Save the date! Fall CPE Conference

Steffen brings more than 25 years of experience in the accounting profession to ISCPA, most recently as co-founder and president of The Whetstone Group where she has promoted the discipline of growth among firms of all sizes ranging from sole practitioners to the top national firms. She has not only influenced firm leaders, but also shaped thousands of professional staff, marketing resources and other industry consultants through her speaking and training efforts.

Prior to The Whetstone Group, Steffen was a national marketing director for RSM US LLP. She has been named to the Association for Accounting Marketing Hall of Fame, Accounting Today’s Top 100 Most Influential Consultant to Watch list and the Corridor Business Journal 40 Under 40 List. Steffen is a member and past president of CPA Consultants’ Alliance (CPACA) and has held various roles with the National Association for Accounting Marketing (AAM) including board member, treasurer, finance committee chair, and education committee chair. She’s a frequent guest on industry leading podcasts including the Accounting Today podcast, AICPA’s Small Firm Podcast and has been a featured guest on the AICPA’s Town Hall.

Steffen has been widely published in Accounting Today, INSIDE Public Accounting, The AICPA’s Journal of Accountancy, AAM’s MarkeTrends: The Journal of Accounting Marketing, CPA Practice Management Forum and numerous state society and accounting network publications. She is also co-author of the book “Bridging the Gap: Strengthening the Connection between Current Emerging Leaders.” She has presented for the AICPA, the Association for Accounting Marketing’s (AAM) Annual Summit, and various state society events.

DAVID R. PETERS, CPA, CFP, MST, CPCU, CLU

David Peters is the Founder and Owner of Peters Professional Education and Peters Tax Preparation & Consulting, PC. He is also a financial advisor for Peters Financial, LLC. David has over twenty years of experience in financial services, including 3 years in the hedge fund industry and 14 years in the insurance industry. David was the first-ever Chief Financial Officer at Compare.com - a position he held for more than three years.
In addition to running his own professional education website, David is a National Instructor for the AICPA, Surgent, Kaplan, and Don Farmer Tax Seminars. He was a recipient of Surgent's Outstanding Discussion Leader award in 2019 and 2022, as well as the AICPA's Outstanding Facilitator Award in 2021 and 2023. He regularly teaches courses in accounting, finance, insurance, financial planning, and ethics throughout the United States. David holds four masters degrees, and is currently pursuing his PhD in Financial Planning. He contributes regularly to various CPA publications, including NCACPA's Interim Report, SCACPA's CPA Report, and VSCPA's Disclosures. David was also a co-author of the 2018, 2019, and 2020 Virginia CPA Ethics courses - a required course for all CPA's licensed in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

• Website:  www.petersprofessionaleducation.com
• YouTube: www.youtube.com/@DavidPetersFinancial
• LinkedIn Company: https://www.linkedin.com/company/95657499/admin/analytics/updates/
• LinkedIn Personal: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-peters-financial/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/davidpetersfinancial
• Twitter/X: https://x.com/DavidPFinancial
  

John Higgins, Higgins Advisory, LLC

John Higgins is a strategic adviser to CPAs and the CPA profession in all aspects of leveraging technology. He has authored and presented CPE programs for thousands of CPAs over the past 25 years on technology and practice management issues. John is a pioneer in the development and delivery of web based CPE programs. He has presented “live” web CPE events for groups as large as 600+ participants, as well as many small groups. John assisted the Michigan Association of CPAs as an adviser in the development of their web based CPE model. John’s primary qualification is his passion for helping CPAs achieve greater success by leveraging technology. He has extensive knowledge and experience working with CPAs throughout the country. John resides in Rochester, Michigan with his wife Karen and their two children. Qualifications and Experience: •Actively involved in working with local, regional and national CPA firms over the past 25 years. •Facilitated hundreds of planning sessions and retreats to develop strategic plans, technology plans, paperless work flow design, innovative client services and more. •Nationally recognized speaker and author on technology issues impacting the CPA profession. •Monthly host of Document Management to Go (DMS2Go) pod cast sponsored by CPA Technology magazine. •Former national consulting partner with a top 10 CPA firm. •Former CEO of technology training & consulting firm. •Member of the AICPA Business & Industry Hall of Fame. •Past Chair of the Michigan Association of CPAs. •Past member of the AICPA Council and CPE Advisory Committee. •MACPA Innovative User of Technology award.