Advisory Forum Members

Kristine L. Caratan
1999-2006

Kristine ("Tina") L. Caratan is currently a business assurance partner at Moss Adams LLP - San Francisco. Tina is the Firm's Northern California Not-for-Profit niche leader. Prior to rejoining Moss Adams, she was the audit partner at two local San Francisco based CPA firms.

Tina is a member of the AICPA, California State Society of CPAs and the American Woman's Society of CPAs. She is licensed in the states of California, New York, Massachusetts, Illinois, Georgia, and the District of Columbia. Amongst her various professional and civic activities, she served on the California State Board of Accountancy's Qualifications Committee, which is charged by the Board to review all applications for CPA license, for 15 years, retiring in 2001. She chaired the committee for three years.

Tina received a BSC degree in 1974 from Santa Clara University. In addition to her professional activities, she has been actively involved in the Santa Clara alumni association and various other community service organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Kristine Caratan
Moss Adams, LLP
1 California Street
San Francisco, CA 94111-5401
Email: kristine.caratan@mossadams.com

 

Blane Ruschak
2003-2006

Blane attended Rutgers College in New Jersey and graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Economics in 1980. He subsequently attended the University of Hawaii at Manoa where he received a Masters in Accounting degree in 1982. After graduation, he began his career in the audit department of the KPMG Honolulu office where he serviced clients in the healthcare, non profit, real estate, agribusiness and hospitality industries. From 1988-1989, he participated in a 2 year rotational program in KPMG's national training center in Montvale New Jersey where he was responsible for the development and instruction of numerous KPMG assurance courses. Upon his return to the Honolulu office, Blane assumed the responsibility of Primary Recruiter for the office in addition to servicing his assurance clients in the hospital and hospitality industries. In 1994, Blane transferred to the KPMG Long Beach office to assist with the Southern California Health care assurance and consulting practice. In 1997, Blane transferred to the Los Angeles office where he assumed the Director of College Recruiting position for the Pacific Southwest area where he was responsible for the hiring of all entry level Assurance and Tax department personnel. In 2000, Blane assumed the role of National Director of Campus Recruiting as part of the KPMG National Recruiting team in Montvale, New Jersey.

His current role includes serving as the KPMG member on the Beta Alpha Psi Advisory Forum, serving on the Board of the Federation of Schools of Accountancy (FSA), serving as a member of the Association of Campus Recruiting Executives, serving as a member of the Human Resource Recruiting and Retention Committee for the California State Society of CPA's, serving on the Board of the Education Foundation for Woman in Accounting and formerly served on the Accounting Program Leadership Group (APLG) Board of Directors. He recently relocated to Charleston, South Carolina and works out of the Montvale, New Jersey National Office as part of the National Human Resource team.

KPMG, LLP
355 South Grand Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90071-1568
Fax: (213) 955-8747
Email: blaneruschak@kpmg.com

 

Betsy A Scott
2004-2006

Betsy A, Scott is currently Director of Audit for HNTB, an Engineering/Architectural firm with offices across the country. She is based at the Corporate Headquarters in Kansas City, Missouri. Betsy’s specialty is Federal Acquisition Regulations and Cost Accounting Standards. Betsy is in charge of the government compliance audits and audits performed by governmental agencies for services performed by the company for infrastructure projects throughout the country.

Betsy is a member of the American Society of Women Accountants (ASWA) and served as their National President 2003-2004. Betsy is currently a member of the BOD of the ASWA Education Foundation. Betsy is licensed in the state of Missouri. Amongst her various professional and civic activities, she has served on the AASHTO/ACEC (American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials/American Council of Engineering Companies) Audit Subcommittee for the past seven years. This Subcommittee works to resolve issues between laws passed by the Federal legislative branches and how to actually implement them into practice in the various states where regulations may vary.

Betsy received a BS in Accounting from University of Missouri at Kansas City. In addition to her professional activities, Betsy loves skiing the Colorado Mountains and is an avid Philatelist specializing in US varieties.

Betsy A. Scott
HNTB
715 Kirk Drive
Kansas City, MO 64154-1424
Email:bscott@hntb.com

 

Brian Serafino
2003-2006

Brian Serafino is currently Manager of Chevron's Finance Development Program. The goal of the program is to attract, develop, and retain highly talented undergraduates and MBA's who are finance/accounting oriented individuals and have the potential to be future finance managers and leaders.

Mr. Serafino has held various accounting related positions from analyst to manager since joining Chevron in 1982. He has a BS in Business Administration with an Accounting concentration from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and a MBA in Finance from California State University, Hayward.

His professional activities have included President, San Francisco Chapter of the Council of Petroleum Accounting Society and an active member of the Petroleum Industry Data Exchange. He has been actively involved in his community coaching youth soccer and rugby as well as holding the positions of President, De La Salle High School Alumni Association and Rugby Club Treasurer.

Chevron Corporation
Comptroller's Department
6001 Bollinger Canyon Rd, Room E-1088
San Ramon, CA 94583-2324

Tel 925 842 3804
Fax 877 679 6847

Email: Brian.Serafino@chevron.com

 

James K. Specht
2004-2007

James Specht is the Vice President & Chief Financial Officer of Matrix Learning Systems, Inc., a leading provider of computer based training for accounting, auditing & tax professionals. Prior to joining Matrix, James worked for Coors Brewing Company. During his tenure, he worked as an internal audit manager and fraud investigator, oversaw the disbursements, travel and corporate card operations, and was part of the team responsible for Sarbanes-Oxley implementation. While at Coors he served on the National Advisory Forum for a leading expense management company.

James is a Colorado Certified Public Accountant, and is a member of the Colorado Society of CPAs and the AICPA. He is a Certified Fraud Examiner, and received the Red Walker Award for achieving the highest score in the nation on the CFE Examination. James Specht is also a Certified Internal Auditor, and has served as Certifications Chairman for the Denver Chapter of the Institute of Internal Auditors and received a Certificate of Honor for his performance on the CIA examination.

James received his MBA from Regis University and his undergraduate degree in accounting from the University of Colorado at Boulder. While at CU, he was a member of Beta Alpha Psi, serving as Vice President and was a Thomas J. Burns National Scholar.

 

Matrix Learning Systems
7257 S. Tucson Way, Ste. 105
Centennial, CO 80112
Tel: 1-800-272-7277 ext. 304
Fax: 1-303-768-0924
Email: James.Specht@ExamMatrix.com

 

Tom Vangen
2004 - 2007

Tom has dedicated the last 17 years of his professional career to tax administration at the Internal Revenue Service. He is currently serving a two year term as National Recruiter for IRS where his goal is to attract both graduate and undergraduate accounting students in considering a career with the government. In his recruitment capacity, Tom also serves as a Board Member to the Seattle Federal Executive Committee and as taskforce member to the Native American Recruitment Initiative - IRS.

His interest in tax began as a result of his BAP membership at Seattle University, Delta Eta Chapter, where tax students were highly encouraged to participate in the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program, a program that allows students to work directly with the public in the preparation of tax returns. He graduated from Seattle University in 1987 with a BA - Accounting. He also holds a CPA Certificate in the State of Washington.

At IRS, Tom has served in various technical and leadership capacities. Most recently, he was a Revenue Agent in the Large & Mid-size Business Division (LMSB) with emphasis in the Communication-Media and Technology Industries. Prior to this assignment, he was a Revenue Agent Group Manager in the Small Business Division - this assignment lasted for several years and allowed Tom to lead training groups, specialty groups, and to manage tax professionals in numerous Name Washington Type State cities. During and prior to his management career, Tom led several tax administration initiatives within the Pacific Northwest, including the implementation of new IRS performance measures, the Economic Reality Audit Strategy and the National Research Project, better known as NRP. He is looking forward to representing the Internal Revenue Service on the BAP Advisory Forum Panel.

Internal Revenue Service
915 2nd Avenue
Seattle, WA 98174-1001
Tel: 206-220-5470
Email: tom.r.vangen@irs.gov

 

Board of Directors

 
Ken Bouyer (2005-2008)

Ken is a Director for the Business Risk Services practice of Ernst & Young and is based in New York City. He began his career with E&Y in 1990 in the firm's Assurance practice, serving as an external auditor. Ken is responsible for developing people strategies and solutions for BRS clients on a Global basis, including internal audit outsourcing transitions, strategic teaming solutions, developing compensation strategies and performing competency based assessments.

Ken has served on the Board of Directors for Beta Alpha Psi and served as the Chair of the International Advisory Forum (2000 - 2003). In addition, he served on the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Pre-certification Education Executive Committee and the Pre-test task force for the new computer based CPA exam. He is a member of the Institute of Internal Auditors, National Association of Black Accountants and the Society of Human Resource Management. He has also served on the Board of Directors for the Federation for the Schools of Accountancy (FSA). Ken is a recipient of the FSA's "Practitioner Service Award" for his distinguished service to the profession of accounting and accounting education.

Ken has a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting, from Manhattan College in Riverdale, New York and a Diploma in Human Resources from New York University. Ken, his wife Shorn and their daughter, Kelsie reside in New Jersey.

Kenneth Bouyer
Business Risk Services
Ernst & Young, LLP
5 Times Square
New York, NY 10036
Email: kenneth.bouyer@ey.com

Felix von Lepel (2005-2007)

Alumni Representative Felix von Lepel is a client-serving professional for KPMG, LLP in its Assurance Risk and Advisory Services in Richmond, Virginia. Felix, an international student from Germany, graduated from the James Madison University College of Business in 2004 with Bachelors of Business Administration degrees in both Accounting and Finance. While attending the James Madison University, Felix and his team received first place in the Goodman Accounting challenge in 2003 and was named a Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants Outstanding Accounting Senior in 2004. Felix further enjoyed being part of the JMU Tennis Varsity team.

Felix pledged the Eta Delta Chapter in the fall of 2002. He served as the Chapter's President from fall 2003 to spring 2004, Vice President for the spring semester 2003 and Website Coordinator from fall 2002 through spring 2004. He presented at both Regional and National Beta Alpha Psi Conventions in 2003.

In addition to Beta Alpha Psi, Felix also holds membership in the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and organizations of Phi Kappa Phi and Beta Gamma Sigma. Felix is excited about the opportunity to continue participating in Beta Alpha Psi and working with the members of the organization and professionals. He wants to be proactive and reach out to the students to share ideas among chapters while promoting the values of this organization.

Felix von Lepel
Associate - BMP
KPMG, LLP
1021 East Cary Street, Suite 2000
Richmond , VA 23219-4023
Email: fvonlepel@kpmg.com

 
William Wells ( 2005-2008 )

After graduating from University of California, Berkeley, with an undergraduate degree in business, Bill spent 20 years active duty in the US Army. During that time, he served as an intelligence officer for fourteen years before transitioning to financial management. He then spent four years as a financial analyst at NATO military headquarters in Belgium and completed his career as Comptroller at Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas. After retiring, Bill held executive director-type positions in two law firms and the San Francisco office of a major accounting firm.

Bills educational background includes advanced leadership schooling while in the military, an MBA from Syracuse University (1973) and a Masters in Public Accounting from the University of Washington (1989). He is a member of Beta Gamma Sigma.

Bill joined the faculty at the University of Washington in 1989. His teaching interests have centered on entry level financial and senior/graduate level government and nonprofit accounting.

In addition to being nominated by the Business School three times for the prestigious University of Washington Distinguished Teaching Award, Bill has received the following recognitions: Bill became the faculty advisor to the Delta chapter of Beta Alpha Psi in 1999. Since then he has guided it to four consecutive Superior Chapter awards and seen membership grow from about 30 to 170 students. In 2005 the Delta Chapter was one of two "most improved" chapters within the organization.

William L. (Bill) Wells
Senior Lecturer
University of Washington
Department of Accounting
Box 353200
Seattle, WA 98195
Email: wellsbil@u.washington.edu


Last Updated: February 28 2006 10:56:05 am