This program was held on February 11, 2026
Description
Join a senior management consultant and business educator for a timely and relevant presentation about the authoritative sources, measurement processes, and reporting practices of the ESG metrics that serve as inputs for capital investment models. The public data reports and legal assurance functions of two global companies will be addressed during the session.
Objectives
- To identify the accounting sources of sustainability metrics and standards
- To recognize the impact of legal assurance practices on the input metrics of capital profiles
- To evaluate the adequacy of publicly reported ESG data on major investment decisions
Topics
- The growth of voluntary sustainability disclosures in deregulated legal environments
- Assurance reporting activities by regulated and unregulated firms
- Integrated financial data models that codify the input metrics of investment profiles
CPE Information
Advanced Preparation – None
Who Should Attend – All professionals with responsibilities regarding regulatory and legal sustainability issues.
Field of Study – Accounting
Prerequisites – No prerequisites or advanced planning required
CPE Credit Hours – 1.5*
Level – Basic
Presenters
Michael Kraten, PhD, CPA
Founder and President of the management consultancy Save The Blue Frog
LinkedIn
Dr. Michael Kraten is an executive management consultant and business educator. He maintains specialties in entrepreneurship, business modeling, decision analysis, sustainability and resilience, educational gaming, strategic planning, valuation, risk management, and forensic analysis.
Dr. Kraten has more than forty years of management consulting experience and has been registered or licensed as a Certified Public Accountant throughout that time. He currently serves as Director of Intellectual Content for the Sustainability Investment Leadership Council (SILC) and as Technical Expert for Sustainability and Resilience at PKF O’Connor Davies.
In academia, he has more than twenty five years of higher education experience. He recently completed a two year term as Director of Accounting Program Initiatives at the University of Houston, where he focused on developing innovative approaches to sustainability, entrepreneurship, Artificial Intelligence, and attracting students to the accounting profession.
In 2025, he received TXCPA Houston’s Outstanding CPA of the Year and Presidential Citation Awards. The prior year, he received the TXCPA’s state-wide Outstanding Accounting Educator Award for large universities. He serves on the Board of Directors and Advisory Boards of several major nonprofit entities, including the TXCPA and TXCPA Houston, the Sustainability Investment Leadership Council, American Accounting Researchers and Educators (AARE), SolPods, the CPA Journal of the New York Society of CPAs, and the Center for Professional Accounting Practices at Fordham University.
He began his career in the assurance and consulting practices of Deloitte. After serving as a Consulting Partner at BDO, then the seventh largest global accounting firm, he co-founded a series of boutique consulting practices. His consulting work has taken him to Bolivia, Canada, Great Britain, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Japan, the Middle East, the Netherlands, South Africa, and Vietnam, including corporate training activities with the national energy companies of Bolivia, Iraq, and Vietnam.
Earlier in his academic career, he served on the faculty of the Universities of Connecticut and Massachusetts in the U.S., Maastricht University in the Netherlands, and elsewhere. He has also presented his work at Dartmouth College, Deloitte University, Harvard Law School, Johns Hopkins University, Texas A&M Law School, and Yale University.
He has authored or co-authored more than thirty peer reviewed articles in academic and practitioner journals. In addition, he has authored numerous podcasts, newsletters, and book chapters for Wiley, Routledge, Henry Stewart, Kaplan, and others. He also authored a book on Business Planning and Entrepreneurship for Business Expert Press.
For ten years, the Social Science Research Network ranked him in the All-Time Top 10% of global researchers. His top-ranked article “Libor Manipulation” was published in the Journal of Banking and Finance several months before the global banking scandal exploded in the public business press.
He earned a PhD in Behavioral Accounting from the University of Connecticut and a MPPM in Public and Private Management from Yale University. He also earned a BBA in Public Accounting from Baruch College, CUNY.
Credits
Michael Kraten, PhD, CPA, Founder and President, Save The Blue Frog See LinkedIn Profile
PKF O’Connor Davies, CPE Sponsor See web site at https://www.pkfod.com/.
For information about ESG services, contact Marc Rinaldi at https://www.pkfod.com/people/marc-rinaldi/.
*CPE credits are sponsored by PKF O’Connor Davies, which is registered with NASBA.
Credits: 1.5 CPE credit in Accounting
No prerequisites or advanced planning required
Program Level: Basic Delivery Method: Group internet based
PKF O’Connor Davies is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State Boards of Accountancy have the final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE Credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its website: http://www.nasbaregistry.org/. For information regarding complaint and/or program cancellation policies, please contact l&dsupport@pkfod.com.
Stanley Goldstein, one of the founders of the Sustainability Investment Leadership Council, launched the accounting firm Goldstein Golub & Kessler (now part of RSM). After the firm was bought, Stanley became a private equity investor and is now the Chairman of Knickerbocker Financial Group. Mr. Goldstein has served on numerous corporate boards and is the founder of American Friends of James Joyce, The New York Hedge Alternative Investment Roundtable and Donors' Forum (a philanthropic roundtable).
Rebecca Craft
Andrea Schmitz
Nidhi Chadda
Jeffrey Yin currently serves as the Chief Financial Officer and General Counsel of Artsy (
Sarah Tomolonius is the Vice President of Investor Relations at M13, a consumer tech-focused full-service venture capital engine. Ms. Tomolonius is the co-founder of the Sustainability Investment Leadership Council. Ms. Tomolonius served as Vice President, Marketing and Investor Relations for Arlon Group, a food and agriculture investment firm, from December 2012 to June 2018, and served as Senior Professional, Management Reporting & Analytics from December 2010 to December 2012. From October 2008 to December 2010, Ms. Tomolonius served as Associate, Investor Relations for Citi Private Equity, a private equity group that was acquired by StepStone Group in October 2010. From October 2005 to September 2007, Ms. Tomolonius served as Research Analyst, Corporate & Public Affairs Group of Edelman, a global public relations firm. Ms. Tomolonius served as Program Assistant, Water & Coastal Program of Natural Resources Defense Council, a non-profit international environmental advocacy group, from October 2002 to September 2005. Ms. Tomolonius has served as a Director on the Board of Quest Resource Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: QRHC) since 2016 and is a member of the Audit and Nominations & Governance Committees. Ms. Tomolonius also served in numerous board capacities for non-profit organizations, including Chair of the Sustainability Committee for the New York Alternative Investment Roundtable and President of the Board of HeARTs Speak, a nonprofit organization, from February 2014 to February 2017, and she remains a board member for the organization.
Mohita Sinha serves as the Co-Chair of SILC’s Education Committee. With extensive experience leading complex finance and risk regulatory reporting transformations at global financial institutions, Mohita helps organizations evolve from voluntary action to regulatory compliance to true value creation. Her current focus is on climate risk integration, guiding companies to understand, operationalize, and embed risk considerations into business strategy while meeting compliance requirements.
Jessica Moon, Education Co-Chair, is a strategic leader at the Sustainable Investment Leadership Council (SILC), where she champions the integration of sustainability into core business and investment strategies. She designs and leads convenings that unite leading cross-sector professionals in critical dialogues focused on unlocking sustainable financial returns through innovative solutions. With over two decades of experience, Jessica brings a unique perspective, combining her legal acumen with deep sustainability expertise and a holistic understanding of the interconnectedness of business functions. Her leadership at Scholastic Inc., where she pioneered their ESG & Sustainability function, demonstrates her ability to develop and implement strategies that drive both environmental and financial value. Jessica empowers leaders to see sustainability as a key driver of strategic advantage and long-term financial success, fostering a future where impact and returns are intrinsically linked.
Sophia Shahabadi
As a Managing Director at Silver Leaf Partners and sustainable finance subject matter expert, Marc Tannous established the Sustainable Finance Practice as a service organization to represent managers and companies seeking alpha by scaling sustainability / impact solutions. The Practice provides capital introduction, customer referral, and advisory consulting. 
Sydney Improta
As a coach, facilitator and consultant, Deborah Goldstein works with NY, U.S. and international organizations and individuals who are motivated to thrive in the 21stcentury workplace environment.
Jason Dodier is an American international business professional at Schneider Electric, which is the global specialist in energy management. Since commencing his career with Schneider Electric, Jason has lived in the United States, Middle East and Europe, while performing a variety of functions on behalf of the company in operations, business development, marketing and sales management. Jason is currently a Corporate Ambassador for electrical distribution, communications technology, sustainability, and innovation, activity on social media and delivering speeches on these topics worldwide.
Fitzgerald Angrand is a transactional attorney specializing in debt finance and alternative investments in the cannabis industry, representing investors, private equity funds, private debt funds, family offices, distressed debt funds, lenders and operating companies.
Matthew Levy is a Manager with PKF O’Connor Davies in the Not-for-Profit Services Group. He is a CPA and has been with PKFOD since 2012. He graduated from Lehigh University with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting. He currently serves as the treasurer of the Sustainability Investment Leadership Council.
Heather Loebner leads Sustainability and ESG strategy at CircleIT, a B Corporation in the IT Asset Disposition (ITAD) industry. Sustainability plays a critical role at CircleIT, focused on repurposing IT devices at end-of-life and eliminating e-waste aligned with a circular economy model. Loebner leads an internal and client-facing ESG strategy that increases transparency, establishes a path to carbon neutrality and net zero, and builds social and environmental impact through strong governance aligned with B Corporate values and certification.
J. Michael Kirkland, CPA, CGMA is a veteran financial executive with over 30 years of experience in accounting, industry, consulting, and business development. He also serves the CPA profession with distinction, lending strong and visible leadership to professional and student groups.