Michelle Thompson is Chief Executive Officer for Cherry Bekaert Advisory LLC, which is ranked among the largest accounting and advisory firms in the US. Cherry Bekaert creates shared success by helping thousands of clients solve their toughest business challenges and advance their strategic goals.
Appointed to her role in 2018, Michelle leads the Firm’s Executive Management Team and serves on the Executive Board of Cherry Bekaert Advisory LLC, overseeing the overall strategy, growth and financial management of the Firm.
Upon joining Cherry Bekaert in 1998, Michelle established Cherry Bekaert’s Risk & Accounting Advisory Services (RAAS) and scaled the practice for nearly 10 years. She was the Managing Partner of Assurance Services for eight years.
Michelle has been honored by the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) and CPA Practice Advisor as one of the Most Powerful Women in Accounting in 2024, 2022 and 2019. She was recognized as a Forbes Top 200 CPA in 2024.
A strong advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion, Michelle has served as a member of the AICPA National Commission on Diversity and Inclusion and the Nominations Committee. She is a former member of the Baker Tilly International Governing Board and Finance Committee. She also formerly served as Major Firms Group Chair for the AICPA.
Jeffrey Taraboulos is the Managing Partner of KSDT Advisors, LLC, one of South Florida’s leading accounting and advisory firms, where he brings over 30 years of experience in public accounting and leadership. Jeff began his career at the Big Four accounting firms, where he gained a strong foundation in auditing, mergers and acquisitions, and forensic accounting. He has since built a reputation as a visionary leader known for strategic growth, operational excellence, and building cohesive, high-performing teams.
In 2004, Jeff co-founded De La Torre, Taraboulos & Company, which later evolved into KSDT CPA. Through his entrepreneurial leadership, the firm grew from just three professionals to nearly 300 team members and nearly $50 million in annual revenue by 2025. His focus on innovation, culture, and client service has transformed KSDT into one of Florida’s fastest-growing accounting firms.
Today, Jeff leads KSDT through its next chapter following a transformational partnership with Ascend, a leading private equity platform for accounting firms. As Managing Partner, he oversees firmwide strategy, operations, and advisory services, guiding the organization through cultural and structural change while preserving the people-first values that define KSDT. His firsthand experience integrating private equity investment has given him unique insight into managing change while maintaining authenticity and trust.
Widely respected for his transparent and empathetic leadership style, Jeff fosters open dialogue, accountability, and alignment across all levels of the firm. He views every challenge as an opportunity for growth and grounds his leadership in integrity, collaboration, and client-service excellence.
A licensed CPA in Florida, Jeff also holds designations as a CFF, CFE, and PFS, reflecting his deep expertise in forensic accounting, fraud examination, and personal financial planning. He remains active in multiple professional associations and is committed to lifelong learning and thought leadership.
Outside of work, Jeff is a devoted husband and father of three daughters. He enjoys traveling with his family, attending country music concerts, sponsoring NASCAR teams, and caring for his animals. His grounded personal life mirrors his professional philosophy, leading by example, fostering trust, and driving meaningful, lasting success.
Dominic Piscopo, CPA, the founder of Big 4 Transparency and host of the Big 4 Transparency Podcast, is on a mission to bring salary transparency to the accounting profession. He created Big 4 Transparency just over 4 years ago, which has since amassed a crowd-sourced database of over 20,000 records and has become the place over 300,000 accounting professionals go for compensation data. Over the last few years, he’s been working directly with firms ranging from 10 person firms all the way to the Big 4, providing them with the most granular, timely and easy to use benchmarking solution on the accounting market.
The dataset that Big 4 Transparency has amassed can drive insights on what is happening in the accounting industry, and has been used in many analyses in the industry, including the real data on employee job satisfaction and hours worked at private equity backed firms compared to the rest of the industry.
Steve Piatkowski is a loan officer at Live Oak Bank, specializing in providing capital to Tax & Accounting and CPAs firms. He joined the bank in 2019 as a business analyst for the Wine and Craft Beverage team. In August 2021, he transitioned to the Professional Services teams as an underwriter. After a year in that role, he advanced to loan officer, where he continues to support the lending team and Live Oak’s customers in the professional services space. Originally from New Jersey, Steve earned his degree in Communication Studies from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Outside of work, he enjoys staying active and spending time with his wife and daughter.
Jim Peko is the CEO of Grant Thornton Advisors LLC and leads the multinational platform it established in January 2025. In the role, he oversees Grant Thornton’s Executive Committee — setting strategic direction and driving growth-oriented operations across more than 65 offices.
Under Peko’s leadership, Grant Thornton has announced transactions with more than a half-dozen accounting and consulting firms to join its platform. These firms stretch from the Americas across Europe to the Middle East. Additionally, Peko has led Grant Thornton as it acquires leading specialty firms, including business-modernization pioneer Auxis — and Stax, which specializes in commercial due diligence and value creation.
Peko previously served as the firm’s chief operating officer (COO). Prior to his role as COO, he served as national managing principal of the firm’s Advisory Services practice.
He has nearly 30 years of experience providing clients with financial advisory services focused on improving performance and building long-term sustainable value. Earlier in his career, Peko was the national managing principal of Transaction Services, where he guided a wide range of clients through a variety of complex transactions. He also served as a member of the firm’s Partnership Board and is currently a member of the board of directors for the American Bankruptcy Institute. He is a chartered financial analyst, a certified insolvency and restructuring advisor and is certified in distressed business valuation. Peko received an MBA degree in finance from Fordham University and a bachelor’s degree in economics and accounting from St. Peter’s College.
In 2013, Peko was selected for the “‘Turnarounds & Workouts’ People to Watch – Business Professionals Making Their Mark” award. Consulting magazine named him a “Top 25 Consultant” for 2018, citing his “Excellence in Leadership.”
James R. (Jim) Meade, Jr. is CEO and Managing Shareholder of LBMC, PC. Jim has over 25 years of accounting and auditing experience serving clients in a variety of industries and is a 25-veteran of LBMC. Prior to taking on the CEO and Managing Shareholder role, Jim served as a shareholder in the firm’s assurance practice and was the leader of the technology industry segment.
Jim focuses on firm growth strategy, mergers and acquisitions, technology innovation, and overall talent development. He also works with firm leadership in spearheading efforts to expand the firm’s industry specializations and enhancing its market presence through strategic partnerships. His leadership emphasizes investing in global talent recruitment and developing a tech-forward environment that integrates AI-powered tools and data analytics to optimize operational efficiency and client service. Jim’s responsibilities include continually developing a nurturing workplace that prioritizes employee development and satisfaction, and ensuring that LBMC continues to set itself apart as a trusted advisor in the accounting and business consulting industry, delivering transformative value and fostering long-term client relationships.
Jim holds numerous leadership positions with LBMC, including serving on the firm’s board of directors, LBMC’s affiliate company boards and other governance committees.
Active in the community, Jim serves on the board of directors of the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, is a member of Leadership Nashville, and is a champion of the LBMC Cares Foundation.
Jim serves on the advisory board for Nashville Capital Network, an organization that assists companies navigate the challenges of building high growth businesses, promotes entrepreneurship in the region, and supports a healthy continuum of capital.
Phuong Mayer is a Partner and CEO at PP&Co and has been with the firm for over 15 years. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Engineering from the University of California at Santa Cruz. Phuong began studying accounting while working as a software engineer and later earned her Master of Science degree in Accountancy from San Jose State University.
As a PP&Co Partner, Phuong gained extensive experience on the production side, providing tax and finance consulting services to closely held businesses, their owners, and families. As a result of her transition to CEO, her focus has shifted towards operations, with an emphasis on serving and supporting PP&Co and its amazing team.
Phuong has always been an advocate for the profession and is passionate about helping others create sustainable and fulfilling careers in public accounting. Throughout her career at PP&Co, she has served as a guide and mentor helping to expand and enhance the firm’s professional development programs. She operates with a vision towards providing opportunities to the highly engaged and talented individuals who are the firm’s professional staff, while simultaneously challenging them to reach their full potential.
With a blended background in technology and finance, Phuong understands the importance of leveraging – and leading – digital transformation, which will enable the PP&Co team to provide the most innovative and effective solutions to meet clients’ complex and ever evolving needs.
Danielle Lee, managing editor of Accounting Today, previously served as technology editor of Accounting Today and editor-in-chief of AccountingTechnology.com. Prior to that, she held the role of senior editor. Before joining Arizent, she covered the emerging corporate responsibility movement for CRO (Corporate Responsibility Officer, now CR) magazine as executive editor and worked for a range of entertainment and lifestyle publications in Los Angeles, including industry trade magazine TelevisionWeek. She holds a bachelor’s degree in print journalism and a minor in cinema/television from the University of Southern California.
Tom Koehler is a seasoned leader with over two decades of experience in technology and professional services, bringing a rare combination of deep technical expertise and strategic business acumen that helps clients create sustainable competitive advantages through advanced technology adoption. He excels in digital transformation strategy, M&A, carve-outs, and product internationalization, complemented by expertise in governance, risk, compliance, and cybersecurity.
At the intersection of technology and business, Tom possesses a distinctive profile that enables professional services firms to leverage cutting-edge technologies, from AI and automation to advanced analytics, transforming them into market differentiators. His extensive experience in professional services portfolio strategies and scaling companies reflects his deep commitment to understanding each client’s unique challenges and aspirations.
By immersing himself in clients’ business contexts and partnering closely with their leadership teams, Tom translates complex technological capabilities into tailored solutions that directly address the specific operational and strategic needs of accounting and consulting firms.