Keynote Speakers

Nonie Manion was appointed as Executive Deputy Commissioner in June, 2013. In 25 years with the Department, she has held leadership positions in several divisions, most recently the Audit Division.

As the Director of Tax Audits since 2004, Ms. Manion expanded the focus of audit programs to more broadly support the Department’s mission to enhance voluntary compliance. She has been a leader and strong advocate - within New York State and nationally - of utilizing business analytics and automated workflow to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of tax enforcement processes. As a result, the Department is able to more comprehensively detect and prevent fraud, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in annual expense savings for New York State taxpayers.

In 2012, Ms. Manion’s innovative approaches to tax administration were recognized at the national and state levels through leadership awards from the Federation of Tax Administrators and the State Academy for Public Administration.

Previous positions with the Department include serving as the Director of the Compliance and Audit Systems Division and Director of the Taxpayer Services and Revenue Division. She is active in the national Federation of Tax Administrators and North Eastern States Tax Officials Association.

Ms. Manion is a graduate of Siena College. She lives in Saratoga County and, with her husband Roger, runs marathons and long-distance races internationally.

George S. Willie is the Managing Partner of Bert Smith and has over thirty-five (35) years of experience which includes extensive financial and compliance audit experience. George is responsible for directing many private sector, federal, state and local governments, nonprofit organizations, educational institutions and health care provider audits. George has been named by Accounting Today, a national accounting publication, as one of the "Top 100 Most Influential Practitioners’ in Accounting."

George presently serves as the Chair of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Private Companies Practice Section (PCPS) and is the Chair of the Montgomery County Employee Retirement System Board of Investment Trustees. He also serves on the Board of Visitors of Howard University School of Business, Kogod School of Business - American University and Executive Council of Virginia State University. He is also a member of Howard University Center for Accounting Education Advisory Board and Chairman of the Leadership Committee, the audit committee of the American Institutes for Research and the U.S. Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) Advisory Council on Government Auditing Standards. George has been a member of the AICPA’s Board of Director, the AICPA Accounting Research Association, Inc., AICPA Board of Examiners- CPA Examination, Minority Initiatives (chairman), Nominations, and the Group of 100. He is also a former member of the Board of Trustees of the University of the District of Columbia and the Board of Governors of the Greater Washington Society of CPAs.

Michael A. Crom is Chief Learning Officer and Executive Vice President for Dale Carnegie & Associates, Inc.

As Chief Learning Officer and Executive Vice President for Dale Carnegie & Associates, Inc.'s, Michael Crom is responsible for product and trainer development, and is a member of the senior management team for Dale Carnegie & Associates, Inc. Mr. Crom serves as a member of Dale Carnegie's board of directors.

Mr. Crom co-authored with J. Oliver Crom The Sales Advantage (Simon & Schuster) in 2003 and co-authored with Stuart R. Levine, The Leader in You: How to Win Friends, Influence People and Succeed in a Changing World (Simon & Schuster). These best selling books have together sold more than 1 million copies.

Since joining the company in 1978, Mr. Crom has served in virtually all corporate departments. He began as a shipping clerk and while in that department began programming for the accounting department. The IT division was formed from these early efforts. Mr. Crom also worked in sales and in the department of instruction. He was Center Manager of both the Washington, D.C. and the San Diego Center of Excellence which was the fastest growing Center for four consecutive years. In 1992, Mr. Crom became Vice President of the Dale Carnegie Centers of Excellence.

Mr. Crom is a past Chairman of the Board for ACCET (Accrediting Council for Continuing Education & Training). ACCET is a national accrediting body recognized by the United States Department of Education.

Mr. Crom and his wife Nancy, live in Lloyd Harbor, Long Island with their son and daughter.