About The Instructor
Christian R. Stormer, CPA Shareholder Bauknight, Pietras & Stormer, P.A. Chris' practice is comprised of three niches – telecommunications, insurance, and entrepreneurial services. Chris has provided accounting and business advisory services to telecommunications carriers throughout the United States for the past 15 years. His first telecommunications clients included some of the nation's largest wireless carriers early in the development of the wireless industry. His practice has grown to include local exchange, interexchange, and wireless carriers, broadband, cable television, LMDS, MMDS, Wi-Max, Wi-Fi, advance intelligent network and internet service providers nationwide – from a wireless cable television company in Alaska to Disney's local telephone company in Florida. Chris has a broad background providing audit services to both commercial carriers and alternative risk clientele, first with Ernst & Young and then with Bauknight Pietras & Stormer, PA. His first alternative risk clients were primarily workers compensation and health care related self-insurance funds. Today, Chris leads our services to commercial carriers, risk retention groups, association captives, and pure captive insurance companies insuring a wide range of risks from medical malpractice to home builders warranty to loan guarantees. Chris also provides accounting and business advisory services to the Carolinas' entrepreneurial business community where he serves clients in the medical, distribution, technology, and real estate industries. In addition to providing traditional audit services, he provides a wide range of electronic commerce assurance services to clients as well as assisting clients in the development of cost accounting systems, obtaining financing, strategic management, inventory and cash management programs, and merger/acquisition/divestiture strategies. From 1997 through 2004, as a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants' (“AICPA”) Electronic Commerce Assurance Services Task Force, Chris helped develop and “rollout” the AICPA's SysTrust line of assurance services – the basis for AT101 and AICPA Technical Practice Aid Trust Services Principles, Criteria, and Illustrations (known as SOC-3). This includes a comprehensive series of standards against which business processes and systems may be measured for compliance with best practices in the areas of security, on-line privacy, availability, processing integrity, and confidentiality. Chris is a co-author of four Practitioners Publishing Company resource manuals for CPAs, including: • Guide to Business Start-Ups. • Guide to Obtaining Business Financing. • Guide to Data Extraction Software. • Guide to Non-Traditional Engagements. Prior to joining Bauknight Pietras & Stormer, P.A. in 1992, Chris spent his entire career with Ernst & Young, serving as their Office Director of Entrepreneurial Services in the Columbia, South Carolina office. Additionally, he served two years in Ernst & Young's National office in Washington, DC as an accounting and audit education resident where he was responsible for the development of specialized accounting and audit education programs tailored to serving the start-up and early stage growth clientele of the firm. Education Graduated from Clemson University in 1982 with Bachelor of Science degree in accounting.