Smaller Firm Resource Group Members

Ryan Ayre

Partner, Manning Elliott LLP

Ryan Ayre is a partner at Manning Elliott LLP in Vancouver and has over 25 years of experience auditing public companies listed in Canada and the United States under Canadian Auditing Standards and the standards of the PCAOB. Ryan currently serves as the firm’s Chief PCAOB Compliance Officer, PCAOB Liaison, and primary contact with the PCAOB, as well as chair of the firm’s Independence Committee and co-representative for the firm as a member of the Public Company Forum in British Columbia. Ryan has previously served as chair of the firm’s Accounting Standards, Auditing Standards, and Quality Control Committees, as well as the firm’s CPAB Liaison and Director of Audit Quality (all now administered under the responsibilities of the Firm’s Quality, Risk, and Compliance Group). Ryan holds a Canadian CPA, CA (Chartered Professional Accountant, Chartered Accountant) designation and is licensed with The Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia and Chartered Professional Accountants of Alberta. Ryan also holds a United States CPA designation and is licensed with the Washington State Board of Accountancy.

David Gosselin

Assurance Partner, dbbmckennon

David Gosselin is an assurance partner at dbbmckennon, a PCAOB-registered public accounting firm. He has over 20 years of experience providing audit and advisory services to SEC registrants and private companies across a wide range of industries. Mr. Gosselin leads dbbmckennon’s Regulation A+ and Regulation Crowdfunding practices, positioning the firm as a national leader in these capital market exemptions since their inception. He has deep expertise in conducting audits under PCAOB standards, working closely with public companies on SEC compliance, financial reporting, and IPO transactions. In addition, he is an author and instructor for the CalCPA Education Foundation, based on a co-authored book on best practices for documentation in a digital environment. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from the University of Arizona.

Kristi Griffin

Managing Director, Elliott Davis, LLC

Kristi Griffin is a Managing Director at Elliott Davis, LLC. As part of Elliott Davis, LLC’s Professional Practice Group, Ms. Griffin assists in setting policies and methodology for dealing with complex accounting, financial reporting, auditing, and risk matters of SEC registrants and financial institution audit clients. She also oversees the firm’s PCAOB inspection and remediation efforts. Prior to joining the firm’s Professional Practice Group, Ms. Griffin was an auditor within the firm’s financial institutions group, primarily working on audits of SEC registrants. Ms. Griffin is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), and she is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AIPCA). She earned a Bachelor of Science in Financial Management from Clemson University in 2009 and earned a Master of Accountancy from Clemson University in 2010.

Jeff Maichel

SEC Reporting and Accounting Leader, Assure CPA, LLC

Jeff founded DeCoria, Maichel & Teague, P.S. (now Assure) in 1997, and is currently the firm’s SEC reporting and accounting leader. He began his public accounting career with Coopers & Lybrand in Spokane in 1984, auditing companies throughout the Northwest. Jeff’s career continued as CFO of a publicly held mining company headquartered in Spokane, with operating heap leach projects in Nevada and Montana, and later as president and principal of a real-estate development and finance company. Jeff graduated cum laude from Montana State University with a degree in business management and accounting.

Reshma Mahase

Assurance Partner, Davidson & Company LLP

Reshma Mahase, CPA, is an assurance partner with over 25 years of experience in public accounting, serving small and mid-sized public companies, growth-stage innovators, and regulated entities across emerging sectors including cryptocurrency, cannabis, and technology. She is one of the leads of the PCAOB-registered practice, delivering audit, assurance, and regulatory advisory services to issuers under both IFRS and US GAAP. Beyond client service, Reshma serves as her firm’s internal compliance partner and is deeply committed to mentoring the next generation of assurance professionals. She actively contributes to policy discussions through her membership in the CPA BC Public Practice Committee and the Global Forum on Audit Technology.

Kyle Manny

Assurance Partner, Plante & Moran, PLLC

Kyle Manny is an assurance partner at Plante & Moran, where he supervises assurance and risk management engagements for clients. With more than 15 years at Plante & Moran, Kyle’s greatest accomplishment is developing a team of specialists that exceeds the needs of their financial services clients. His clients include community banks and specialty finance lenders with assets from $500 million to $20 billion. Kyle belongs to the Illinois CPA Society and the AICPA. He received his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Hope College.

Steven (Steve) Morrison

Partner, National Director of Audit, CohnReznick LLP

Steven Morrison is the National Director of Audit and a partner in National Assurance at CohnReznick LLP. With experience as a client service engagement partner, quality reviewer, and standard setter, he leads the firm’s Audit Quality Group, which addresses the development and application of methodology and actively consults on assurance, reporting, and independence matters. From 2015 to 2018, Mr. Morrison served on the AICPA Auditing Standards Board, which promulgates US Generally Accepted Auditing Standards. He is currently a member of the methodology team of the AICPA Dynamic Audit Solution (DAS) project, a transformative initiative designed to enhance audit quality and efficiency through technology and innovation. He holds the Certified in Financial Forensics designation and is a Certified Fraud Examiner. Mr. Morrison is a member of the PCAOB's Standards and Emerging Issues Advisory Group (SEIAG). He received a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting from the University of Florida and a Master of Accounting degree from Florida Atlantic University.

Bryce Rojas

Partner, Cropper Accountancy Corporation

Bryce Rojas is a partner at Cropper Accountancy Corporation, a boutique audit firm based in California. With over 13 years of experience in public accounting, Bryce specializes in audits of broker-dealers and has developed strong, trusted relationships with clients and Financial and Operations Principals (FinOps) across the industry. He is a CPA and an active member of both the AICPA and the California Society of CPAs. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Brigham Young University–Idaho.

Laura See

Co-Managing Partner, Ernst Wintter & Associates LLP

Laura See is the co-managing partner of Ernst Wintter & Associates LLP, where she leads the firm's audit practice with nearly 20 years of experience in public accounting. She specializes in broker-dealer audits, ensuring compliance with SEC regulations and FINRA reporting requirements. Her expertise extends to audits of investment companies, nonprofits, and 401(k) plans, along with taxation of nonprofit organizations and financial statement preparation. Laura conducts engagement quality reviews, reinforcing best practices and ensuring compliance with evolving industry standards. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Economics with a concentration in accounting and a minor in psychology from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. A licensed Certified Public Accountant in California, Laura is an active member of the AICPA.

Steven (Steve) Siegel

Technical Director of Assurance and SEC Assurance Leader, Cherry Bekaert LLP

Steven is the Technical Director of Assurance and the SEC Assurance Leader at Cherry Bekaert. With over 25 years of accounting and auditing experience, Steven has worked with development-stage enterprises, venture capital-backed companies, multi-location and multinational corporations, ranging from pre-revenue to over $1 billion in annual revenue. He previously worked in the Division of Registration and Inspections for the PCAOB. Steven also held audit, supervisory, and managerial roles with the Big Four and regional accounting firms. He holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the State University of New York at Old Westbury.

Rebekah Walters

Principal-in-Charge of Quality Control, Frazier & Deeter, LLC

Rebekah Walters is the Principal-in-Charge of Quality Control within Frazier & Deeter’s Assurance Services Practice, bringing over 20 years of public accounting experience with a focus on audit quality, technical compliance, and regulatory standards. She leads the firm’s Audit Quality Control Group. She is responsible for the development and application of audit methodology for both public and non-public entity audits, oversight of the firm’s system of quality control, and management of internal and external inspections, including those conducted under the PCAOB and the AICPA’s peer review program. Rebekah also serves as a firmwide resource on independence, audit quality, and complex technical matters. Prior to assuming her current leadership role, Rebekah served as a senior manager in the Quality Control Group and was a key assistant to the firm’s former Partner-in-Charge of Quality Control. During this time, she oversaw the development of the firm’s broker-dealer audit methodology. Rebekah is a member of the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants (GSCPA) and AICPA. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Master of Accounting, Audit from the University of Georgia.

Brendan Whalen

Audit Partner, S.R. Snodgrass, P.C.

Brendan is an audit partner and shareholder for S.R. Snodgrass, P.C. He is a leader in the firm’s assurance practice unit and is instrumental in developing and implementing the firm’s system of quality control. Brendan has valuable insight into the industries he serves, with a primary focus on financial institutions and employee benefit plans. He has extensive SEC experience with auditing public reporting companies and assisting clients with filings under the 1933 and 1934 Acts, reporting requirements for Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX), and COSO Internal Control – Integrated Framework (2013) compliance. Brendan currently serves as a member of the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants Ethics Committee and an officer in the Financial Managers Society. He holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Duquesne University.