Faculty

Degrees

DBA, Northcentral University
MBA, Wayne State University
BSBA, Wayne State University

Licenses and Certifications

CMA – Certified Management Accountant
CPA – Certified Public Accountant
CIA – Certified Internal Auditor

Biography

John Black is associate professor and team lead of Accounting at Walsh. He has taught a wide range of accounting topics including: cost accounting, fundamentals of accounting, auditing and advanced managerial accounting. Black’s other areas of expertise are financial analysis, auditing, Sarbanes Oxley, Hyperion Enterprise and SAP-ERP.

Black has more than 36 years of industry experience. He has been at TRW Automotive LLC for over 28 years working in positions of increasing responsibility in financial management and has received the TRW CFO Award. He also worked at both Lear Siegler, Inc. and Comerica Bank as a Senior Internal Auditor.

Black also has an interest in serving the community. He has been on the Redford Township Civil Service Commission, serving as Chairman. He also taught Economics to High School students as part of the Junior Achievement program and has volunteered his time as a tax preparer for the Accounting Aid Society of Detroit. Black is also an usher at St. Valentine Catholic Church.

Degrees

MBA, Indiana University
BBA, Temple University

Licenses and Certifications

CPA – Certified Public Accountant
CMA – Certified Management Accountant

Biography

Senior Finance and Accounting professional with over 25 years of experience with multinational corporations including experience within the automotive and financial sectors.

Degrees

PhD, Michigan State University
MEd, Saginaw Valley State University
BBA, Saginaw Valley State University

Licenses and Certifications

CPA – Certified Public Accountant

Biography

Maria A. Gistinger, CPA, PhD, teaches graduate and undergraduate classes in the accounting department in the areas of financial accounting, managerial accounting, accounting communications, international accounting, ethics, and governmental and not-for-profit accounting. She serves on the outcomes assessment committee representing the accounting department.

Dr. Gistinger brings her extensive background in public school finance. She has always had a special interest in governmental entities in fiscal distress. Her doctoral dissertation titled, “Michigan Schools Reaction to Budgetary Distress,” focused on ways that public schools were adapting to fiscal crisis. Dr. Gistinger’s research agenda includes qualitative research methods focused on fiscal management in not-for-profit entities.

Outside of Walsh, Dr. Gistinger was most recently the Assistant Superintendent for Finance at Brighton Area Schools. She has held similar positions at Iosco RESA, Birmingham Public Schools, Oak Park Schools and East Lansing Schools. She has also worked in public accounting where she prepared tax returns and financial statements and audited municipalities and school districts as well as other not-for-profit entities.

Dr. Gistinger’s professional memberships and affiliations include being a member of Michigan School Business Officials where she regularly presents to her peers at workshops on school budgeting. She is also a member of the Association of School Business Officials International, and the Livingston County School Business Officials and is the district chair for the annual United Way campaign.

Degrees

MBA, University of Detroit
BS, University of Detroit

Licenses and Certifications

CPA – Certified Public Accountant

Biography

Richard Berschback joined Walsh College in 1980, serving as Chair of the Accounting Department from 1980 until 1995. He returned to the Chair position from 2005 until 2012. Rick previously worked in the auditing departments of PricewaterhouseCoopers and Ernst & Young.

Prior teaching included courses at Macomb Community College, Henry Ford Community College, and the University of Detroit. Rick was honored by the MACPA with the 2002 Accounting Educator of the Year Award and the 2003 Distinguished Achievement in Accounting Education Award.

Journal articles include “What New and Adjunct Faculty Need to Know about Exams, Grades and Cheating” (2011) and “Everything that New and Adjunct Business Faculty Members Should Ask About Teaching, but Don’t Know Enough to Ask” (2010) in the Journal of College Teaching and Learning. He has also developed the coursepacks for the fundamental and intermediate accounting courses at Walsh, supplemented by his recorded lectures used in Walsh’s “2+2” delivery format.

Rick participates on Accounting Advisory Boards at Schoolcraft College, Henry Ford Community College, Macomb Community College and St. Clair County Community College. He has also been the coordinator and key instructor in the Metro-Detroit CPA Review Course since 1984. Information of the review course can be obtained at http://www.detroitcpareview.com.

Rick has spent the majority of his career focusing on undergraduate and graduate students and their preparation for a career in accounting. He and his wife Mary have three adult children and live in Grosse Pointe Park.

Degrees

MAC, Walsh College
Bachelor of Accountancy, Walsh College

Biography

Mona Asni is currently employed full time as controller at Implant Recycling LLC. She was previously employed in public accounting at Edwards, Ellis and Associates, P.C. Her responsibilities and experiences include preparing compiled financial statements, agreed-upon procedures reports, corporate tax returns, partnership tax returns, individual tax returns and payroll tax returns, as well as performing training and bookkeeping services for small businesses using QuickBooks accounting software.

Ms. Asni joined the adjunct faculty of Walsh in September 2012. Prior to becoming an adjunct faculty member, she worked as a tutor for the Communications Lab and as an accounting courses tutor at Walsh.

She was awarded the Walter B. Fisher Award for Excellence in Accounting (2006) and the Bureau of National Affairs Graduate Accounting Award (2012) from Walsh.

Degrees

LLM, New York University
JD, Duke University
BBA, Adelphi University

Licenses and Certifications

CPA – Certified Public Accountant
ATT – Licensed Attorney

Biography

Alan M. Gallatin, JD, LLM, CPA, is an adjunct assistant professor in the Accounting and Tax Department of Walsh College. He joined the College’s faculty in 2015 with a focus on accounting for income taxes and corporate taxation.

Currently a Principal in the National Tax Office of Plante Moran, Gallatin has more than 25 years of professional experience. He provides his clients with wide-ranging tax services focused on compliance and planning. His broad expertise includes individual and business tax planning, accounting methods and periods, federal tax credits, accounting for income taxes and internal controls related to income taxes. He has been a member of multiple firms’ national ASC 740 core teams.

Gallatin’s public speaking includes local and national presentations on ASC 740, accounting methods, corporate taxation and individual tax planning. He has been quoted and published in the Detroit Free Press, Crain’s Business Detroit, New Jersey CPA, New Jersey Business Magazine, AICPA’s The Tax Adviser, and on WWJ radio and WDIV TV.

Degrees

MAC, Walsh College
BS, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

Licenses and Certifications

CPA – Certified Public Accountant

Biography

Mr. Joseph Lipiec joined the full time faculty in 2019 with more than 17 years of accounting, tax, finance, payroll and employee benefits experience in industry and public accounting. He is recognized as extremely articulate and multi-faceted, with an exceptional ability to learn quickly and enhance staff efficiency and effectiveness.

Mr. Lipiec’s background includes exceptional proficiency in financial reporting, federal, state and local tax compliance, not-for-profit reporting, 401(k) retirement plan administration, accounting applications maintenance, auditing, business advisory services, and budgeting functions. He has experience with hospitality, healthcare, staffing services, manufacturing, retail restaurant operations, and corporate Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.

Mr. Lipiec has been teaching at Walsh since 2006, and served seven years of active duty U.S. Navy service.

Degrees

MAC, Walsh College
MSF, Walsh College
BSBA, Wayne State University

Degrees

MST, Wayne State University
BS in Business Administration, Wayne State University

Licenses and Certifications

CPA – Certified Public Accountant

Biography

Ms. Kelly Lehman is a CPA licensed in the state of Michigan with ten years of relevant work experience in both the fields of accounting and taxation. She is a member of the AICPA and the MICPA. She teaches as an adjunct faculty member for both Walsh College and Northwood University.

Degrees

MS, Walsh College
MBA, University of Pune
BBA, University of Pune

Biography

Ms. Shende is currently employed as a controller in Troy. In addition to teaching for Walsh, she is an adjunct faculty member at Oakland Community College and conducts Walsh lab sessions.

Ms. Shende was awarded the Bureau of National Affairs Graduate Accounting Award from Walsh in 2017.

Degrees

MS, University of Michigan – Dearborn
BA, Michigan State University

Licenses and Certifications

CPA – Certified Public Accountant
CFE – Certified Fraud Examiner

Biography

Eric Sumners has served as an adjunct instructor of accounting at Walsh since 2014 and teaches graduate and undergraduate classes in the areas of auditing and introductory accounting.

Mr. Sumners has been a CFO and auditor working in public accounting, as an internal auditor and for a governmental agency. He has worked in an array of industries but has also specialized in financial institutions providing external and internal audit services to banks, credit unions and insurance companies. He is also a member of ISACA.

Degrees

MBA, University of Iowa
Bachelor of Commerce, University of Bombay

Biography

Punita Sura is an adjunct assistant professor with the Accounting & Taxation department at Walsh. She has over fifteen years of consulting experience in accounting and information systems across multiple industries, with specialized knowledge of the healthcare industry.

Prior to joining Walsh, Ms. Sura worked at Trinity Information Services for nine years as a Product Manager responsible for implementing and supporting General Financial and Patient Financial Systems at 11 hospitals in Michigan and Iowa. She directed a team of 16 business and technical analysts to implement customized financial applications at client hospitals. She also led a Patient Accounting Directors’ User Group to help identify best practices across hospitals and prioritize user issues/requests for enhancements.

In addition, Ms. Sura has over six years of consulting experience at PricewaterhouseCoopers where she was primarily responsible for designing and implementing solutions for various financial systems and customized applications across diverse industries.

Degrees

MS, Walsh College
BAcct, Walsh College

Degrees

MBA, University of Detroit
BBA, University of Detroit

Licenses and Certifications

CPA – Certified Public Accountant
CFF – Certified in Financial Forensics

Biography

John Naglick is an Adjunct Associate Professor at Walsh and the Chief Deputy CFO/Finance Director for the City of Detroit. Prior to his current position, he was Finance Director for the City of Pontiac, Michigan.

In addition to his work with troubled units of government, he served as a Director with AlixPartners, LLP from 2007 to 2010, an international turnaround and financial advisory consultancy. He has also served in the role of Chief Financial Officer for a number of for-profit corporations.

Naglick has also been a member of the Board of Directors for Ominicare, Inc, a NYSE listed company and for Preferred Health Plan, a predecessor organization to Health Alliance Plan and part of the Henry Ford Health System. He is also a past President of the University of Detroit Mercy National Alumni Board.

Degrees

MAC, Walsh College
MBA, University of Economics, Bulgaria
BBA, University of Economics, Bulgaria

Licenses and Certifications

CPA – Certified Public Accountant

Biography

Daniela Natcheva, CPA is an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Accounting Department. She also teaches at Macomb College, Oakland Community College and Schoolcraft College.

Degrees

Master of Accounting, University of Michigan
BBA, University of Michigan

Licenses and Certifications

CPA – Certified Public Accountant

Biography

Harry Pianko has more than 15 years of experience in various finance and accounting positions within multiple industries in the for profit, not for profit, and governmental sectors. Pianko is currently the CFO of Peckham, Inc., a Lansing-based not for profit.

Prior to joining Peckham, Inc., Harry was the CFO for the Education Achievement Authority of Michigan and worked at PricewaterhouseCoopers. He is also a past president of VegMichigan, for which he was selected as a member of Crain’s Detroit Business 40 under 40.

Degrees

MAC, Walsh College
BA, University of Detroit Mercy

Licenses and Certifications

CPA – Certified Public Accountant

Degrees

PhD, University of Michigan
MBA, University of Michigan
BME, Kettering University

Licenses and Certifications

CFM – Certified Financial Manager
CCP – Certified Computer Professional
CIA – Certified Internal Auditor
CMA – Certified Management Accountant
CPA – Certified Public Accountant
CFE – Certified Fraud Examiner
CGMA – Charted Global Management Accountant
CISA – Certified Information Systems Auditor

Biography

Dr. Louis Petro, a Senior Manager at Cendrowski Corporate Advisors, specializes in fraud deterrence and investigation, corporate governance, bankruptcy, information systems auditing, production and inventory controls, internal controls, and cost and managerial accounting. He also performs fixed asset cost segregation studies for the firm’s tax area. He has extensive experience in all of the areas noted.

Lou was the Dean of the Lawrence Technological University School of Management from 1979 through 1989. In addition, from 1971 through 1979, Dr. Petro held consulting and auditing positions at the certified public accounting firms of Ernst and Young, Plante and Moran, and Grant Thornton. He was a Management Advisory Services Manager at Grant Thornton in Chicago immediately prior to becoming the Dean at Lawrence Technological University School of Management. Since 1969, Dr. Petro has taught auditing, systems, accounting, fraud investigation, and finance courses at several accredited colleges and universities in Michigan and Ontario.

Prior to his auditing, teaching, and consulting career, Lou was a manufacturing engineer at the Chevrolet Division of General Motors and at the General Motors Manufacturing Development Staff. It was during that time that he obtained his registration as Professional Engineer (PE).

Dr. Petro remains active in continuing professional education for Certified Public Accountants, Certified Internal Auditors and Certified Managerial Accountants. He regularly conducts classes and seminars for the Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants (MICPA), the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA), and the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA). In addition, Lou has been a question writer, grader, and reviewer for the IMA’s Certified Management Accountant (CMA) examination. He conducts CMA exam reviews at both Cleary University and Walsh College.

Degrees

MAC, Walsh College
MA, Wayne State University
BS, Arizona State University

Licenses and Certifications

CPA – Certified Public Accountant

Degrees

Exec. Doctorate in Business, Georgia State University
MAC, Walsh College

Licenses and Certifications

CPA – Certified Public Accountant

Biography

Dr. Theresa Hilliard is an alumna of Walsh. She has been a practicing CPA for twenty years with experience as an Audit Manager and Senior Tax Manager at mid-market firms.

She earned her doctorate in business from Georgia State University. Her dissertation, The Effects of Implementing IFRS: The Canadian Experience, examined the transition to IFRS in Canada. She has published in numerous peer-reviewed journals including The Journal of Accountancy, The Journal of Financial Crime, Gender in Management: An International Journal, and International Journal of Accounting and Information Management. Her research examines gender distinctions of white-collar crime, fraud, accounting education, and financial disclosures.

Dr. Hilliard brings eighteen years of teaching experience to Walsh. She has served as faculty advisor for numerous student organizations including Beta Alpha Psi. She was recently honored as faculty advisor of the year for the 2017/2018 academic year. She was awarded the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. She serves as a trustee for the Educational Foundation and has been a past board member of the Accounting Aid Society.

Degrees

DBA, Lawrence Technological University
MS in Professional Acctncy, Walsh College
Bachelor of Accountancy, Walsh College

Biography

Dr. Melissa L. Force an Adjunct Professor in the Accounting Department and teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in the areas of financial and managerial accounting.

Dr. Force is an Auditor for the Department of Revenue (DOR) for the State of Washington. As an out-of-state auditor, her responsibility is to independently resolve complex cases. This commonly involves taxpayers who have multiple subsidiaries (nationally and internationally), with inadequate reporting and inaccurate accounting practices. In addition to this position, Dr. Force provides consulting to manufacturing fortune 500 companies, foreign and domestic corporations, and governmental agencies on various business processes, accounting practices, and financial topics.

Dr. Force has spent the majority of her career as an accounting educator. Before the University closed, she spent three years as the director and full-time professor of Accounting at St. Mary’s College of Ava Maria University. She held two temporary full-time positions as an accounting professor at Macomb and Oakland Community College. Here at Walsh, Dr. Force has held various positions and was the first and only, Academic (Accounting) Fellow, where she was awarded, by the full-time academic accounting staff, the Gerald C. Schroeder Fellowship. Her responsibilities included professional and educational accounting research. Implementing the research to comply with state requirements.