2024 Conference Speakers

Frank Abagnale

Frank Abagnale is one of the world’s most respected authorities on forgery, embezzlement, secure documents, cybercrime, and scams. For over 48 years he has worked with, advised, and consulted with hundreds of financial institutions, corporations, and government agencies around the world. 

Mr. Abagnale has been associated with the Federal Bureau of Investigation for over four decades. He lectures at the FBI Academy and for the FBI field offices. On January 18, 2023, Mr. Abagnale was the recipient of the first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award given by InfraGard which, along with the FBI, honored Mr. Abagnale for his longtime work with InfraGard, the FBI and the FBI CyberCamp. On June 12, 2023, he was made an honorary member of the Society of Former Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  He is a former faculty member at the National Advocacy Center (NAC) which is operated by the Department of Justice, Executive Office for United States Attorneys. More than 14,000 financial institutions, corporations, and law enforcement agencies use his fraud prevention programs. In 1998, he was selected as a distinguished member of “Pinnacle 400” by CNN Financial News - a select group of 400 people chosen on the basis of great accomplishment and success in their fields.  He has also written numerous articles and books including The Art of the Steal, The Real U Guide to Identity Theft, Stealing Your Life and his most recent book, Scam Me If You Can – Simple Strategies to Outsmart Today’s Rip-off Artists. 

Mr. Abagnale refuses to accept payment for any of his government work.  Today, most of his work is derived from consulting with major corporate clients and his renown seminar presentations on cyber security, identity theft, and scams.   Mr. Abagnale works as an advisor to a number of print and technology companies around the world.  He spent 20 years as an advisor to the Standard Register Company, creating security features for negotiable instruments, car titles, etc.   He spent 10 years as an advisor to the 41st Parameter which developed fraud detection technology, used in 80 countries around the world and now owned by Experian.  

Today, Mr. Abagnale is an advisor to Trusona (www.trusona.com) in developing the world's first and only insured authentication platform eliminating the use of passwords and allowing for the use of passkey technology.

Tim Buford

Tim is a Houston based partner in PricewaterhouseCoopers where he leads the Private Company Services tax practice.  He has more than 30 years of experience including significant experience serving multinational companies in the public and private space.  Tim has managed and performed tax and advisory services in the areas of accounting for income tax, international tax, research and development credits, and mergers and acquisitions.  

Tim has been a frequent speaker on the topic of accounting for income taxes for organizations such as the Tax Executives Institute, American Petroleum Institute, and the Council for International Tax Education.  He has also taught training courses on topics such as ASC 740, international tax, consolidated tax returns, and various other issues.

Tim has been published in the Tax Adviser magazine and quoted in publications such as the North America Oil & Gas Monitor.  

Brian Byrnes

Brian Byrnes joined the Thunder organization in April 2005 and was instrumental in developing and executing the strategic sales and marketing efforts needed to launch business operations in Oklahoma City in 2008. Byrnes’ current responsibilities include oversight of all revenue platforms including corporate partnerships, ticket sales, retention and operations; luxury suites, terrace lounges and unique inclusive experiences; game theatre, event planning, corporate hospitality and brand architecture and discipline. 

Capitalizing on the unique opportunity to build Oklahoma City’s first major league sports team from the ground up, Byrnes continues to design and implement initiatives that reach beyond the Thunder’s regional influence, marking the team as one of the pillars of the NBA’s global stage. The programs under Byrnes’ oversight span platforms including education, wellness, social justice, entrepreneurial development and meaningful guest experiences - diversifying the Thunder’s entertainment brand to elevate and advance Oklahoma City and Oklahoma alike. Under Byrnes’ direction, these programs cultivate a culture of corporate leadership aimed at driving meaningful fan engagement with a relentless approach to creating conditions for people to thrive. This holistic effort is focused on bolstering the team’s commitment to its core values and maintaining emphasis on forward momentum and sustainability - all while building organizational legacy in real time.

Previously, Byrnes served as executive vice president of business operations for the NHL’s Phoenix Coyotes, guiding the organization through an organizational rebranding in conjunction with a transition to a new venue. Prior to joining the Coyotes, Byrnes built nearly 10 years of experience with the NHL’s Dallas Stars and MLB’s Texas Rangers.

Byrnes currently serves as an adjunct professor of sports marketing and management at the University of Oklahoma’s Price College of Business. Byrnes is also actively involved in the Thunder Cares Foundation, Allied Arts, Leadership Oklahoma City, Leadership Oklahoma, National Sports Forum, Science Museum Oklahoma, Thunder Fellows and the Greater Oklahoma City Sports Consortium. A graduate of St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Byrnes and his wife Ashley reside with their three children in Edmond.

Miles Collins

Jennifer Coonce

Jennifer Coonce is an Assistant Professor of Professional Practice in the Department of Management at the Spears School of Business and a Spears Business Ethics Teaching Fellow.  She also serves as the Assistant Department Head of the Management Department.   

At USB Wealth Management, Jennifer served as the Chief Information Security Officer at UBS Wealth Management. After leaving the financial services industry, she was appointed the Vice President of Retail for Dolce Vita. She started her career in the Information Risk Management Group at KPMG, LLP in Dallas.

Leveraging her diverse corporate background and risk management experience, Jennifer focuses on ethical decision making and ethical leadership. She has a Bachelor of Science in Marketing and Master of Business Administration from Spears School of Business at Oklahoma State University.

Joseph Dunleavy

Joe is a partner in PwC’s National Quality Office. He has over 30 years of experience assisting audit and non-audit clients operating in the Energy, Utilities and Resources (EU&R) sectors. 

In his National Office role, Joe leads PwC’s SEC and Capital Markets EU&R review team responsible for overseeing the review of PwC’s EU&R audit clients’ SEC filings. In addition to overseeing the EU&R review team, Joe performs the review of multiple audit clients’ periodic SEC filings, initial public offerings, mergers, registration statements, and consults on SEC pre-clearance and comment letters. His clients include a mix of domestic and Foreign Private Issuers (FPIs).  

Prior to his role in the National Office, Joe led PwC’s US EU&R Deals Practice.  He primarily focused on assisting clients with the preparation of carve-out financial statements, initial public offerings (IPOs), debt and equity offerings, SEC financial reporting and preclearance matters, and responding to SEC comment letters.

Joe’s audit and non-audit clients have included multi-national companies, independent oil and gas companies, public utilities, and midstream companies. 

During his career, Joe also spent four and a half years in Russia, where he audited financial statements prepared under US GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards.

Joe is a frequent lecturer on IPOs and SEC financial reporting and disclosure matters.  He served as a contributing author and an editor for PwC’s Petroleum Accounting textbook.

Joe is a CPA licensed in Texas, New York, and New Jersey.  He is a member of the AICPA.

Kaitlin Flinn, CPA

Kaitlin Flinn was raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma and received her Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting at Oral Roberts University and her Masters of Taxation at the University of Tulsa.  After living in Michigan for three years and developing multi-national tax experience, Kaitlin joined CCK Strategies to pursue her passion – to help business owners envision the possibilities and develop an action plan to fulfil their dreams.

Kaitlin is known for her international business expertise, as well as leading and teaching other CCK team members as they develop in this specialized field.  Through her trusted advisory approach, Kaitlin provides client-confidence in her commitment to resolving challenges in today’s marketplace.  In addition to international business, Kaitlin specializes in Multi-State Tax Compliance & Consulting, Tax Credit Research and Development, and Tax Research Solutions.

Kaitlin and her husband Keith live in Tulsa.  In their free time, they enjoy travelling the world, outdoor cycling and cooking together.  Kaitlin serves on the Operation Aware Board of Directors as the 2019 Chair.  She is also active at 36° North, Tulsa’s entrepreneur basecamp.

Vanessa Gross, CPA

Vanessa Gross is a native Tulsan. She graduated from The University of Oklahoma in 2010 with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting, Magna Cum Laude, as well as her Master of Accountancy. She is a Certified Public Accountant (“CPA”) having earned her certificate in January 2012. Vanessa began her career with the Ernst & Young Tulsa office. She primarily served clients in the oil & gas industry. While with EY, her and her husband lived in Amsterdam, The Netherlands for 18 months. After being with EY for almost 10 years, Vanessa left to join ONEOK as Director of Property Accounting and has now moved back into audit as Director of Audit Services. Outside of work Vanessa is active on the board of the Tulsa Chapter of the Accounting and Financial Women’s Alliance, currently serving as their past President. She has 2 kids and too many hobbies to count.

Jeff Hensel

Jeff helps clients develop strategies to leverage technology to meet their business vision and journey to becoming a digital organization. He develops longer-term strategic roadmaps, as well as shorter-term iterative execution plans to accomplish those goals.

When you work with Jeff, you can expect him to take a big-picture view and then deliver actionable plans for how to accomplish your goals. The focus is first on the business and then technology, which ensures clients get a thoughtful and actionable set of recommendations and deliverables based on their unique needs.

Outside of work, Jeff enjoys spending time with his family and most outdoor activities, particularly boating, swimming and fishing.

Alexis Higgins

Ms. Higgins has been with the Tulsa Airports Improvement Trust for over 20 years and was named Chief Executive Officer in March 2019 after serving previously as Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Director of Marketing & Community Relations. As Chief Executive Officer, she develops organizational policy and administers all activities associated with the operation of Tulsa International Airport and Tulsa Riverside Airport. 

She graduated with honors from the University of Tulsa Business School, where she was named Outstanding Marketing Graduate, with a degree in Marketing and double minors in Management and Russian Language. She achieved the professional designation of Accredited Airport Executive from the American Association of Airport Executives in June 2010. 

In addition to her work at the airport, she serves as the past-President of the Oklahoma Airport Operators Association, on the board of Airports Council International-North America, and actively supports Challenge Air for Kids by serving on their Tulsa Fly Day event committee as chair of donor funding.

Al Marciante

Al Marciante is Oracle's Senior Director of Product Management for Oracle Enterprise Performance Management. Al has nearly 30 years of experience in the financial and enterprise performance management space, beginning his career as a Financial Information Technology professional for a leading electronics and communication company. He implemented applications for the accounting and finance organizations. In 1994, he spearheaded a project to produce consolidation financials, fully burdened profit and loss analysis, and budget reporting that was based on Oracle Financials, custom Oracle development and Arbor Essbase. In 1997, Al moved to a solution consultant role with Arbor, where he helped many customers in the Southern US states achieve significant value purchasing and implementing OLAP and Analytic Applications In 2000, after Arbor and Hyperion software merged to become Hyperion Solutions, Al moved to a Product Management role, and quickly moved to a leadership role in the Product Management organization, and through the decade participated in driving new solutions in the Enterprise Performance Management space. He has since led PM teams not only in the Essbase organization, but also in Hyperion Planning, Hyperion Profitability and Cost Management, Smart View, Financial Reports, Crystal Ball and Disclosure Management. Al is now responsible for Oracle EPM reporting tools and technologies. He had spearheaded new initiatives for Oracle EPM Cloud, including a service focused on collaborative narrative and cross cloud reporting called Oracle Enterprise Performance Reporting. He also leads the EPM infrastructure PM team.

Madison Marsh

Madison Marsh, 2nd Lieutenant in the Air Force, made history as the first active-duty officer to hold a Miss America state title, crowned Miss Colorado 2023 after graduating from the United States Air Force Academy with a physics degree. She founded the Whitney Marsh Foundation where she serves as CEO, in honor of her mother, to raise funds for pancreatic cancer research. Madison holds achievements in aviation and martial arts, embodying the values of service and excellence in her diverse pursuits.

Fast Facts About Madison

• Studying Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School
• Graduated the Air Force Academy
• Certified Private Pilot
• Founded the Whitney Marsh Foundation
• National Truman Scholar
• National Astronaut Scholar
• Bookworm

Sara Mays

Sara is a Certified Public Accountant with 20 years of experience in tax and business consulting.  Sara moved to the Tulsa area in 2006.  Shortly thereafter, she began her career with CCK Strategies, PLLC, and is currently a Managing Director. She also sits as Vice Chairperson of the Board at First Pryority Bank.  A Northeastern State University graduate, Sara earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Finance, with an emphasis in Financial Planning.  She is a member of the American Institute of CPAs, and the Oklahoma Society of CPAs (OSCPA). In 2023, Sara was awarded the OSCPA Trailblazer, a recognition given to CPAs who show innovation, professional dedication, and commitment to their profession.

Dr. Shannon McMurtrey

Dr. Shannon McMurtrey is an Associate Professor of Cyber Risk Management at Drury University. His professional background includes over 25 years of IT experience in the fields of e-commerce and cybersecurity. Dr. McMurtrey is a Missouri State University College of Business research award winner and has published peer reviewed journal articles on artificial intelligence and machine learning in the United States and Europe. He holds several respected industry certifications in the areas of industrial control systems cybersecurity, network penetration, incident handling, and web application security.

Tara Mundell

Tara is a Managing Director with CBIZ Risk & Advisory Services based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She has more than 20 years of experience with internal controls. She has significant experience in various segments of the energy industry, including energy trading and marketing, exploration and production, retail propane, and mining. She has been responsible for overseeing multiple internal audit outsource projects, for both public and private organizations, ranging from FCPA and anti-corruption reviews to structured deal process reviews, contract administration reviews along with deal capture, valuation, and analysis for various energy marketing and trading business units.

Tara has also spearheaded various Enterprise Risk Management projects, financial reporting special projects, policy and procedure creation, assisting clients with the implementation of new FASB statements, and quality assurance reviews. She has been responsible for project management and execution of business process reviews related to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act Section 404 requirements. The engagements include assisting clients document, evaluate, and test key financial reporting controls and implement the COSO Internal Control Framework.​

​Prior to joining CBIZ, Tara was responsible for middle-office functions, including deal confirmation, pricing model validation, hedging evaluation, and trader portfolio reviews. She was also involved with the implementation of a new risk management system.

Bryan Sinclair

Bryan leads RGP’s Technical Accounting solution and is an accomplished accounting and finance professional with extensive knowledge in technical accounting matters, initial public offerings, developing corporate infrastructure, internal controls and financial reporting functions within dynamic growth companies as well as mature organizations facing financial and operational challenges. 

Bryan has provided technical accounting analysis/guidance on significant transactions and events for clients, including initial public offerings, mergers & acquisitions, divestitures, carve-outs, and restructurings.  Bryan has also served as CFO for an early-stage, public oil & gas E&P company.  Bryan began his accounting career with the Big Four, spending nearly nine years between KPMG and PwC, and is a Certified Public Accountant (State of Texas).

Peter Philippi

Eric Ramirez

Eric has extensive experience in both Financial Reporting and Business Intelligence, improving business processes and helping management and their teams make better and faster decisions. Eric's experience ranges from public accounting, public filers, PE baked porticos, and consulting. Eric attended Harding University and resides in Houston.

Amanda Roberts

Mary Spears

Jeanette Stanton

Jeanette Stanton is the current Director of the Oklahoma Film + Music Office (OF+MO) and has served the agency in multiple roles since 2014. A graduate of the University of Oklahoma, Stanton brings program management across public, non-profit, and private sectors as well as experience in governmental affairs supporting motion picture, television, music, and commercial production state-wide. Her previous experience in marketing and business development assists her in leading a team to build dynamic relationships and drive economic impact for film & television production in Oklahoma from companies including NBC Universal, Apple, Lionsgate, Viacom CBA/Paramount, Disney/FX, A24, and many more. In addition to her work at OF+MO, Stanton has enjoyed previously volunteering with leadership and various professional development groups.

Steve M. Wyett

Steve began his investment career in January of 1982, joined Bank of Oklahoma in September of 2005 and was named Chief Investment Strategist for BOK Financial in May of 2020. BOK Financial provides a wide array of banking, fiduciary and investment services through our regional bank brands, including Bank of Texas, Bank of Oklahoma, BOK Financial and Bank of Albuquerque, a broker dealer, four registered investment advisor firms and an electronic funds network.

As the Chief Investment Strategist, Steve is a member of the Wealth Management Asset Allocation Committee where BOKF sets their investment and economic views. Steve is also a member of several committees where they oversee 100+billion in assets under management and administration.

Steve is Immediate Past President of the Board for Tulsa’s largest charitable organization- Family and Children’s Services, an active participant in the Tulsa Area United Way, and is a member of the CFA institute. Steve graduated from Oklahoma State University, where he played varsity tennis, with a B.S. in Finance.

Kelly Anerud

Kelly is a Vice President in RGP’s Consulting practice where she helps lead RGP's finance, accounting, and sustainability solutions. In this role, she manages numerous project engagements and supports clients in a wide variety of industries with the adoption of new standards (national and international), reporting/disclosure requirements, system implementations and optimizations, and related finance transformation activities. Her role also involves assisting clients in their ESG compliance readiness efforts, including knowledge building and training, methodology development, compliance readiness assessments, emissions data collection, and leveraging technology solutions.

Prior to joining RGP, Kelly was Director at the International Federation of Accountants where she established and led the Intellectual Property (IP) Department and provided leadership of strategic international IP and Human Resource projects. 

She has served as Deputy Director at the Office of the Auditor General of Norway where she led public sector financial and compliance audits. In that role, she also served as Technical Advisor on the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) and she was actively involved in the development of international auditing standards and their adoption in both public and private sectors. 

Kelly started her career with PricewaterhouseCoopers and has held numerous leadership positions at the firm in Oslo, Chicago, and London. Her areas of responsibility included leadership of audit and business advisory service engagements, human capital management, HR operational reviews, capacity building, system implementations, as well as strategic planning, financial management, and controllership at the firm’s European headquarters.

During her career she has authored various articles and has been a speaker at numerous national and international events, including the World Congress of Accountants. More recently she has been a webinar/podcast presenter on the topic of ESG.  

Kelly is a licensed CPA (Illinois), a Project Management Professional (PMP), and a member of the AICPA and the PMI. She holds an MBA from the Thunderbird School of Global Management and has over 25 years of international professional experience from Europe.

Katherine Silva

Katherine is a CPA and production accountant in the film industry. She has worked on films such as Twisters, Oppenheimer and Jurassic World 2. Her work includes creating budgets, tracking and forecasting weekly costs, and managing a team that is processing payroll and AP payments, ensuring a full picture ledger. She also spent two years working at Grant Thornton on the auditing side.

Scott Long

Scott Long, CPA is a shareholder at DP Financial & Tax Inc. where his primary focus is on tax compliance and consulting.  He has previously worked at two other public accounting firms in Tulsa as well as worked as a controller of a mortgage company.  In 2011 the Oklahoma Film & Music Office approved him as a third-party CPA to report on the accuracy of the final rebate applications for the Oklahoma Film & Music incentive program.  Since that time, he has completed over 80 engagements for television and movie productions including August Osage County, American Ninja Warrior, The Pioneer Woman, Stillwater, Reservation Dogs and American Underdog.