Karen Elizabeth Colsch, CPA
CliftonLarsonAllen LLP

Karen is an employee benefit assurance principal with CLA specializing in audit, tax, and consulting services for retirement plans and health and welfare plans. She brings more than 20 years of experience serving clients in the employee benefit plan arena and has an extensive understanding of the Department of Labor and the Internal Revenue Service compliance requirements surrounding employee benefit plans.

Alyssa S. Carlson, CPA
Managing Partner AC CPA

Alyssa began her career in New Hampshire working almost entirely on employee benefit plan audits. In 2015 she moved to Charlotte and joined a local CPA firm where she played a key role in elevating the company to the Top 20 CPA Firms in Charlotte.

Driven by a passion for 401k plan audits, as well as the positive impact they have on employees, Alyssa established AC CPA, PLLC to build the next generation of auditors and support companies in maintaining a compliant 401k plan.

Denise J. Olexa, CPA
Grant Thornton, LLP

Denise is the Grant Thornton LLP Employee Benefit Plan Center for Excellence leader for the Mid-South/Florida Audit Practice. She has 23 years of experience in public accounting serving public and private companies, primarily in the employee benefit plan and not-for-profit industries. She is one of Grant Thornton LLP’s most knowledgeable specialists in employee benefit plans, and she is actively involved with national office initiatives in the area of employee benefit plans, including development and teaching of in-house training programs. She has comprehensive experience in coordinating all aspects of company and employee benefit plan audits.

In addition to her audit responsibilities, Denise has also provided consulting services to major bank and governmental entity pension administration departments, including providing process and controls-related recommendations.

Denise is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants (NCACPA). She currently serves on the AICPA Technical Standards Subcommittee of the Professional Ethics Committee, and she is a regular speaker on employee benefit plan audit topics.

Denise holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from West Virginia University (concentration in accounting).

Monique Eve Elliott, CPA
Elliott Group CPAs, PLLC

Monique E. Elliott is the founder of Elliott Group CPAs, PLLC (“EGCPA”), a public accounting firm based in Charlotte, North Carolina. EGCPA specializes in ERISA work such as benefit plan audits, tax, and consulting services such as assisting with multi-year operational issues, assistance with IRS and DOL correction programs, and numerous other plan-related projects and thoughtful solutions. Ms. Elliott spent 15 years of her career with Arthur Andersen LLP, RSM McGladrey, and BDO USA prior to starting her firm in 2012. Throughout her career Ms. Elliott has served as a resource to plan auditors both within each of her firms and externally to the audit community. She has been involved with the development and updates to her firms’ benefit plan audit guidance and internal audit manuals, internal inspections, as well as the development of innovative tools and templates for the firms. Ms. Elliott is a frequent speaker on a large variety of ERISA related topics for the AICPA and numerous state societies. She has also authored or co-authored articles on an array of ERISA topics. She has worked with the AICPA for several years as a Peer Review Oversighter in the ERISA peer review program. Ms. Elliott has served on the AICPA Employee Benefit Plan Expert Panel, the AICPA Employee Benefit Plan Audit Quality Center Executive Committee, the AICPA Employee Benefit Plan Audit Guide and Audit Risk Alert taskforces, the NCACPA Employee Benefit Plan Committee, and the NCACPA Audit and Accounting Committee. Ms. Elliott graduated from the University of Maryland with a major in accounting and economics. In her free time she enjoys traveling, learning languages, and playing piano.

Michael Joseph Palazzo, III, CPA
MPCompany LLP

Mike joined MPC in 2015 and has over 20 years of experience in public accounting. He provides consulting, attest and tax services for not-for-profit organizations with a concentration in social service organizations, foundations, membership organizations, and religious institutions. Mike has developed a deep knowledge of Government Auditing Standards and has extensive experience in providing audit services to employee benefit plans.

Prior to joining MPC, Mike was an audit manager for a local firm in California, specializing in employee benefit plan audits, and a national firm in Pennsylvania, providing audit services exclusively to not-for-profit and local government organizations. Mike is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants. He graduated from Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in accounting and holds CPA licenses in North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and New York.

Mike, his wife Cathy and their two daughters live in North Raleigh along with their Boston Terrier. He is an avid Philly sports fan, runner and traveler.

Abner Benton Hunter, III, CPA/CITP, CFE, CISA, CRISC, CISM
Bernard Robinson & Company, LLP

Ben Hunter is the Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) and a Risk Advisory Senior Manager at Bernard Robinson & Company L.L.P. (BRC), a CPA and Advisory firm serving clients and their businesses throughout the Southeast for 70 years. At BRC, Ben is leading the Cybersecurity Risk and IT Audit consulting practice. He specializes in Cybersecurity Assessments, HIPAA Assessments, Information Technology Control Audits and Assessments, SOC 1 and SOC 2 Reports, SOC for Cybersecurity and SOC for Supply Chain Reports.

Ben began his cybersecurity career in the US Marine Corps. After his service, Ben went to UNC Greensboro and earned his Master of Science in Accounting. After becoming a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), he continued his cybersecurity and IT Audit training by obtaining the ISACA certifications: Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA), Certified in Risk and Information Systems Control (CRISC), Certified Data Privacy Solutions Engineer (CDPSE) and Certified Information Security Manager (CISM). Ben also obtained the AICPA Certified Information Technology Professional (CITP) and is a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE).
Ben has years of experience performing Cybersecurity Risk and Control Assessments, HIPAA Audits, Phishing/Ransomware awareness and security training, Business Continuity Planning / Disaster Recovery (BCP/DR) planning and testing, IT Internal Audits, Systems Vulnerability Scanning Assessments, and System and Organization Control (SOC) reports. He speaks at a variety of organizations, including rotary clubs, professional organizations, universities and CPE events.

Ben is a member of the AICPA, the NCACPA, the ACFE, and ISACA.

Ben’s unique perspective into the financial and information technology worlds allows him to communicate the technology risks in clear language for the decision makers.

Denise J. Olexa, CPA
Grant Thornton, LLP

Denise is the Grant Thornton LLP Employee Benefit Plan Center for Excellence leader for the Mid-South/Florida Audit Practice. She has 23 years of experience in public accounting serving public and private companies, primarily in the employee benefit plan and not-for-profit industries. She is one of Grant Thornton LLP’s most knowledgeable specialists in employee benefit plans, and she is actively involved with national office initiatives in the area of employee benefit plans, including development and teaching of in-house training programs. She has comprehensive experience in coordinating all aspects of company and employee benefit plan audits.

In addition to her audit responsibilities, Denise has also provided consulting services to major bank and governmental entity pension administration departments, including providing process and controls-related recommendations.

Denise is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants (NCACPA). She currently serves on the AICPA Technical Standards Subcommittee of the Professional Ethics Committee, and she is a regular speaker on employee benefit plan audit topics.

Denise holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from West Virginia University (concentration in accounting).

Monique Eve Elliott, CPA
Elliott Group CPAs, PLLC

Monique E. Elliott is the founder of Elliott Group CPAs, PLLC (“EGCPA”), a public accounting firm based in Charlotte, North Carolina. EGCPA specializes in ERISA work such as benefit plan audits, tax, and consulting services such as assisting with multi-year operational issues, assistance with IRS and DOL correction programs, and numerous other plan-related projects and thoughtful solutions. Ms. Elliott spent 15 years of her career with Arthur Andersen LLP, RSM McGladrey, and BDO USA prior to starting her firm in 2012. Throughout her career Ms. Elliott has served as a resource to plan auditors both within each of her firms and externally to the audit community. She has been involved with the development and updates to her firms’ benefit plan audit guidance and internal audit manuals, internal inspections, as well as the development of innovative tools and templates for the firms. Ms. Elliott is a frequent speaker on a large variety of ERISA related topics for the AICPA and numerous state societies. She has also authored or co-authored articles on an array of ERISA topics. She has worked with the AICPA for several years as a Peer Review Oversighter in the ERISA peer review program. Ms. Elliott has served on the AICPA Employee Benefit Plan Expert Panel, the AICPA Employee Benefit Plan Audit Quality Center Executive Committee, the AICPA Employee Benefit Plan Audit Guide and Audit Risk Alert taskforces, the NCACPA Employee Benefit Plan Committee, and the NCACPA Audit and Accounting Committee. Ms. Elliott graduated from the University of Maryland with a major in accounting and economics. In her free time she enjoys traveling, learning languages, and playing piano.