2025 Employee Benefit Plans Conference Bundle

Michelle is a Blankenship CPA Group, PLLC firm audit partner, serving out of the firm's Dickson office. She is a graduate of West Virginia University, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree and a Master of Professional Accountancy degree. Throughout her career, she has worked in the public Big Four as well as private accounting sectors, focusing on a variety of industries and specializing in nonprofit, banking, and employee benefit plans. Michelle is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in the states of Tennessee and Minnesota, and is a member of her licensors' various professional societies. In the course of executing high-quality audit and financial reporting services, she seeks to support her clients' success through process improvements and actionable reporting transparency.

Michelle resides in White Bluff, TN and serves as a Rotary District 6760 Assistant District Governor and Chair of the District 6760 Disaster Relief Committee; member and past Chair of the Habitat for Humanity Dickson County Community Advisory Council; Leadership Middle Tennessee board member; Proverbs 12:10 Animal Rescue board member; past President of the Dickson High Noon Rotary Club; past Board Chair, Community Volunteer Liaison and Disaster Action Team Lead of the American Red Cross TN River Chapter; past Chair of the Community Foundation for Dickson County Board of Directors; past treasurer of St. John Lutheran Church in Burns; and is an alumnus of the Leadership Middle Tennessee Class of 2023.

As the leader of Kennerly Montgomery's pension, employee benefits, and ERISA practice, Kathy D. Aslinger assists public and private employers and plan fiduciaries maneuver through the complex world of audits, fiduciary liability issues, DOL and IRS compliance, and state law obligations, as well as the design, implementation, and maintenance of retirement and health and welfare benefit plans. Kathy joined Kennerly Montgomery in 2010 after practicing for 11 years as a government attorney and prosecutor, and she also serves as the Managing Shareholder for the Firm.

With 16 years of public accounting experience, Anne specializes in employee benefit plan and not-for-profit audits and currently serves as the leader of Windham Brannon's Employee Benefit Plan Practice. As the practice leader, Anne is committed to helping clients ensure that they are in compliance with reporting requirements and advising clients on plan operations and giving recommendations on process and administrative improvements.

She works closely with clients during the planning phase of an audit in order to identify potential issues as early as possible, thereby ensuring that the process is effective, efficient, and completed in a timely manner. She regularly communicates with her clients to help them answer any questions that may arise during the course of the year.

Anne enjoys sharing her knowledge and experience with others. She is currently serving on the Task Force for the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants Employee Benefit Plan Conference and has been a frequent speaker at the AICPA National Employee Benefit Plan Conference. Additionally, Anne is regularly invited by the Board of Directors of her clients to present findings from their audits as well as other industry specific topics.

She joined Windham Brannon in 2001 after graduating from Auburn University with a Bachelors of Science in Accounting. Anne then completed her Masters of Accountancy in 2003 from Kennesaw State University.

Anne is an active member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants, Women in Pensions, and the Georgia Center for Nonprofits. She is also a Certified Nonprofit Accounting Professional (CNAP).

Since 2001, Michael has worked in the financial services industry with a focus on helping employers, participants and financial advisors with their qualified plan needs. From working with some of the countries leading record keepers to becoming a partner of Acuff & Associates serving as a third party retirement plan administrator, he has experience with almost all aspects of qualified retirement plans. Currently, Michael serves as a Regional Sales Director for JULY Business Services, a full service retirement plan provider. Michael graduated from Tennessee Technological University with both his BS degree as well as his MBA. When not talking about 401(k) plans, Michael enjoys spending time with his wife Kristin and his 2 daughters, Harper & Avery.

Kristen is a Senior Manager in the audit and advisory department of LBMC, PC.

She has diversified experience with a variety of industries serving private companies in healthcare, manufacturing, construction, services, and non-profits.

Kristen provides a wide range of services for clients. A majority of her time is spent working on audits of financial statements and retirement plans. She has extensive experience working with small to mid-size companies that require additional assistance with accounting and reporting matters.

Janet is a Managing Director in the LBMC Audit and Advisory practice. She audits and helps clients address employee benefit and ERISA matters related to 401(k) plans, 403(b) plans, and defined benefit pension plans. Her experience includes both ERISA Section 103(a)(3)(C) audits and non-ERISA Section 103(a)(3)(C) audits for benefit plans of public companies, privately-held companies, and schools. In addition to the accounting and audit aspects of qualified employee benefit plans, Janet is well versed in operational compliance violations in regard to the IRS and Department of Labor regulations. Janet keeps current on the latest literature applicable to the requirements of ERISA, IRS and Department of Labor related to qualified employee benefit plans in order to develop training and perform pre-issuance and quality control reviews of employee benefit plans for LBMC.

Kelly Mann, CPA is the CEO and co-founder of Audit Miner. Kelly sought software that would enhance her practice's efficiency and maintain competitive pricing without compromising quality. This need for a better solution sparked the creation of AuditMiner. Since 2021, the AuditMiner software has transformed 401k audits for firms nationwide.

To date, AuditMiner's 401k audit software has processed more than 3,500 plans with customers in over 40 states. Customers range from sole proprietor to top 100 CPA firms. The organization has grown from 2 employees to 19.

Srini serves as the Vice President at Bahwan CyberTek Inc. (BCT), where he leads the company's Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO) services and solutions for the U.S. market. Based in Birmingham, USA, he frequently travels to BCT's global locations to drive strategic initiatives.

Previously, Srini spent six years leading BCT's Middle East operations in Dubai, further expanding his global perspective. With over 27 years of professional experience, he brings a wealth of expertise, including a strong background in the Oil and Gas sector.

Srini holds a degree in Chemical Engineering and a Master of Business Management, blending technical knowledge with strategic leadership.

Brian Price is the founder and leader of Autire Technologies, LLC. With over 30 years of experience as a CPA, Brian has built a successful assurance practice and has been in the shoes of Autire's client base. He recognized the need for a more efficient way to perform 401(k) audits and founded Autire Technologies to address this challenge. Under Brian's leadership, Autire Technologies has developed innovative solutions that have streamlined the audit process, saving time and reducing costs for their clients. Brian is passionate about leveraging technology to improve the accounting profession and is committed to providing exceptional service and support to CPAs conducting 401(k) audits. His extensive experience, innovative approach, and dedication to the profession have made Autire Technologies a trusted partner for CPAs across the country.

Randy joined HHM in 2011 as a quality control partner in the Accounting and Assurance Department. He leads the firm in many initiatives including the peer review practice and employee benefit plan audit niche, in addition to providing technical reviews for clients in multiple industries such as auto dealerships, nonprofits, construction and manufacturing.

He is a nationally recognized employee benefit plan audit specialist and leads discussions for the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) in this area. His skills as a discussion leader have deemed him an eight-time winner of the AICPA Outstanding Discussion Leader Award. His teaching pursuits include instructing the Audits of 401(k) plans webcast since 2014 and teaching various employee benefit plan audit courses since 2006.

As the captain for approximately 50 peer reviews each year, he helps other CPA firms raise the bar of quality for accounting, auditing and attestation services. He has been on the peer review committee of the Tennessee Society of Certified Public Accountants (TSCPA) since 2013. In addition, he is an approved Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) audit subject matter expert for the AICPA enhanced oversight project.