Raymond James Poirier III CPA, MSA is the Principal/Owner of RPFinancial in Bay City. He recently left a large firm to pursue his dream of owning his own firm. As the leader of the firm, Ray’s focus is on the development of his team, encouraging, nurturing and promoting their unique strengths. He also volunteers as a graduate assistant with Dale Carnegie where he coaches others in his community and uses the opportunity to promote the CPA profession. His colleagues and clients tout his integrity, work ethic and customer service, stating that “he is a key reason why we have a "clean" single audit annually.”

Dan Wysocki is a tax manager with Plante Moran focused on clients in the real estate industry and large not-for-profit entities and healthcare organizations. Dan is a born leader who sees his role as an opportunity to coach his team, especially junior staff with career guidance and navigating decision making. He is also an advocate for the profession and seeks opportunities to give back. As campus lead at Oakland University, a speaker at several events, he is able to share his experiences and encourage students to pursue a career in accounting.

Sharky is the owner of Tax Shark, a firm that is tailored to the young entrepreneur and built on the promise of being the "New-Aged" accountant that meets the new generation of business owners’ everchanging demand. His passion to be innovative has led him to developing an app that will provide real-time status updates to his clients. Sharky also saw an opportunity to help the community by investing in becoming Michigan’s premier sports and entertainment accounting firm for college athletes. Through workshops and podcasts, he hopes to increase financial literacy among those individuals and empower them to make informed decisions about investing in their future.

Kellie Sauve is an accounting student at Central Michigan University graduating December 2022. Kellie has been an active MICPA Student Champion, advocating student membership, sharing and encouraging other CMU students to attend MICPA events, as well as scheduling and participating in an MICPA campus virtual presentation, providing students information on the role the MICPA holds in supporting CPAs and the accounting profession in Michigan. Kellie’s passion for the profession and the diversity it offers was featured in the MICPA Student E-news when she shared her story of how participating in multiple internships in different pathways gave her a broader view of the opportunities that are available with a degree in accounting.

Michelle Watterworth is a partner at Plante Moran, leading the national public sector technical office, which oversees emerging accounting and auditing issues within the firm’s government, K-12, higher education, and single audit practices. Michelle is an outstanding leader, both locally and nationally, giving her time to serve as Chair of the AICPA State and Local Government Expert Panel, and an active member of the Michigan Government Finance Officers Association, the Michigan Committee on Governmental Accounting and Auditing and the AICPA Governmental and Not-for-Profit Conference planning committee.

Mentoring and sharing her knowledge with others has been important to Michelle throughout her career. She’s frequently sought out to help others enhance their technical understanding and mentor professionals, both within Plante Moran and externally. She invests in her team and is an advocate for their advancement – assisting many team members with their progression to partner and principal roles at the firm.

Meghan is a Senior Manager in EY’s Audit Practice in Grand Rapids. During her short time in that office, she has helped to lead recruiting efforts, built relationships with various universities and at the same time made several improvements to internal processes.

She leads EY’s People Advisory Forum for Grand Rapids, ensuring that the voices of more than 120 people are heard. She has played a large role in helping to lead DEI efforts, including a recent series of belonging events. She regularly gives back to the community through the EY Connect Day program, the Junior Board for the Van Andel Institute, and other causes that she feels passionately about. And, above all, she’s been a great leader, working to provide growth opportunities and develop strong relationships with clients and colleagues alike.

Mike Merkel is a partner at Plante Moran’s Southfield office where he specializes in providing clients with multistate tax consulting services and solutions to minimize taxes. Mike is also an engaged member of MICPA. He is the chair of the State and Local Tax Task Force and has presented on various topics at our yearly Michigan Tax Conference.

Mike was instrumental in MICPA’s collaboration with the Michigan Department of Treasury on the Flow-Through Entity tax. His expertise in gaining clarity and developing language to address the profession’s concerns with implementation were crucial to the MICPA’s success in pushing forward solutions for the State.