2014 CPAs In Industry Conference

Kurt has practiced his entire 36 year career at in Alexandria, Louisiana after graduating from the University of Louisiana Monroe (ULM) in 1986. Kurt has been partner in charge of Accounting and Auditing with the firm since 1994, and became managing partner in the firm on January 1, 2023. Kurt began presenting and authoring CPE courses in 1991. He has received the AICPA Outstanding Discussion Leader Award 12 times and the Society of Louisiana CPAs (LCPA) Outstanding Discussion Leader Award 4 times. Kurt was elected the youngest President in the history of the LCPA in 2002, and has also served on the AICPA Council, AICPA Accounting and Review Services Committee, and the AICPA Joint Trial Board. He currently chairs the Ethics Committee of the LCPA. He and his wife of 33 years have two children and one grandchild. They often wonder why you have to have children before you have grandchildren.

As a cybersecurity leader within the Rocky Mountain region, I advise clients on cybersecurity compliance initiatives to help them manage risk. This includes facilitating risk assessments, providing internal control and best practice recommendations, and performing independent third-party assessments. With more than 20 years of experience, I’ve served clients with service organization control (SOC) examinations; payment card industry (PCI) assessments; Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) 404 internal and external IT audits; IT security assessments; ISO 27001 gap assessments and certification; privacy assessments; Microsoft Data Protection Requirements (DPR) assessments; and security audits. I’ve worked with clients in almost every industry including oil and gas, financial services, technology companies, and hospitality. I’m currently the industry technical leader for the SOC practice, where I oversee the quality control process over the reports issued throughout each year. 

My clients appreciate that I keep their best interests in mind. For example, I advise them not to jump into new controls and compliance initiatives until they’re ready to fully implement and comply with them. I also brainstorm with them on what makes the most sense for their organization based on their industry risks, corporate culture, and risk tolerance

My greatest source of pride with our firm was establishing and growing our practice in the Rocky Mountain region. When identifying and understanding business opportunities, I’m genuine in all my interactions, and I consult with my clients to ensure moving forward is in their best interest. Even in an area that may not be my expertise, my clients reach out to me because they know I can direct them to someone who will know the answer.

I’ve been very involved with the AICPA for many years and am often asked to assist in AICPA-related initiatives. Most recently, I was appointed to the AICPA’s Assurance Services Executive Committee (ASEC), a senior executive committee whose mission is to serve the public interest by continuously anticipating, assessing, and addressing evolving market needs and demand for assurance and advisory solutions. I’ve also assisted with both the CITP exam as well as the SOC certificate program, supported the Privacy Task Force, was on the AICPA SOC 2 Working Group, chaired the Information Technology Management Assurance Executive Committee, co-chaired the Third-Party Risk Management Conference, and served on the ENGAGE Conference Planning Committee. 

In addition to working with the AICPA, I belong to ISACA, the International Association of Privacy Professionals, the International Information System Security Certification Consortium, the Denver chapter of the Information Systems Security Association, the Association for Corporate Growth, and the Colorado Technology Association. In 2024, Forbes magazine recognized me as one of America’s Top 200 CPAs. I received my B.B.A. in accounting and computer applications from the University of Notre Dame. 

I spend time outside of work with my husband and two boys. We enjoy camping, hiking, skiing (I snowboard), venturing into the mountains, and traveling the world on vacations. I also enjoy tennis, working out, reading, and anything wellness related.