Stanley Barsky Partner, Co-Leader, National Tax 

Eisner Advisory Group LLC 

Justin Berutich Head of Tax Insurance

Euclid Transactional

Maury Cartine Managing Director

Prospect Capital

Maury Cartine is a Managing Director providing tax and related services for the Prospect Capital team.  Previously, Maury was the partner-in-charge of the NYC tax department and the co-partner-in-charge of the alternative investment group tax department of Marcum, LLP. He is a certified public accountant in New Jersey and New York and an attorney in New Jersey.  Maury has advised clients on tax and regulatory matters affecting hedge funds and investment advisers beginning with the start-up phase and continuing throughout the life of the fund. Maury attended Seton Hall University (SHU) in South Orange, NJ, where he earned a B.S. in accounting in 1970. Upon graduation, he accepted a full-time position with the IRS as an examining agent and later advanced to the position of reviewer and classroom instructor. During this time, Maury also attended SHU School of Law in the evening where he earned his J.D. in 1976. In addition, he worked at the School of Law’s free legal clinic for clients struggling to overcome alcohol and drug addictions. Maury also served in the New Jersey Army National Guard and completed his service as an Officer in 1976. Rothstein, Kass invited Maury to lead its newly created tax department in 1980. During a twenty-five year career at Rothstein, Kass, Maury served as the principal-in-charge of the worldwide tax practice, the firm’s vice president and a member of the board of directors. Maury was a key contributor to the firm’s fund administration business which was acquired by BISYS in 2005 and he was selected to lead the operations during the transition period following the acquisition. Following completion of the transition period, Maury joined Marcum, LLP. Maury has been a frequent speaker at financial services conferences throughout the world given by some of the biggest names in the conference industry. He has also presented seminars to various groups, including the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants, the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education, the Foundation for Accounting Education, and the financial services industry. Maury served as an adjunct professor teaching estate and gift tax at the Seton Hall University Masters in Taxation Program and he continues to serve as a mentor in the Leadership Development Honors Program at Seton Hall. Maury serves on the President’s Advisory Council for Seton Hall University and is a member of the board of advisors to the Seton Hall University W. Paul Stillman School of Business and the Seton Hall University School of Law. His professional affiliations include memberships with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants, the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA), the American Bar Association and the New Jersey Bar Association. Maury served as the chairman of the NYSSCPA Taxation of Financial Instruments & Transactions Committee and previously served as the vice-chair and chairman of the committee’s annual conference. Maury served on the search committee that selected the Dean of Seton Hall Law School. Maury has been actively involved in a number of charitable activities. He served on the grant committee for Hedge Funds Care, an alliance of hedge fund industry professionals dedicated to the prevention of child abuse and treatment of those who have been victimized. Previously, Maury served on the young leadership cabinet of the United Jewish Appeal. He has also served as the public spokesperson for the municipalization of the Montville Township Public Library and participated and contributed to the first two children’s playgrounds in Montville. Maury served as a member and the vice chair of the Montville Township Zoning Board of Adjustment for 14 years. More recently, Maury serves as a Director of the Friends of the Upper Delaware River, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the environmental protection of the upper Delaware River.

Shehan Chandrasekera Head of Tax Strategy

CoinTracker

Shehan is one of the handful of CPAs in the country who is recognized as a subject matter expert on cryptocurrency taxation. He is the Head of Tax Strategy at CoinTracker, a Forbes Crypto Tax Analyst and a CPE instructor who has won multiple awards: 2020 & 2019 CPA Practice Advisor 40 under 40 accounting professionals, Outstanding Young CPA of the year, Rising Star of Texas & Among 21 accountants mentioned on Accounting Today who will be helping shape (and reshape) accounting in 2020 and beyond by Accounting Today. Shehan is a renowned speaker who has done speaking engagements with many organizations including Google, Coinbase, Square, Consensus, Coindesk, Lyft, AICPA, American Bar Association, and a plethora of state CPA Societies.

Caroline D. Ciraolo Partner

Kostelanetz LLP 

Caroline Ciraolo, former Acting Assistant Attorney General of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Tax Division, is a partner with Kostelanetz LLP and founder of its Washington, D.C. office. Her practice focuses on federal and state civil tax controversies, including representation in sensitive audits, administrative appeals, and litigation, providing tax advice, conducting internal investigations, and representing individuals and entities in criminal tax investigations and prosecutions. She also serves as a consulting and testifying expert witness and an independent mediator in tax disputes. 

During her tenure with the Justice Department, Caroline was actively involved in all aspects of Tax Division operations and responsible for approximately 500 employees, including more than 360 attorneys in 14 civil, criminal, and appellate sections.   

Caroline is former President of the American College of Tax Counsel and former Chair of the Civil & Criminal Tax Penalties Committee of the American Bar Association (“ABA”) Section of Taxation. She served as the ABA Tax Section’s inaugural Vice Chair for Membership, Diversity, and Inclusion, and inaugural Chair of the Loretta Collins Argrett Fellowship Program. Caroline also served as an instructor with the IRS Military Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program at Ft. George G. Meade.   

She is recognized by Chambers (USA: Tax Fraud (Nationwide) (Band 1), Tax Controversy – Nationwide (Band 3), Tax (DC) (Band 1), High Net Worth: Tax-Private Client – USA (Band 1)); Legal 500 (Leading Lawyer); Benchmark Litigation; Best Lawyers in America (Litigation and Controversy – Tax, Tax Law, Lawyer of the Year – Litigation and Controversy – Tax (DC – 2022 and 2024, MD – 2012)); Lawyer of the Year – Tax Law (DC – 2025); ITR World Tax (Tax Controversy, World Tax - Highly Regarded and Women in Tax Leader); Super Lawyers (DC (Tax), Maryland (Tax), Top 10 in Maryland, Maryland cover story in 2013), Euromoney Legal Media Group’s Americas Women in Business Law Awards (Best in Tax Dispute Resolution) (2014), and The Daily Record’s Top 100 Women Circle of Excellence.   

Caroline is a recipient of the ABA Section of Taxation’s Janet Spragens Pro Bono Award, the IRS Chief Counsel Award, the highest honor that can be conferred by that office, and the Tax Excellence Award from the Taxation Section of the Maryland State Bar Association. 

Caroline is an Adjunct Professor at the Georgetown University Law Center (International Tax Controversies and Criminal Tax Law and Procedure) and taught at the University of Baltimore School of Law Graduate Tax Program (Tax Practice and Procedure and Criminal Tax). 

Caroline co-chairs the annual NYU Tax Controversy Forum, the D.C. Bar Tax Conference, and the International Tax & Disputes Cambridge Forum. 

Caroline represents clients throughout the United States and beyond. She is licensed to practice in Maryland, District of Columbia, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, and admitted to practice before the U.S. Tax Court, U.S. District Courts (Maryland, District of Columbia), U.S. Court of Federal Claims, U.S. Courts of Appeals (Fourth Circuit, Ninth Circuit, Second Circuit, and Federal Circuit), and U.S. Supreme Court. 

Erica England Chief Financial Officer

The Wolcott Organization 

Erica England is the Chief Financial Officer of the Wolcott organization, which includes the Wolcott Family Office and Wolcott construction firm. Erica is responsible for the organization’s accounting, finance, human resource, tax and information technology systems. Erica also oversees the investment portfolio, including asset allocation, due diligence of investment managers and tax planning.

Erica’s experience in the alternative investment space includes asset management, compliance, financial reporting, taxation, and valuations, with a focus on real estate. Erica holds a BS in Business Administration and Management from Boston University and has held her CPA license since 2003.

Before joining Wolcott, Erica was the Chief Accounting Account Officer for Redwood Real Estate Administration, a fund administration firm, where she was responsible for setting accounting policies, developing the business, and mentoring a team of accounting professionals. Prior to Redwood, Erica served as the Chief Compliance Officer and Controller of JCR Capital, where she was responsible for the financial management and compliance programs for the firm’s private equity real estate funds and corporate entities. Previously, Erica was at The Carlyle Group, where she held the roles of Corporate Accounting Manager responsible for the financial management of all U.S. operating entities and Senior Accountant responsible for the accounting and investor reporting for numerous global private equity funds. 

Seth Factor Partner | Alternative Investments | Tax

KPMG

Seth Factor is a tax partner based in the New York office. Seth provides tax services to the Firm's Financial Services clientele. For the past 26+ years, he has been specializing in the securities area with emphasis on tax planning for investment partnerships, investment advisors, hedge funds and their investors, venture capital companies, investment partnership management companies and general partner entities. He also assists highnet-worth individuals with investment, trust, estate and charitable contribution planning.

Seth has serviced some of the largest investment partnerships in the country. He oversees tax issues and consults on a variety of trading strategies, including straddles, constructive sales, wash sales, swaps and mark to market. On many of his engagements, he assists clients with tax planning strategies, the preparation of technical reports and the tax implications of securities transactions.

Seth is a certified public accountant in New York. He graduated from the State University of New York at Albany with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and earned his Master’s degree in taxation from Pace University. Seth is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA). Seth is also an active instructor for the Firm’s internal training program.

Miri Forster Partner and National Tax Controversy Leader

Eisner Advisory Group LLC

Miri Forster is a Partner and National Leader of the Tax Controversy practice, specializing in providing tax dispute resolution services to public and private corporations, partnerships and high net worth individuals on a wide range of technical and procedural issues. She has over 20 years of IRS practice, procedure, and tax controversy experience.

Miri represents businesses and individuals before the IRS Examination and Appeals Divisions on complex domestic and international tax issues. She also obtains private letter rulings from the IRS National Office, including 9100 relief requests for missed elections. Miri assists clients with voluntary disclosures of inadvertent income, international information return, withholding, and payroll tax compliance errors, obtains penalty abatements and refunds, resolves IRS account issues, and advises on a broad range of IRS practice, procedure and dispute resolution matters.

Prior to joining the firm, Miri was a Tax Controversy Principal at a Big 4 firm. Miri also previously served as an Attorney-Advisor at the United States Tax Court in Washington, D.C., and is an attorney licensed in the states of New York and New Jersey as well as Washington, D.C.
Miri is a frequent speaker on IRS enforcement trends, the centralized partnership audit regime and its impact on pass-through entities and investors, voluntary disclosures of inadvertent tax compliance matters and related penalties, and other IRS practice, procedure and dispute resolution topics.

Miri was named a 2022 honoree of the Executive Women of New Jersey’s Policy Makers. She also serves as Co-chair of Women of EisnerAmper, New Jersey Chapter.

Ron S. Geffner Partner

Sadis & Goldberg LLP 

Philip Gross Partner

Kleinberg, Kaplan, Wolff & Cohen, P.C. 

Justin Headley Senior Manager

Warren Averett 

Malcom S. Hochenberg Partner

Proskauer 

Mark Leeds Partner

Mayer Brown

Mindi Lowy US Fund of Fund Tax Sector Leader

PwC

Mindi Lowy is a Tax Partner in PwC’s Alternative Investment practice, with close to 20 years of experience serving private equity investment partnerships, secondary funds, fund of funds, hedge funds, publicly traded partnerships, and open and closed end mutual funds.

Mindi has a proven track record of providing both tax consulting and tax compliance services to her client base which includes some of PwC’s largest multinational financial institutions, large alternative investment management firms, and start-up asset managers. Her experience includes advising on fund structures, consulting on financial instruments, and advising on the tax implications to blockchain products. Additionally, Mindi is viewed as a leader in helping clients transform their operating model.

Mindi has been a driving force in thought leadership relating to alternative investment funds, regulated investment companies, security taxation and virtual currency. She served as the chair of the NYSSCPA (New York State Society CPA) Taxation of Financial Instruments and Transactions Committee. Additionally, Mindi is a frequent speaker at numerous conferences including those sponsored by the American Bar Association (ABA), New York State Society of CPAs (NYSSCPA) and the Committee of Banking Institutions on Taxation (CBIT). Mindi’s work has been published by Tax Notes and CCH.

Mindi is a Certified Public Accountant in the state of New York and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and New York State Society CPA (NYSSCPA). She is a graduate from Touro College with a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting where she graduated summa cum laude.

Christopher Mears Audit Partner, Asset Manager 

KPMG  

Background 

Chris is an audit partner as well as KPMG’s NEFS Asset Management Practice Leader for the audit function.  Chris is responsible for setting the strategy for the practice and overseeing execution.  He focuses the Firm’s assurance and audit solutions for the asset management industry, including all activities for business and practice development, operations, technology, audit quality, and capacity management.  

Professional and industry experience 

Chris has over 25 years of experience in asset management, with a particular emphasis on alternative investments. He advises alternative investment clients regarding various matters involving Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, Generally Accepted Auditing Standards, PCAOB Auditing Standards, industry practices, transactional matters, and other regulations that may have an impact on an asset management complex. Chris has assisted asset management clients with matters involving operational efficiency, regulatory compliance, management reporting, performance reporting, financial management and budgeting, accounting, auditing and internal control. Chris has previously testified as an expert on accounting standards and practices in the alternative investment industry. 

Prior to KPMG in July 2014, Chris was Rothstein Kass’ Chief Operating Officer and served as the firm’s Executive Committee. 

He is a member of the AICPA and NJSCPA and he is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in 2 states. 

Publications and speaking engagements 

Chris is a frequent speaker at various conferences as well as firm marketing events, has been quoted by various publications including the Wall Street Journal and has authored articles pertaining to alternative investments, inclusive of those sponsored by: 

• Various Prime Brokerage Annual Hedge Fund Summits 

• Managed Funds Association 

• Regulatory Compliance Association 

• Financial Research Associates-Hedge Fund Audit and Accounting Issues/Challenges of Hard to Value Securities 

• Author: “ASC 820 Fair Value Measurements: Implementation Challenges for the Alternative Investment Industry,” Rothstein Kass Accounting Implementation Guide (whitepaper) 

• Author: “Side Pockets: The Convergence of Hedge Funds and Private Equity,” Financier Worldwide Magazine 

Sulolit “Raj” Mukherjee Executive Director, Compliance & Implementation, Office of Digital Asset Initiative

IRS

Sulolit “Raj” Mukherjee was hired at Internal Revenue Service in February 2024 as the Executive Director, Compliance & Implementation for the Office of Digital Asset Initiative (DAI). The ODAI serves as a Program Office helping IRS set consistent, global digital asset strategy, including internal IRS procedure and policy. He brings significant industry expertise to his position. He is particularly experienced in building global tax program from ground zero and executing pragmatic strategies that meet regulatory muster and budget parameters. 

Formerly, he led the global tax function at ConsenSys (an Ethereum blockchain SaaS company) and its foreign subsidiaries. In this role, he led all the firm’s tax functions including tax policy, corporate tax compliance, international tax, M&A and customer reporting. He also served as ConsenSys' tax policy representative in Washington DC because of his extensive know-how in liaising with governing agencies and industry to help clarify tax regulations in the digital asset space. Previously, he was the Head of Tax & Tax Information Reporting at two digital asset currency exchanges including Coinbase where he oversaw creation of end-to-end tax compliance functions and served as the lead executive focused on emerging US and global tax & regulatory obligations for digital assets. He partnered with Legal, Technology and Business leadership to assess risks to the firm and mitigate those risks through pragmatic & executable enhancements and controls. 

Raj came to the digital assets world after leading tax advisory functions for investment banks in NYC for over a decade focusing on U.S. and global tax information reporting, FATCA, NRA, 871(m) and Common Reporting Standard (CRS). 

Raj has a J.D from University of Kansas School of Law, and B.A. degrees in International Relations and English Literature from Washington College in the state of Maryland. 

Timothy Noonan State Tax Lawyer

Hodgson Russ, LLP

Tim focuses his practice in the state and local tax area. His work primarily involves New York State and New York City tax litigation and controversy. Over the past 23 years, he has handled more than 2,000 personal income tax, sales tax, corporate tax, or other New York tax audits. Tim also has handled about 100 cases in New York’s Division of Tax Appeals.

Tim leads the firm’s Tax Residency Practice and he is one of the leading practitioners in this area of the law. He has handled some of the most high-profile residency cases in New York over the past decade, including a 2014 win in the Gaied case, one of the first New York residency cases to ever reach New York’s highest court. He is often quoted by media outlets, including The Wall Street Journal The New York Times and Forbes, on residency and other state tax issues. And under his direction, the Tax Residency Practice authored What to Expect in a Residency Audit, a detailed guide to residency rules and audits in New York and other states.

As the “Noonan” in “Noonan's Notes,” a monthly column in Tax Notes State, Tim is a nationally recognized author and speaker on state tax issues. He co-authored the 2018 edition of the CCH Residency and Allocation Audit Handbook and Contesting New York State Tax Assessment- Fourth Edition, published by the New York State Bar Association. In addition, Tim has served as a contributing author or editor for several other tax publications and treatises, including the American Bar Association's Sales and Use Tax Deskbook, the "New York Sales Tax Guide" published by practicallaw.com, the corporate apportionment chapter in Thomson Reuters’ Checkpoint Analyst, the New York chapter of LexisNexis’s Practice Insights, and the New York Tax Litigation chapter in Thomson Reuters’ Commercial Litigation in New York State Courts treatise. He has also written more than 250 articles in state and local tax publications around the country over the past several years, and he runs the award-winning Noonan's Notes Blog, where he and his colleagues offer regular commentary on developments in the world of New York and multistate tax law. Tim also speaks on state tax issues for audiences around the country on an average of 20 times a year, including a regular stint on the CCH webinar circuit.

Tim also has handled a significant number of residency and sales tax issues in other states, including work with many national and international clients on multistate compliance or voluntary disclosures. He has also appeared before the Connecticut Supreme Court and the Michigan Court of Appeals in litigated matters and is admitted to practice law in Connecticut.

Amanda Nussbaum Partner

Proskauer 

Joseph Pacello Asset Management Tax 

BDO 

Michael Patanella Partner, Audit Services

Grant Thornton LLP 

Lee Sheppard Tax Commentator

Tax Analysts

Lee Sheppard, is a contributing editor of Tax Analysts' Tax Notes. Sheppard is one of the most widely read and respected tax commentators in the world. She has been a mainstay of Tax Analysts’ publications for 30 years. Trained as a lawyer, Sheppard specializes in cutting-edge financial issues, such as derivatives and hedge  funds, and taxation of multinational corporations. She is frequently asked to speak on tax subjects. She has appeared on television shows such as 60 Minutes and Frontline, as well as in the documentary We’re Not Broke. She also writes a blog for Forbes.

Tax Analysts, the publisher of Tax Notes and related publications, is a nonprofit publisher that provides the latest and most in-depth tax information worldwide. www.taxanalysts.com.

George Texieira Partner

Anchin

George Teixeira, CPA, is a tax partner at Anchin. He is a Co-Practice Leader of the Firm’s Private Equity Group, Tax Leader of the Firm’s Financial Services Practice and a member of its Private Client Group. George is experienced in servicing the alternative investment, private equity and financial services industries. His expertise includes tax planning for high net worth individuals, investment partnerships, investment advisors, broker-dealers, venture capital companies, hedge funds (and their investors), investment partnership management companies and general partner entities. He specializes in the taxation of securities transactions and financial services companies, in addition to offering tax compliance and consulting services for a diversity of entities and individuals.

Melissa Wiley Partner

Lowenstein Sandler LLP 

Seth Wilks Executive Director, Strategy & Development, Office of Digital Asset Initiative

IRS

Seth Wilks is a seasoned professional in the taxation and digital assets space, bringing a wealth of expertise to his new role as Executive Director, Strategy & Development in the Office of Digital Asset Initiative (DAI) at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The DAI serves as a Program Office that will help the IRS set consistent, global digital asset strategy, including internal IRS procedure and policy. With a robust background in tax technology and compliance, Seth ‘s private sector experience has been a huge asset to the IRS.  

Prior to the IRS, Seth was a senior leader at the digital asset tax and accounting SaaS company, TaxBit. He built a world-class subject-matter expert team, which contributed to the company's reputation as a leader in the fintech industry. His keen insights into regulatory compliance and emerging trends in digital assets positioned him as a trusted advisor to both private and public sector clients navigating the evolving digital asset landscape. As the policy leader, Seth oversaw all government relations efforts, which included interfacing with policymakers on Capitol Hill, regulators, and industry associations. Seth worked closely with all facets of the business, including product, engineering, sales and implementation.  

Seth came to the digital assets world after leading several multi-national corporate tax departments, focusing on complex supply chains, transfer pricing and cross-border transactions.  

Seth has both a Master’s and Batchelor’s Degree in Accounting with an emphasis in taxation from Brigham Young University’s Marriott School of Management.