the firm’s Experienced In-Charge University curriculum.
Carrie is a U.S. CPA with a BBA from The College of William and Mary and is based in Richmond, Virginia, USA.
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Dr. Wayne Shaw
Dr. Wayne Shaw is the Helmut Sohmen Distinguished Professor of Corporate Governance at the Edwin L. Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University and serves as Director of the KPMG Institute on Corporate Governance at SMU. Currently, he works as an instructor for GAAP Seminars and as a consultant with Marks, Paneth & Shron of New York City in litigation support and financial reporting.
Prior to entering academics, Wayne worked for the Internal Revenue Service where he worked in the large case audit group, drug enforcement, appellate, and the Corporate Tax Division of the National Office, specializing in inventory issues and consolidated tax return policies. In addition, Wayne has served as an expert witness for the Securities and Exchange Commission and various law firms, as well as developing and presenting U.S. GAAP training materials for several multinationals.
Wayne received a BSB in accounting from Oklahoma City University, an MBA degree from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin. He is based in Dallas, Texas, USA.
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Richard Stokes
Richard Stokes is an accomplished international financial trainer, with 40 years experience of accounting and teaching.
Richard worked as an auditor with KPMG in London, Hamburg and Stockholm for 20 years, running the KPMG Swedish firm as managing partner before establishing his own practice in Hamburg in 1987.
Since 1987, Richard has specialized in financial training and development, coupled with consulting work for multinationals and auditing firms. In 2001, he co-founded GAAP Seminars.
He specializes in designing tailored accounting-related training solutions for senior management and key accounting personnel, advising companies using IFRS and U.S. GAAP and developing training materials. Richard is an English Chartered Accountant (FCA) living in London, England. He is fluent in English and German.
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Alix von Reibnitz
Alix von Reibnitz is a professional training consultant and specializes in delivering U.S. GAAP and IFRS programs to accounting professionals and members of large, global companies.
As a former Senior Manager with KPMG, Alix has 11 years experience serving clients in the manufacturing and retail industries in both Toronto, Canada and Hamburg, Germany. She specialized in the area of international financial reporting, including conversions to IFRS and U.S. GAAP and initial public offerings.
Since 2001, Alix has taught seminars on IFRS and U.S. GAAP to participants with various levels of prior experience, both in English and German. She is fluent in both languages and also translates commercial documents from German to English and vice versa.
Alix is a Canadian CA with a Master of Accounting from the University of Waterloo, Ontario and is based in Hamburg, Germany.
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Michael Walworth
Michael Walworth is a professional training consultant specializing in the design, development and facilitation of U.S. GAAP and IFRS training programs to accounting professionals and executives of large, global companies.
Michael was a Senior Manager with KPMG LLP, serving financial institution clients in both Richmond, Virginia and Zurich, Switzerland before co-founding GAAP Seminars in 2001.
Since 2001, Michael has developed and facilitated financial training around the world. In total, he has 15 years experience in financial reporting and accounting in the finance sector.
Michael is a U.S. CPA and a member of the AICPA, holding a BS in Accounting from the University of Florida. He is based in Richmond, Virginia, USA.
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Neil Wilson
Neil Wilson has worked for KPMG in the UK for 9.5 years, prior to which he worked in industry as a Management Accountant. During this time, he gained 7 years experience of training accounting professionals in audit methodology and IFRS. For the last two years, Neil specialised in Sarbanes Oxley providing technical training and support to engagement teams across the UK.
A former Senior Manager within the KPMG UK practice, he has successfully trained all levels of staff from graduates to senior partners, enabling them to comply with best practice and regulatory challenges.
Neil is a vibrant and accomplished presenter, an engaging facilitator and coach who breathes life into what is often termed "dry material". A Fellow of Chartered Certified Accountants, Neil graduated from Reading University UK with BSc Hons.
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