Beyond The License: Why Deregulation of CPAs Impacts Every Financial Executive

Mike is a partner in the Fort Lauderdale office of Forvis Mazars. Mike brings more than 25 years of experience to Forvis Mazars, in public accounting and auditing, business consulting, and forensic services.
Private and publicly held companies, nonprofit organizations, and public sector entities rely on his advice on the implementation of accounting standards updates, the design and implementation of internal control procedures, merger and acquisition due diligence, and industry-specific business consulting services. He has also assisted clients with initial public offerings and issuances of public debt.
Mike provides forensic services to clients relating to fraud prevention and detection, fraud investigation, and embezzlement. He also provides these services in the areas of litigation support. Mike has served in a commission auditor capacity for municipalities within the state of Florida and provides fraud-prevention-and-detection presentations to compliance committees. He has also been a guest lecturer on occupational fraud and abuse for graduate-level courses at state universities.
His affiliations and community involvement include the American Institute of CPAs, member; Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants, member; Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, member; Historic Stranahan House Museum, emeritus president and board member; Leadership Broward Foundation, alumnus (Class XXXI); Emerge Broward, alumnus; and Broward County Housing Authority, audit committee chair.
Mike is Certified in Financial Forensics (CFF), a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), and a Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA).
He is a cum laude graduate of Florida Atlantic University with a B.B.A. degree in accounting.

Ed Duarte, CPA, CGMA is the Chief Financial Officer of Foreign Parts Distributors, Inc. (FPD). FPD, a worldwide leader in the automotive aftermarket industry since 1972, is committed to providing premium brand quality auto parts at a superior value. FPD sells to customers throughout the United States, Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean Islands, and Central and South America. FPD’s corporate office and warehouse is located in Miami, Florida. Additionally, FPD has offices in China and Taiwan.

Prior to joining FPD in 2015, Ed served as a Senior Manager of several national public accounting firms in Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Puerto Rico and New York covering a full range of professional services including audit, accounting, financial reporting and financial consulting.

Ed received his Bachelor of Arts in Accounting & Finance from Florida International University and is a licensed certified public accountant in Florida and New York.

Ed is the Immediate Past Chair of the Florida Institute of CPAs (FICPA) and has served on the AICPA Council since 2019.  Ed is also a member of the AICPA's Future of Finance Leadership Advisory Group.

Ed has served as President of the Cuban American CPA Association and Foundation.

Ed is a founding board member with the Live Like Bella™ Foundation and works passionately with the leadership team and staff to meet their mission and vision statements to help find a cure for pediatric cancer.

Mari Rivera brings two decades of finance leadership experience spanning privately held multinational companies and publicly traded Fortune 100 corporations. Currently leading the South Florida expansion for CX, a Connor Group Company, Mari previously spent 10 years at MasTec, Inc., a prominent construction and infrastructure conglomerate based in Miami, FL, with operations across the United States.

Before joining MasTec, Mari held key roles at Office Depot and Parker Hannifin. Her responsibilities included managing accounting operations, overseeing technology implementations, and supporting core business functions. She began her career with Grant Thornton, LLP, in the Audit group.

Mari is a graduate of the University of Puerto Rico with a bachelor’s degree in Accounting, holds a CPA license, and earned an MBA from Florida Atlantic University.

Dr. George Young has served as Director of the School of Accounting at Florida Atlantic University since 2015. While at FAU, he has taught fraud examination, auditing, financial accounting, and tax. He has an active public Illinois accounting license for 44 years and practiced eight years before entering academia. He is also a Certified Fraud Examiner. During 2004 and 2005, he was a member of the Technical Working Task Group sponsored by a National Institute of Justice grant administered by West Virginia University that was charged with the responsibility to develop a model educational curriculum for fraud examination and forensic accounting. He is past chairperson of the Higher Education Advisory Committee of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. He is a co-author of Forensic Accounting and Fraud Examination (McGraw-Hill, 2e) and Essentials of Forensic Accounting (2e) published by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. I have published articles in academic journals such as Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory; Journal of Business, Finance, & Accounting; Advances in Accounting Behavioral Research; Research on Accounting Ethics; Journal of Forensic & Investigative Accounting; and practice journals such as The Journal of Accountancy. He holds an earned doctorate from the University of Texas at Arlington.

Shelly Weir is President & Chief Executive Officer of the Florida Institute of CPAs (FICPA), the statewide professional association for Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) in Florida. In this role, Weir serves as Secretary-Treasurer of the FICPA and FICPA Scholarship Foundation and works in partnership with the FICPA Council to develop and execute the Institute's strategic vision.
Weir is actively engaged in legislative, advocacy, and regulatory efforts, representing the CPA profession at the state and national level.
She is a member of both the AICPA's National Pipeline Advisory Group and its Experience, Learn and Earn task force, ensuring the FICPA plays a leading role in shaping the future of the profession; a member of the Board of Trustees for the Florida Chamber Foundation, where she advocates for the business and tax interests of CPAs; and a member of the CPA Society of Association Executives, where she collaborates with other association leaders to address regulatory and legislative agendas affecting CPAs across the nation. Finally, as FICPA's President & CEO, Weir represents all Florida CPAs with the state's Board of Accountancy and the Department of Business & Professional Regulation.