Fall Meeting & Education Conference - Las Vegas, NV

Nov 06, 2013 08:00am -
Nov 10, 2013 05:00pm

Event Type: Fall Meeting

Speaker Information

Education Schedule

 

Thursday, November 7

8:30-9:45am (75 Minutes)

What the Criminal Investigation Division Does

Speaker: Special Agent Joshua Bottjer, Las Vegas Criminal Investigation Division, IRS

This session will discuss which statutes we cover, and talk about recent significant cases that would be of interest.

 

 

9:45-11:00am (75 Minutes)

FBAR: A Workshop on Current Issues with Foreign Bank Account Reporting

Speakers: Eric Morgenthal, Esq., CPA, Law Office of Eric L. Morgenthal, PLLC and Marc Schwartz, Esq., CPA, Schwartz International

This workshop will include discussion on the requirements, penalties and advice on when the client hasn’t reported it. Where are we now and how to deal with the IRS.

 

 

11:10-12:00pm (50 Minutes)

Income Tax and Estate Planning for Art and Collectibles

Speaker: Jeremiah W. Doyle IV, BNY Mellon Wealth Management

Artwork, cars, wine collections and baseball cards. More and more client’s estates hold collectibles as an asset yet few clients know how to handle the income tax and estate tax issues these assets present. This session will discuss the income tax consequences of owning collectibles and the different treatment afforded dealers, collectors, creators and investors. In addition, the complicated rules regarding the charitable gifting of tangible personal property will be highlighted including a discussion of the future interest rule, the related used rule, the use of a private operating foundation to maintain a collection and the fractional sales of art. If time permits, there will be a quick review of what common estate planning techniques work and don’t work to successfully transfer collectibles.

 

 

1:30-2:20pm (50 Minutes)

Avoiding Surprises! Understanding the Valuation of Existing Life Insurance Contracts

Speaker: Randy Zipse, Esq., CPA, Highland Capital Brokerage

The general rule for valuing a life insurance policy is to use the property’s fair market value applying the familiar willing buyer-willing seller standard. Sounds easy enough, yet there is no generally accepted formula for determining the fair market value of an existing policy. For the most part, with the exception of some relatively recent rules created for the valuation of life insurance distributed out of qualified plans, policy valuation guidelines were developed roughly 40 years ago when whole life and term life policies dominated the industry. Existing guidelines never anticipated today’s flexible life insurance products. Maybe even worse than the inconsistency of the IRS guidelines is the inconsistency of life insurance carrier internal rules on valuation of policies. Very similar products can be valued very different from one carrier to another. This presentation will familiarize the audience with IRS valuation guidelines, will discuss various carrier valuation methodologies, and will discuss strategies for advisers contemplating the transfer of existing life insurance contracts. Anyone with clients making gifts of existing life insurance contracts or with businesses that own life insurance need to understand these issues and the landmines created by the uncertainty.

 

 

2:30-4:10pm (100 Minutes)

“Business Planning Practice Building with BusinessDocx®”

Speaker: Matthew T. McClintock, JD, WealthCounsel

Grow your own business and develop a system of lifetime--and life cycle-- care for your business clients. From document drafting to tried and true marketing techniques, this session will take a focused look at BusinessDocx and how to enhance your practice from the perspective of one of the system’s key contributors.

 

 

Saturday, November 9

8:30-11:00am (150 Minutes)

Fraud in Non Profits: Forensic Accounting Tools and Techniques

Speaker: Marta Alfonso, Esq., CPA, MBAF

This session will provide participants the red flags and techniques to assess and identify fraud in nonprofit entities. This session will qualify for 3 A&A hours.

 

 

11:15am-12:05pm

(50 Minutes)

Ethics Part I: Where the Lawyer Ends and the CPA begins

Speakers: Jon Marseglia, Esq., tax intern, L J Sullivan, CPA, LLC, Richard M. Orin, Esq., JD, LLM, CPA, Jim Rigos, Esq., CPA, Rigos Bar and Accountancy Review Series and Syd Traum, Esq., CPA, Levey, Filler, Rodriguez, Kelso & Magilligan, LLP

Dual practitioners are required to comply with two sets of professional standards and ethical practices, as well as the client confidentiality privileges of both professions. But what determines whether a dual practitioner is acting as an attorney, as a CPA or as both? This session will examine situations where dual licensure can possibly help as well as hinder both the dual practitioner and his/her clients.

 

 

1:10-2:00pm

(50 Minutes)

Ethics Part II: Where the Lawyer Ends and the CPA begins

A continuation of the above program

2:05-2:50pm (50 Minutes)

Proposed Revisions to Circular 230— Death of a Legend

Speaker: David Golden, Esq., CPA, Troutman Sanders LLP

The objective of this session is to review the proposed regulations to Circular 230. The regulations significantly modify the covered opinion rules. The presentation will also discuss the recent action Loving v. Internal Revenue Service where the United States District Court for the District of Columbia held that income

tax preparation was not practice before the IRS.

 

 

3:00-3:50pm (50 Minutes)

Recent Developments in Tax Jurisprudence in the Federal Circuit and Court of Federal Claims

Speaker: Professor Tim Todd, Esq., CPA, Liberty University

The United States Court of Federal Claims and its appellate court, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, offer another avenue for tax controversy jurisdiction. An understanding of recent precedent in these two courts can greatly aid the practitioner as he or she selects a tax controversy forum, especially if trying to avoid the Tax Court’s application of Golsen v. Comm’r, 54 T.C. 742 (1970). This session will analyze noteworthy tax precedent, recent tax cases and developments, and why a practitioner would file a claim here instead of another tribunal.

 

 


Meet Our Speakers


 

Marta Alfonso, Esq., CPA, CFF, CIRA, is a principal in the Management Advisory Services Department at MBAF. 
With a strong background in forensic accounting, insolvency and bankruptcy, turnarounds, litigation support and financial management, Marta offers clients extensive financial experience and a deep understanding of critical legal issues. Trained as both an accountant and an attorney, she has worked in a range of consulting and in-house corporate roles since 1983.

Before joining MBAF, Marta served in key positions with a national accounting firm, providing financial and accounting guidance for Chapter 7 and Chapter 11 federal bankruptcies. In this role, she also served as a federal receiver for  multi-million dollar companies, performed due diligence services for real estate and manufacturing clients, and provided expert consultation and testimony in cases related to bankruptcy and insolvency, receivership, criminal RICO, domestic and international money laundering, accounting malpractice, and marital dissolution.

Marta's experience with bankruptcy, receivership and restructuring issues includes years of service in accounting and consulting positions. She has served as the chief restructuring officer of a healthcare service organization, as a state court receiver for a money transmission company, and as a consultant on federal bankruptcy cases. With expertise in both management and technology, she has worked as the interim chief information officer for a large consumer transportation company, and has provided financial and operational management support, technology consulting, and regulatory compliance counsel to both for-profit and non-profit organizations in South Florida and beyond.

In the areas of litigation support and forensic accounting, Marta has consulted in defense of securities and exchange fraud and bank fraud clients, and has served as an expert witness before the Florida Supreme Court Referee and Miami-Dade County Grand Jury relative to a multi-million dollar forensic accounting project.

Along with her private sector work, Marta has also served with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, where she was comptroller for the Federal Housing Administration and director of the Office of Asset and Credit Management. In these positions, she helped to evaluate and develop organization-wide accounting systems, while overseeing an array of financial management and information technology functions.

 


Special Agent Joshua Bottjer, Las Vegas Criminal Division, IRS

Special Agent Bottjer is a graduate of Arizona State's W.P Carey School of Business where he earned a Bachelor?s degree in Finance (summa cum laude) and a Masters degree in Taxation. Upon graduation Mr. Bottjer worked with the international accounting firm KPMG, LLP. After KPMG, he spent time in wealth management assisting small business owners before becoming a Special Agent. As  a Special Agent, Mr. Bottjer has worked numerous cases involving Titles 18, 26, and 31. Special Agent Bottjer is the recipient of the 2013 Chief's Investigative Excellence Award for his contributions as the co-leader of the Las Vegas Financial Crimes Task Force.


Jeremiah W. Doyle IV, Esq., Senior Vice President, BNY Mellon Wealth Management, is an estate planning strategist for BNY Mellon's Private Wealth Management group and a Senior Vice President of Bank of New York Mellon. He has been with the firm since 1981.  Jere provides high net worth individuals and families throughout the country with integrated wealth management advice on how to hold, manage and transfer their wealth in a tax efficient manner.

Jere is admitted to practice law in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and before the United States District Court, United States Court of Appeals (First Circuit) and the United States Tax Court. He formerly served as a member of the Massachusetts Joint Bar Committee on Judicial Appointments. He is the editor and co-author of Preparing Fiduciary Income Tax Returns, a contributing author of Preparing Estate Tax Returns, a contributing author of Understanding and Using Trusts, a contributing author of Drafting Irrevocable Trusts in Massachusetts all published by Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, a reviewing editor of the 1041 Deskbook published by Practitioner’s Publishing Company  and a contributing columnist for Estate Planning Review – The Journal published by Commerce Clearing House. 

Jere is a lecturer in law in the Graduate Tax Program at Boston University School of Law.  He received a LL.M. in banking law from Boston University Law School, a LL.M. in taxation from Boston University Law School, a Juris Doctor from Hamline University Law School and a BS in accounting from Providence College.

He is a member of the American Bar Association, Massachusetts Bar Association, Boston Estate Planning Council and the Essex County Bar Association.  He served as president of the Boston Estate Planning Council and currently serves as a member of its Executive Committee and was a 20-year member of the Executive Committee of the Essex County Bar Association. He is also a member of the steering committee for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Advanced Estate Planning Program. He was named as the “Estate Planner of the Year” in 2009 by the Boston Estate Planning Council. In 2011 he was elected to the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils (NAEPC) Estate Planning Hall of Fame as an Accredited Estate Planner® (Distinguished). He has spoken at numerous professional education programs throughout the country on various topics, been quoted in numerous business publications and has appeared on CNBC, MSNBC and CNN.

 

David F. Golden, Partner, Troutman Sanders LLP, work includes planning, compliance, transactions and civil tax controversies.  He is involved in a variety of matters relating to state and federal taxation of corporations, partnerships, individuals, tax exempt entities and industrial development bonds.  He also provides a full range of trust and estate planning services.  

David developed litigation strategy and participated in the litigation of AT&T v. Collins, in which Fulton County Superior Court and the Georgia Court of Appeals, in a case of first impression, sanctioned the use of the unitary method of apportionment, representing a multimillion dollar state tax savings to AT&T.  David served as Bond Counsel preparing all required bond documents to enable owners of manufacturing facilities, warehouses and office buildings to obtain significant property tax abatements and successfully negotiated the value of a closely held business with the District Counsel's office of the IRS where the liquidation value of the business was far in excess of the going concern value.  He has designed a creative compensation package permitting the owner of a successful small business to attract and reward qualified personnel while retaining 100 percent ownership in the business; represented the purchaser and negotiated all tax aspects in a $20+ million stock acquisition, including treating the transaction as an asset purchase for income tax purposes to maximize the purchaser's tax benefits and developed tax savings strategies to enable a seller of stock in his closely held company to eliminate approximately $1.5 million of income tax liability.

David was selected as a Super Lawyer in Estate Planning & Probate by Law & Politics and Atlanta Magazine (2004-2013).  Named to Georgia Trend magazine’s Legal Elite in taxes, estates, and trusts (2004-2011).


 

Jonathan Marseglia, Esq. , tax intern, L J Sullivan, CPA, LLC is working towards obtaining his CPA licensure. Jonathan has served on the New Mexico State Bar's Ethics Advisory Committee since 2010 and has written the majority of the committee's opinions since joining, averaging one opinion per month. He has an LL.M. in International Tax and Finance from Thomas Jefferson School of Law, a Juris Doctor and M.B.A from Regent University, a Bachelor in Accounting from Western Governors University, and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Coastal Carolina University.

Matthew T. McClintock, JD, serves as Vice President of Education & Supplemental Legal Content for The WealthCounsel Companies, a collaborative organization dedicated to promoting collaboration and excellence in estate planning, business planning, succession, and estate administration. Matt also serves on the teaching faculty for WealthCounsel's continuing education programs and writes blogs and articles on trending issues in estate planning.


Before serving as Vice President of Education, Matt served for four years as Chief Executive Officer of WealthCounsel. Since joining WealthCounsel’s staff in 2006, Matt has also served in various editorial, strategic, and development roles. Before joining WealthCounsel, Matt practiced as an attorney in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, with a practice focused on estate and wealth planning, probate, guardianship, business planning and succession, and trust administration and taxation. Matt received his Juris Doctor from the University of Oklahoma (2000), and holds a Bachelor of Arts (Political Science) from the University of Central Oklahoma (1994).

Matt guides the strategic objectives for WealthCounsel’s education initiatives in its many forms, with an emphasis on making high-quality professional education relevant, practical, and accessible for attorneys and other wealth planning professionals.  In addition to his pursuits at WealthCounsel, Matt is an avid road cyclist and amateur racer. He and his wife Megan, their two daughters, and their dog live in beautiful Evergreen, Colorado.

 

Eric L. Morgenthal, Esq., CPA, Law Offices of Eric L. Morgenthal, PLLC, concentrates his practice exclusively in Federal and New York State Tax Dispute Resolution. Eric was formerly a Tax Attorney with a Long Island law firm and prior to that was an International Tax Manager for Ernst & Young, LLP and a Tax Associate with BDO Seidman, LLP. He is experienced in providing Tax Audit Defense and Tax planning to closely-held business and their owners with foreign and domestic tax matters. He has served as legal advisor to individuals, trusts, estates, corporations, limited liability companies, partnerships and tax-exempt organizations. Eric has represented numerous clients before the Internal Revenue Service and the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance along with multiple other state tax agencies at all levels of the assessment and tax collection process. He has extensive experience with audits involving Trust Fund deficiencies including Federal/State Payroll Taxes and particularly with New York State Sales Tax, Income and Franchise Tax. In 2009, he was nominated by the Suffolk County Bar Association for the New York State Bar Association "Outstanding Young Lawyer of the Year" award.

Eric has frequently lectured at the Suffolk County Bar Association on topics involving recent legislative tax changes, Taxation and Estate Tax Planning, Corporate Tax Reorganizations, New York State Sales and Use Tax, IRS & New York State Tax Audits, Tax Litigation, and Business Succession Tax Planning. He had chaired the Long Island Non-Profit Symposium which concentrated on tax issues faced by Tax-Exempt Organizations. He has also lectured on New York State Corporate, Sales & Income Taxation at the Annual Tax Conference for the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants.


James J. Rigos, J.D., LL.M., CPA-CMA-CFM, Rigos Bar and Accountancy Review Series, is an attorney-CPA who has written and lectured widely in accounting, ethics, and legal topics.  He graduated from Boston University Law School and has served on the AICPA's Accountants Liability committee.  He is presently a National Director of the American Association of Attorney-CPAs,  a former officer and State President.   2012 is the 32nd year the business has operated.  He enjoys teaching review courses because it adds intellectual value to the careers of young professionals.  Jim lives in Seattle, Washington with his wife Doreen, who is also a teacher. 



Marc Schwartz, Esq., CPA, Schwartz International, has lived and worked in the US and abroad in both governmental and private sector roles. His diversified experience has allowed him to bring a global perspective to the business. He holds a B.A. from Colgate University, a Master’s in International Affairs from Columbia University, and a law degree from Emory University.  He is also a CPA.


Marc began his career at the Big 6 in his hometown of Atlanta, Georgia. Here he built a strong foundation in federal, state/local and international tax over several years for both individual and corporate clients. He transferred to the firm’s Mexico City office and developed an expertise in Latin American tax to supplement his European, Asian and U.S. tax base. He built on this experience when he was sent to help develop the firm’s Miami-based business. In Miami, he developed additional experience with inbound investment to the US.

Marc’s geographically diverse client base has allowed him to gain significant experience with tax treaties, outbound/inbound planning, repatriation, foreign tax credits, real estate investments/FIRPTA, branch taxes and audit defense. He has taught a graduate level international tax course at the Universidad Panamericana in Mexico City. Today he continues to lecture on international tax issues, provides training courses for CPA firms and he also writes for various trade publications. Marc is fluent in Spanish.

Timothy M. Todd, JD, MS, CPA, assistant professor of law at Liberty University School of Law in Lynchburg, Virginia, teaches taxation, business planning, and other transactional law courses. He clerked for the Hon. Eric G. Bruggink of the United States Court of Federal Claims in Washington, D.C. He also holds a master’s degree in accounting. He is admitted to the bars of the Supreme Court of Virginia, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, the United States Court of Federal Claims, and the United States Tax Court. He is a member of the Virginia State Bar, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims Bar Association, the American Bar Association, and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.



Sydney S. Traum, BBA, JD, LLM, CPA, Levey, Filler,Rodriguez, Kelso & Magilligan, LLP is author of The S Corporation: Planning & Operation and also The S Corporation Answer Book, both published by CCH/Aspen Publishers, Inc. Recently he authored articles in The Tax Adviser and the Journal of Accountancy. The Florida Institute of CPAs (FICPA) Editorial Committee named Traum as the winner of the 2011 Writing Excellence Award for his article, "Update on S Corporations," which was published in the January/February 2011 issue of Florida CPA Today.


A licensed CPA and attorney in both New York and Florida, Sydney is a past president of the American Association of Attorney-CPAs; the Dade County Chapter of the FICPA ; the Greater Miami Tax Institute; and Beth David Congregation in Miami. He is a past chair of The Florida Bar Committee on Relations with CPAs. He is currently the Board Chairman of the Florida Association of Attorney-CPAs and is Treasurer of the Harvard Club of Miami. Sydney is currently serving as a member of the American Association of Attorney-CPAs Executive Committee, the FICPA Federal Taxation Committee, the American Bar Association Tax Section S Corporations Committee, The Florida Bar Probate Rules Committee, and of the Board of Directors of the FICPA Miami-Dade County Chapter. He was previously a member of the American Institute of CPAs Tax Division S Corporation Technical Resource Panel.


Sydney received his BBA from the Baruch School of the City College of New York (CCNY), now known as Baruch College, his JD from Harvard Law School, and his LLM in Taxation from New York University Law School. He is Florida Bar Board Certified in Taxation and in Wills, Trusts and Estates. Traum is rated AV by the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory.

Randy Zipse, Esq., CPA, Sr. Vice President, Highland Capital Brokerage (HCB), serves as Sr. Vice President, Advanced Sales. In this position, Randy provides advanced sales support across the company, assisting distribution channels and working with sales vice presidents, independent producers, and financial institutions to develop business opportunities and enhanced advanced marketing solutions for clients. Additionally, he is responsible for providing leadership to HighCap Financial, strengthening membership and enhancing the membership experience.

Randy has written numerous articles on trust taxation, estate planning, and business succession planning, which have appeared in the Journal of Financial Service Professionals, Broker World, Estate Planning, Life Insurance Selling, LAN, and the National Underwriter news magazines. He is coauthor with Stephan R. Leimberg of Tools and Techniques of Charitable Planning. He has also been a frequent lecturer at industry meetings, including AALU, International Forum, Million Dollar Round Table, New York University Tax Institute, University of Miami Heckerling Tax Institute, and the Hawaii Tax Institute. Randy also serves as author of National Underwriter’s popular Field Guide publication, and is a member of the Tax Facts Editorial Board. Tax Facts is among the most highly circulated tax publications.

Prior to joining HCB, Randy was with John Hancock (USA) where he was responsible for the Advanced Markets Group, which provided estate and business planning support to home office employees, field personnel, and producers. Prior to joining John Hancock, Randy was Senior Counsel and VP of the Manulife Financial Advanced Markets team. Before that he worked as an attorney in private practice. An honors graduate of the University of Northern Iowa, Randy subsequently received his J.D. from Drake University College of Law (Order of the Coif, class rank number one), and is a member of the Iowa, Texas, and Missouri Bars.