Ethics for Accountants: A Comprehensive Guide

Emily Cummins (MBA, CPA, CIA, CPCU, CISSP) is a specialist in the underwriting division of Church Mutual Insurance Company, a leading risk and insurance services provider in the religious institutional marketplace and other compatible markets. She joined Church Mutual following a career in tax, compliance, and enterprise risk management at a nonprofit organization. Previously, she worked for Wachovia (Wells Fargo) and Ernst & Young. Emily has degrees from Wake Forest University, George Washington University, and George Mason University. Most recently, she served on the global board of directors for RIMS, the Risk and Insurance Management Society, and as chair of the RIMS board audit committee. Emily has been a panel judge for the U.S. Captive Services Awards, and she was named as one of Insurance Business America’s “Leading Risk Managers of 2018.”

Karen Gries is a partner with the CliftonLarsonAllen focusing on the tax implications of exempt organizations. Karen's 25 year public accounting career has been focused on serving the needs of exempt organizations. Her experience includes providing services to a variety of tax-exempt organizations, including charities, social welfare, business leagues and associations, credit unions, health care providers, religious organizations, and others. Her experience also spans many industries such as public charities and private foundations, higher education, health care and senior living, arts and social welfare, etc. Karen provides a broad range of services to tax-exempt clients, including analysis, planning, and reporting of unrelated business income; intermediate sanctions analysis and application including assistance in mitigating an organization's exposure; organizational structures; corporate compliance reviews; joint venture planning to preserve exempt status; consulting on matters of fringe benefits and compensation; applying for exempt status; resolving disclosure issues related to Form 990; and maintenance of exempt and public charity status. Karen is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and Greater Washington and Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants, ASAE and National Association of College and University Business Officers. Karen currently serves on the Internal Revenue Service Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt and Government Entities (ACT). The ACT consists of external stakeholders and representatives who deal with employee retirement plans, tax-exempt organizations, tax-exempt bonds and federal, state, local and Indian tribal governments. She is a frequent speaker on tax exempt issues for the Aging Services of Minnesota and South Carolina, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, ASAE, Minnesota and Iowa Society of Certified Public Accountants, Minnesota State Bar Association Continuing Legal Education, Nonprofit Financial Group, Wisconsin Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, and other organizations.

Catherine Allen, CPA of Audit Conduct, LLC helps CPAs and others understand and apply auditor independence and professional ethics rules through consultation, training, litigation support and expert services.

Ms. Allen was a Managing Director in PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP and formerly served as staff to the AICPA Professional Ethics Executive Committee, where she was instrumental in developing standards and tools for the profession like the AICPA Plain English Guide to Independence and the Conceptual Framework for Independence. 

She serves on the New York State Board for Public Accountancy, is the Northeast Regional Director of the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) and chairs the NASBA Ethics Committee.