MACPA/Federalist Society Breakfast Forum Panelists From left: Dr. Chris Bart, CA, Moderator, Stephen Murphy, Esq., Richard Zuckerman, Esq., Leslie Murphy, CPA, Attorney General Mike Cox, James Thomas, Esq., and Bill Mateja, Esq.

MACPA continued its successful partnership with the Michigan Lawyers Chapter of the Federalist Society in May by presenting a panel discussion on best practices in corporate governance.

The program, titled Corporate Governance Responsibilities in a Time of Uncertainty: Diverse Perspectives on Best Practice featured viewpoints from state and federal officials, a former judge, a litigation specialist and a prominent CPA.

Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox opened the breakfast forum with a discussion on the state’s responsibility regarding corporate wrong-doing. Bill Mateja, senior counsel to the Deputy U.S. Attorney General and Department of Justice point-person on the President’s Corporate Fraud Task Force, outlined the Justice Department’s current enforcement strategies and priorities beyond the high-profile public company cases. The first portion of the forum was closed-out by litigation specialist and Honigman Miller Schwartz & Cohn partner Richard Zuckerman’s presentation on the relationship dynamic between audit committees, audit firms and outside counsel.

A former magistrate and current attorney with the Cleveland firm Squire Sanders & Dempsey, James Thomas discussed investigating wrong-doing in light of current corporate governance priorities of both private and public companies.

AICPA and MACPA board member Leslie Murphy, CPA, focused on the accounting profession’s role in restoring market confidence and fulfilling non-profit, private and public company corporate governance obligations.

From his perspective as an educator and strategist, Dr. Chris Bart, CA, professor of Business Strategy and Governance at the DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, summarized the morning’s different viewpoints in an exciting conclusion.

Watch for a continuation of the partnership between the MACPA and the Federalist Society, which focuses on providing unique educational opportunities for professionals working for and providing counsel to organizations regarding corporate governance.

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