5XÉçÇø

Paul Barnhurst ​
Founder - The FP&A Guy

Paul has over a decade of hands-on experience in financial analysis, forecasting, budgeting, and business strategy. His real-world expertise and approachable teaching style have made him a sought-after trainer and mentor, helping professionals at all stages of their careers develop the skills needed to succeed in today’s fast-paced business environment. He is also the host of three popular finance podcasts that discuss FP&A, financial modeling, and the future of finance as it relates to finance and technology. Paul’s academic credentials include a Master of Science in Information Management and an MBA in Finance. He also holds the prestigious FPAC (Financial Planning & Analysis Certified Professional) certification from AFP and is recognized as an Advanced Finance Modeler (AFM) by the Financial Modeling Institute (FMI). These qualifications reflect his dedication to mastering the technical and strategic elements of financial planning. 

Lisa Barrow ​
Vice President, Research Department - The Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland

Lisa Barrow is a vice president in the Research Department of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, leading the department’s regional analysis and outreach group. Before joining the Research Department, Dr. Barrow was a senior economist and economic advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and an affiliated researcher at the University of Chicago Consortium on School Research. Her research focuses on a variety of education issues, including the impact of attending a selective high school on student outcomes, a randomized evaluation of computer-aided algebra instruction in large urban school districts, and evaluations of performance-based scholarship impacts on academic outcomes and student time use at the college level. Her prior research on school choice, education production, and the earned income tax credit has appeared in numerous economic and policy journals. Barrow has also served as senior economist on the White House Council of Economic Advisers, a visiting assistant professor at the New York State School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University, and a visiting lecturer at the Irving B. Harris School of Public Policy at the University of Chicago. Barrow holds a BA in economics from Carleton College and an MA and a Ph.D. in economics from Princeton University. 

Rob Choromanski ​
Partner - EY

Rob Choromanski is a Partner with EY in its Americas Professional Practice Group and Northeast Ohio audit practice. He has over 16 years of client service experience in several industries including diversified industrial products, aerospace manufacturing, and consumer products. In addition to currently serving clients, he supports EY’s professionals in the US to navigate audit methodology, policies, and practices in addition to providing consultative support in its Americas Professional Practice Group. From July 2020 through July 2022, he served a two-year term as a Professional Accounting Fellow in the Office of the Chief Accountant of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) supporting activities that provided advice on domestic and international auditing issues. 

Tiffany Crosby ​
Chief Learning Officer - The Ohio Society of CPAs

Tiffany Crosby is the Chief Learning Officer for The Ohio Society of CPAs. She is responsible for organizational development, workforce development, learning, and DEI. Crosby is also one of OSCPA’s premiere instructors for ethics. Prior to her work with the society, she was the Founder and President of Petra Learning LLC, a professional training and development company. Additionally, Crosby was an Executive Director in the Advisory Risk Practice of Ernst & Young, LLP. She spent more than 13 years at EY leading various types of internal audit, internal control, finance, and enterprise risk management projects. She has helped numerous companies define and implement processes and procedures to comply with new financial accounting standards, strengthen governance processes, and reduce costs. Crosby teaches financial management and business leadership classes as an adjunct faculty member at Southeastern University. She previously taught financial accounting and managerial accounting as an adjunct faculty member at Columbus State Community College (CSCC). Crosby is a CPA licensed in Pennsylvania and Ohio. She received a B.S.B.A. in Accounting from Duquesne University and MBA from Franklin University and is a doctoral student in Southeastern University’s Organizational Leadership Program. 

Patrick Gilmore ​
Partner - Deloitte

Patrick Gilmore is a Partner with Deloitte in its national office, where he specializes in matters pertaining to SEC rules and regulations related to financial reporting. Patrick joined Deloitte in 2021 after 17 years on the staff of the SEC in the Division of Corporation Finance. Prior to joining Deloitte, from 2017 until his departure, Patrick served as the Deputy Chief Accountant in the Division of Corporation Finance’s Office of the Chief Accountant at the SEC, where he led the staff in providing technical accounting and reporting support for the Division’s disclosure review program, led various rulemaking efforts, and answered interpretive questions and waiver requests related to the form and content of financial statements to be included in SEC filings. During 2020, Gilmore also served as the Acting Disclosure Review Program Director, where he oversaw the Division’s selective review of transactional and periodic filings. He spent the earlier part of his career with the SEC in various management and staff positions in the Division of Corporation Finance’s Office of the Chief Accountant and the disclosure review program in the computer and software industry group. Gilmore earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Towson University and is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the AICPA. 

Gaurav Hiranandani ​
Senior Associate Chief Accountant, OCA - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission 

Gaurav Hiranandani is a Senior Associate Chief Accountant in the Office of the Chief Accountant (OCA) at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In this role, he serves on the leadership team for OCA's accounting group, focusing on accounting and financial reporting matters relating to financial assets, derivatives and hedging, debt and equity, consolidation, compensation, income taxes, and crypto assets. The accounting group's activities include responding to accounting consultations from registrants, auditors, and SEC staff regarding complex financial reporting issues; overseeing the activities of the Financial Accounting Standards Board; monitoring the activities of international accounting standard setters including the International Accounting Standards Board; and communicating key technical accounting issues to stakeholders. Prior to joining the Commission, Gaurav worked in various industry technical accounting and financial reporting roles, first at Coinbase, Inc. and then at Stripe, Inc. Before that, Gaurav served in multiple roles at Ernst & Young, LLP, including within audit, advisory and the national practice. Gaurav is a graduate of George Mason University. He is a Certified Public Accountant in the Commonwealth of Virginia and New York, as well as a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Tim Holmes ​
Practice Director - Robert Half Cleveland 

Tim Holmes is a Practice Director with Robert Half Cleveland, the world’s first and largest specialized talent solutions firm. He has been with the company for 10 years in the Management Resources practice. Tim provides firms with guidance and solutions for accounting, finance, compliance, M&A, transformation, and ERP improvements. In addition, he has participated and led hundreds of employee interviews and feedback debriefs for accounting professionals and employees, giving him a wide-ranging perspective on employer requirements and career opportunities within the accounting & finance space across Northeast Ohio. Before moving to the US in 2012, he lived in the UK, Lebanon, Pakistan, and Sudan. He graduated with a BA and followed with a Master’s degree in International Development from the University of Liverpool. Tim also has an accounting-focused MBA from Warwick Business School. He has a passion for travel, international culture, English soccer, and is married with two creative and highly energetic young daughters.

Joyce T. Joseph, DBA ​
Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB)

Joyce T. Joseph, DBA, joined the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) on July 1, 2023. Her first term concludes June 30, 2028, when she will be eligible to be considered for reappointment to a second term. An accomplished financial leader, Dr. Joseph brings to the Board substantial expertise in technical accounting and a unique depth of understanding of the standard-setting process and its relevance to the financial investor, having previously served on the FASB’s Investor Technical Advisory Committee and on the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s Standing Advisory Group.  Prior to joining the FASB, Dr. Joseph spent nearly two decades leading research and analysis on current and emerging financial accounting and reporting matters with an investor and user perspective, first as a managing director at S&P Global Ratings before founding Capital Accounting Advisory and Research, LLC. She also was a vice president at JP Morgan Chase & Co., leading Securities and Exchange Commission reporting and Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, and an assistant professor of professional practice at Rutgers University. She began her career at KPMG LLP auditing financial institutions before joining Deutsche Bank, becoming assistant vice president with controllership responsibilities. Dr. Joseph was a board member on the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Board of Examiners, setting policy for the CPA exams and shaping the future of the accounting profession and its members. She is a member of the AICPA, National Association of Black Accountants, and CFA Society New York. Dr. Joseph holds a Doctor of Business Administration degree from Rutgers University, a Master of Business Administration degree from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Pace University. She is a certified public accountant (CPA), a chartered global management accountant (CGMA), and a Standard & Poor’s certified credit ratings analyst – Financial Institutions Industry.  

Steve Kraynak ​
U.S. Director - SumProduct.com

Steve Kraynak joined SumProduct.com as the U.S. director after more than a decade as a product manager for the Excel team at Microsoft, where helped craft many features in Excel, including new worksheet functions like IFS & TEXTJOIN, Data from Picture, Excel for Mac, user experience improvements like Smooth Scrolling, and many others. Kraynak has been a featured presenter at Microsoft Ignite, Excelapalooza, Excel Summit South, Excel Virtually Global, Microsoft Business Applications Summit (MBAS), EuSpRIG and others. He also has years of experience working with Excel prior to joining Microsoft, in both the software and vaccine manufacturing industries, where he made his mark by using desktop tools such as Excel to automate and simplify many business processes. Kraynak has a passion for listening to customers and helping them succeed by making the most of technology and their data, especially by using Excel.  

Ron Lewis ​
Senior Vice President & Head of Finance Shared Services - KeyBank

Ron Lewis is the SVP and Head of Finance Shared Services at KeyBank.  He brings more than 30 years of banking experience to this role.  He is responsible for Corporate Procurement, Corporate Reconcilement, Financial System Support and Information Delivery, and serves as the CFO of KeyBank’s Technology and Operations division.  Prior to his current role, he was the Assistant Controller for KeyBank responsible for Month End Close, Consolidation Accounting, and a number of other Accounting operations areas.  During his time as the Assistant Controller, he led a significant finance transformation through the implementation of Workday technology.

Wei Li, Ph.D. ​
Chair for the Department of Accounting & Associate Professor - Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship at 5XÉçÇø

Wei Li, Ph.D., is the Chair for the Department of Accounting at the Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship at 5XÉçÇø. She joined the Kent State faculty in 2006 after receiving a Ph.D. from Washington State University. Li’s main research interests examine whether and how psychological and social factors influence investors’ decision making. In addition, her work has explored the areas of management financial reporting decisions and donors’ decision processes. Li’s research is international in scope. She is a co-recipient of two research grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China.  

Serena Loftus, Ph.D. ​
Assistant Professor - Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship at 5XÉçÇø

Serena Loftus, Ph.D., joined the faculty of 5XÉçÇø in 2021. Her research focuses on how managers’ language choices impact investors’ and employees’ reactions to accounting information. Her research has been published in premier academic journals and has also appeared in news outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Workspan, Strategic Finance Magazine, and Investor Relations Magazine. Loftus has been nationally recognized for her teaching, including being named a Top 50 Undergraduate Business Professor for 2021 by Poets & Quants magazine. She is a Certified Management Accountant (CMA).  

Ron Marcin ​
Partner, KPMG

Ron Marcin is a Partner in KPMG’s audit Practice.  He has over 20 years of client service experience in several industries including consumer goods, retail, industrial manufacturing and financial services. Ron has experience serving clients in a number of geographic regions and his client base has ranged from large international public companies to private enterprises.  Ron currently serves as the lead partner for two public companies in the Cleveland area. Ron is a proud alumnus of 5XÉçÇø (2001) and currently serves as the Accounting Advisory Board Chair.

Stephen McNally ​
CFO, Treasurer & Secretary - Plastic Technologies Inc. (PTI) 

J. Stephen McNally, CMA, CPA, is the Past Chair of IMA's Global Board of Directors and continues to serve on the Global Board, the Global Board’s Global Markets Committee, and the Small Business Committee. In addition, Steve is a proud member of the IMA Toledo Chapter. Steve is CFO, treasurer, and secretary of the Plastic Technologies Inc. (PTI) Group of Companies. Based in Holland, Ohio, the PTI Group serves nearly every major consumer goods company and is recognized worldwide for sustainable packaging innovation. Prior to PTI, Steve spent a lifetime at Campbell Soup Company.

Norman Meonske ​
Meonske Professional Development Conference Founder & Kent State Professor Emeritus

Norman Meonske, Ph.D., has conducted many continuing professional education presentations for state CPA societies, corporations, CPA firms, IMA meetings, and other professional organizations. He is the recipient of IMA’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He is also the 2004 recipient of IMA’s  prestigious R. Lee Brummet Exemplary Educator Award and IMA’s Ohio Regional Council’s Distinguished Service award. Meonske was recognized in 2011 as the Outstanding Educator of the Year by the OSCPA/The Ohio Region of the American Accounting Association. His prior public accounting experience was with Arthur Andersen & Co. 

Kyle Moffatt ​
Partner - PwC

Kyle Moffatt joined as a partner with PwC in April 2020. He has also worked for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and held titles of Chief Accountant and Disclosure Program Director, Chief Accountant, Associate Director of Disclosure Operations, Associate Director of Disclosure Standards, and Branch Chief Accountant. Moffatt received a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of Maryland, College Park.