Ron Kral, CPA, CMA, CGMA

Ron is a partner of Kral Ussery LLC (KU) and practice leader of our SEC compliance and internal auditing services. He is an advisor, trainer, and catalyst for companies to protect and grow client shareholder value. Ron has worked with hundreds of clients as a public accountant, many through Big-4 firms. Previous to KU, he was a general manager of a subsidiary for a large NYSE traded company. Ron was also a principal consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) where he led operational audits and internal control projects. He began his public accounting career with a California CPA firm as a financial auditor where he signed audit opinions upon becoming managing director of the firm's Southern California office. Ron launched his career as a performance and financial auditor with the California State Auditor.

Ron is a nationally recognized speaker on boardroom effectiveness, corporate compliance, risk assessments, SEC disclosures, COSO control and ERM frameworks, auditing standards and accounting matters. He is passionate about governance and co-authored The Board of Directors and Audit Committee Guide to Fiduciary Responsibilities. Ron conducts in-house training sessions for external audit firms and public companies on SEC rules and PCAOB standards, as well as for non-profits and governments on internal controls and combating fraud. He has a keen focus on business realities and practical approaches anchored in professional and regulatory standards. Ron is a member of 4 of the 5 COSO sponsoring organizations; the AICPA, FEI, IIA and IMA. He is a CPA in CA, WI and NV; and a member of the Nevada Society of CPAs. Ron holds an MBA from Arizona State University and a BBA from the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Ron resides in Las Vegas, Nevada. He can be reached at RKral@KralUssery.com.

Michael Ussery, CPA

Michael is a partner of Kral Ussery LLC (KU) and practice leader of our accounting advisory and litigation support services. He has a long history of working with accounting firms, SEC registrants and privately-held companies on complex accounting and regulatory issues. For example, Michael has successfully prepared position papers on how transactions should be treated for U.S. GAAP and SEC reporting purposes. He knows SEC rules and regulations thoroughly enabling him to assist companies with the IPO process as well as SEC registrants with periodic and special reporting to the SEC. Michael has written and lectured extensively on SOX implementation and SEC compliance.

Michael has significant Big 4 accounting firm and financial executive experience. In addition to working with his clients' external auditors, many of them Big-4 firms, he previously was a Senior Manager with Price Waterhouse. He has extensive client experience in the oil and gas industry; including ConocoPhillips, SandRidge Energy and TransAtlantic Petroleum Ltd. Michael is a member of the AICPA and Texas Society of CPA's. He has a BBA in Accounting and Finance, Cum Laude, from Stephen F. Austin State University.

Michael resides in the Dallas, Texas area. He can be reached at MUssery@KralUssery.com.

Ann Simmons, PMP

Ann is the Technology Director of Kral Ussery LLC (KU), which includes leading our IT Internal Audit practice. She has significant experience in assessing IT general controls (ITGCs) and IT application controls resulting in both design and operating recommendations. Ann uses a variety of control frameworks and IT standards, including the COSO control framework, COBIT for the governance and management of enterprise IT, and various cybersecurity frameworks such as NIST and HITRUST.  She works with security protocols, development processes, system access controls and rights, application change authorization, and network and infrastructure security. Ann has performed assessments in the areas of IT governance, IT strategies, and vendor management. She has a keen sense in assessing IT resources, vulnerabilities, priorities and solutions in a wide variety of technology infrastructures. 

Ann has significant executive level experience for companies, including divisions of Tenneco and Monsanto. She has deep insights with integrating IT solutions for merger and acquisition transactions and large-scale ERP installations to support the organization's value stream and integration initiatives. She has extensive client experience in healthcare, supply chain/manufacturing, consumer goods, medical products, pharmaceuticals, education, and the public sector. Ann thrives on complex process improvements and projects that are strategic and add value to organizations. She has an MBA from Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management, a BA in mathematics and economics from Oakland University in Rochester, MI, is a certified PMP, and is a member of the Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA). Ann teaches MBA level courses in IT strategy and IT governance at Marquette University's School of Management. 

She resides in Madison, Wisconsin.  She can be reached at ASimmons@KralUssery.com.

Gary Cokins, CPIM

Gary is an associate partner with KU. He is an internationally recognized expert, speaker, and author in enterprise and corporate performance management improvement methods. Gary is widely considered a thought-leader regarding business analytics, activity-based-costing (ABC), strategic mapping, balanced scorecard and financial forecast modeling. 

Gary began his career as a strategic planner with FMC’s Link-Belt Division and then served as Financial Controller and Operations Manager. In 1981 Gary began his management consulting career first with Deloitte consulting, and then in 1988 with KPMG consulting. In 1992 Gary headed the National Cost Management Consulting Services for Electronic Data Systems (EDS) now part of HP. From 1997 until 2013 he was a Principal Consultant with SAS, a leading provider of business analytics software. Gary received a BS degree with honors in Industrial Engineering/Operations Research from Cornell University in 1971. He received his MBA with honors from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management in 1974. 

Gary resides in Raleigh, North Carolina area and can be reached at GCokins@KralUssery.com.

Pete Nassos, CPA, CISSP, CPCU, CITP, CGMA

Pete is a principal with KU, specializing in the risk advisory and regulatory practice. He brings a broad and deep business experience as Practice Leader for Insurance & Cybersecurity engagements. Pete is expert at enterprise risk assessment & mitigation strategies to drive business resilience. A licensed P&C insurance agent, He has corporate experience at DuPont, KPMG, Dell Services, and enterprise software firms. Pete advises our clients on reviewing their overall risk posture and developing business case for specific projects to mitigate identified risk. He also leads business acquisition & operations consolidation projects, especially involving outsourced processes. Pete can be engaged as a virtual Chief Information Officer and Risk Security Officer, in addition to a wide variety of advisory services.

Pete resides in the Atlanta metropolitan area and can be reached at PNassos@KralUssery.com.