Mark L. Cheffers CPA, ABV Chief Executive Officer and Founder

Mr. Cheffers is the author of Challenges for the Next Decade. A Primer on Accounting Malpractice and Its Prevention and What Lies Ahead. A Primer on Director Malpractice; the creator of the most comprehensive database of accounting and director malpractice case summaries and documents ever assembled on the web; a leader in the development of online education for protecting financial professionals againgst liability exposure. He has been CEO of Internet Virtual Expo Systems since he founded the company in early 2000. Prior to then, Mr. Cheffers was the principal and founder of MLC Associates, a successful litigation consulting firm specializing in financial investigations and litigation consulting for large and complex assignments. During his ten years at MLC, he worked on more than thirty malpractice cases related to accountants, directors, and lawyers. He also acted as a testifying expert, consulting expert, valuation specialist, forensic accountant, discovery consultant and deposition strategist. Previously, Mr. Cheffers was a Manager at PricewaterhouseCoopers and Financial Controller at Giant Resources Ltd. He has been integrally involved in the start-up of several ventures, including the Abby Kelley Foster Regional Charter School of Massachusetts, with over 700 students. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and has achieved their Accredited Business Valuation professional designation. Mr. Cheffers has a BSBA, magna cum laude, in accounting and finance from Boston University and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.

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Walter G. Willey CPA, CFE Chief Operating Officer

Mr. Willey has been COO of Internet Virtual Expo Systems since he joined the company in early 2000. Prior to then, Mr. Willey operated a successful litigation support and consulting firm specializing in forensic accounting and investigation. Over the last ten years, he has provided investigative services and litigation support, in conjunction with MLC Associates, on a significant number of professional malpractice cases involving accountants, attorneys, and directors. Mr. Willey has extensive experience in case development, trial and deposition preparation, damage calculation, and has provided expert testimony. Previously, Mr. Willey was a Manager at C.W. Amos & Company, a regional public accounting firm in Maryland. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. Mr. Willey has a BS, cum laude, in business administration and accounting from Salisbury University.

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Joseph D. Maiato CFE, CIE, CFSA Chief Web Operations Officer

Before joining Internet Virtual Expo Systems, Mr. Maiato spent more than fifteen years as an independent consultant specializing in planning, organizing and conducting large and sophisticated examinations of financial services organizations. His largest client, the State of Delaware, consistently relied on Mr. Maiato to direct the market, operating and financial examinations of some of the largest and most complex companies in the world. Part of this effort included leading teams of CPAs, Actuaries, IT Specialists and Staff Examiners. His assignments have included companies such as Sun Life of Canada, John Hancock, Metropolitan, Commercial Union and American International Group. Mr. Maiato has consulted on numerous special projects including investigations of fraud, system control reviews, fund diversions, violations of law, and failures of companies. He is an expert in litigation-related matters as a result of his reviews of hundreds of professional liability claims. In the IT area, he has developed specialized software systems and other products to aid in the administration and conduct of his assignments. He is a member of the Society of Financial Examiners, the Insurance Regulatory Examiners Society, the National Association of Financial Service Auditors, and is a Director of the Rhode Island Society of Governmental Accountants and Auditors. Mr. Maiato has a BS in Business Administration with concentrations in accounting and law from Bryant College.

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Edward S. Turner Chief Information Officer

Mr. Turner brings tremendous IS experience to Internet Virtual Expo Systems, having been developer and consultant for over two decades. Mr. Turner has designed numerous systems in statistical analysis and quality assurance. He has extensive experience in credit card and mortgage banking, affinity marketing, manufacturing, and electronic funds transfer. Mr. Turner’s clients have included MBNA, Lomas Information Systems, IBM, Pertrol International, LTV Aerospace and the Federal Reserve. Mr. Turner has also had experience as an educator, specializing in mathematics, calculus, physics, and chemistry. He has a BS in physics from Wheeling College and an MA, summa cum laude, from the International Academy of Philosophy in Liechtenstein.

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Jeffrey R. Bourassa Chief Analyst

Before joining Internet Virtual Expo Systems, Mr. Bourassa spent more than 10 years investigating and preparing cases against accounting firms, lawyers, directors and other financial professionals. He brings a tremendous amount of experience in researching, compiling and critically analyzing complex quantitative data and distilling it to concise issues. Mr. Bourassa was formerly with the Federal Depositors Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Rhode Island Depositors Economic Protection Corporation (DEPCO), two of the most active plaintiffs against accounting firms in modern history. Mr. Bourassa has extensive experience in case development, trial and deposition preparation, and damage analysis. He has testified on numerous occasions, in both civil and criminal matters and has been accepted as an expert in forensic accounting by the Rhode Island Superior Court. Previously, Mr. Bourassa spent ten years auditing financial institutions. He has a BS in accounting from Fitchburg College.

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Advisory Board Members

Christopher A. Byrne, Esq Advisory Board Member

Mr. Byrne has over 27 years of legal and business experience in both private practice and government service. He is a nationally known consultant and expert in the field of financial investigations and professional liability matters pertaining to directors and officers, accountants and lawyers. On behalf of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Mr. Byrne structured the purchase and assumption of many failed financial institutions and provided the FDIC with alternative strategies on asset disposition and workouts. He handled sensitive tasks such as managing the FDIC’s investigation and civil prosecution of Charles Keating and Lincoln Savings & Loan. Mr. Byrne was also the Assistant Director of the FDIC’s Division of Liquidation, in charge of professional liability investigations nationwide. He also led many of the largest professional liability investigations and litigation for the Resolution Trust Corporation. More recently, Mr. Byrne was retained by the State of Rhode Island to investigate, formulate and pursue professional liability lawsuits arising from the collapse of its private deposit insurance system. Mr. Byrne is a popular speaker and guest lecturer for the Federal government and private groups. Mr. Byrne holds a BSFS degree from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and a Juris Doctor degree from Catholic University of America.

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Edward S. Petry, Ph.D Advisory Board Member

Dr. Petry has been the Executive Director of the Ethics Officer Association (EOA) since 1995. With over 700 corporate members it is the largest non-consulting professional association for managers of ethics, compliance and business conduct programs. Dr. Petry has authored several major surveys including the U.S. Sentencing Commission's National Survey of Ethics & Compliance in Organizations (1995), Sources & Consequences of Workplace Pressure (1997) and Technology & Ethics in the Workplace (1998). He has edited and/or co-authored six books on business ethics, including The Ethical Edge: Tales of Organizations that Have Faced Moral Crises (1996) and The Ethics of Accounting and Finance (1996). He has been quoted or appeared on the topic of corporate ethics and compliance in journals, newspapers and media outlets including: CNN, The Wall Street Journal, The Economist, USA Today, NBC's Today Show, Fox News, National Public Radio's Marketplace, The New York Times, Christian Science Monitor, Working Woman magazine, CFO Magazine, Ethikos, Federal Ethics Report, Financial World, The Financial Times, La Tribune and Wprost (Poland). Dr. Petry received his Ph.D. in philosophy from Pennsylvania State University and has also received degrees in philosophy from The University of Toronto and Trinity College. He is a tenured professor of philosophy at Bentley College and a Visiting Professor at Clark University. Dr. Petry is a member of the Ethics Committee for the American Society of Association Executives, is a Senior Fellow and member of the Advisory Board of the Ethics Resource Center (Washington DC) and is on the Editorial Board of Business and Society Review.

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Stephen A. Lynch CPA, CVA Advisory Board Member

Mr. Lynch has been a partner in Love, Bollus, Lynch & Rogers LLP, an accounting and consulting firm, located in Worcester, Massachusetts since its inception in February 1989. Prior to then, Mr. Lynch was a Senior Manager at KPMG Peat Marwick, and Controller for Quabaug Corporation. Mr. Lynch's career has been focused in the area of audits of primarily commercial companies in the manufacturing, construction and distribution industries and general business advisory services to these industries. He has provided services to a wide range of clients, from start up companies to mature entities. In more recent years, he has also provided litigation support services in the area of accounting malpractice. Additionally, Mr. Lynch is a Certified Valuation Analyst and oversees the business valuation practice at the firm. He is a member of the Massachusetts Society of Certified Public Accountants, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts. Mr. Lynch has a Bachelor of Science Degree in accounting from the University of Vermont.

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Martin Roper Advisory Board Member

Mr. Roper is the President of The Boston Beer Company, Inc. (NYSE:SAM), brewers of Samuel Adams beers, where he manages all aspects of the business. He joined the company in 1994 and has been the Vice President of Manufacturing & Business Development, Vice President of Operations and Chief Operating Officer. During his six years with The Boston Beer Company, he has been instrumental in reducing the cost of goods, improving business processes and procedures, acquiring businesses, and contract negotiations. Mr. Roper was part of the Senior Management team responsible for a successful IPO in 1995 and was the project leader on the company's record setting SAP R/3 implementation. Previously, Mr. Roper was President of the MEG Division of SteelWorks Inc. where he was responsible for a successful business turnaround. Prior to that he was Executive Vice President at Blocksom & Co. where he was responsible for a LBO restructuring and turnaround. Both SteelWorks and Blocksom were leveraged investments by Vanguard Investments, a Chicago based LBO investment group. Mr. Roper has also worked for The Boston Consulting Group in London. He holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School and a Masters in Manufacturing from Cambridge University. Mr. Roper is a British citizen.

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Ross Fuerman PhD, JD, CFE, CPA Advisory Board Member

Dr. Fuerman is presently Assistant Professor in the Department of Accounting at Suffolk University Sawyer School of Management. He is one of the foremost authorities in the area of litigation research related to accounting malpractice matters. As both a CPA and attorney, Dr. Fuerman brings not only his expertise but also his passion to the mission of AccountingMalpractice.com. Dr. Fuerman's education includes: Ph.D. in Accounting, University of Cincinnati, JD from George Washington University, MA from the Jewish Theological Seminary, New York, BA University of Cincinatti, cum laude with High Honors. Mr. Fuerman is a CFE, CPA (Ohio) and is a member of the American Accounting Association, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. Dr. Fuerman's primary research interests are financial disclosure-related securities fraud, accounting, auditing and law. Recent publications include:

• "Fraudulent Audited Annual Financial Statements in Post-PSLRA Private Securities Class Actions: Determinants of Auditor Litigation," (with S. Freund and L. Shaw) 2001. Currently under review at Journal of Forensic Accounting.
• "Balkanized Auditor Liability Research," Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 2001, Vol. 12.
• "Auditors and the Post-Litigation Reform Act Environment," Research in Accounting Regulation, Vol. 14, ed GJ Previts, 2000. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
• "The Role of Auditor Culpability in Naming Auditor Defendants in United States Securities Class Actions," Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 1999, Vol. 10.
• "The Effect of the Reform Act and Central Bank on Naming Auditor Defendants in Securities Class Actions," Research in Accounting Regulation, Vol. 12, ed GJ Previts, 1998. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
• "Naming Auditor Defendants in Securities Class Actions," Journal of Legal Economics, Vol. 7 (1), Spring/Summer 1997.
• "The Impact of Central Bank of Denver: Some Empirical Evidence," Research in Accounting Regulation, Vol. 11, ed. GJ Previts, 1997. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
• "The CPA's Responsibilities for Client Related Information," (with James D Cashell), The CPA Journal, September, 1995.
• "Accountants and the Client Fault Defense in Indiana," The Indiana CPA, July, 1993.
• "The Accounting Profession's Litigation Crisis," The Ohio CPA Journal, October, 1992.
• "Naming Auditor Defendants in Securities Class Actions," Forensic Economics Abstracts, Number 6, June 15, 1998. Published by the Litigation Support Network (LitNet), a division of Social Science Research Network (SSRN).

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