Mark Scoles was National Partner-in-Charge of the Accounting Principles Group of Grant Thornton LLP.  The Accounting Principles Group provides guidance and consultation on accounting and financial reporting issues; participates in the accounting standard setting by the FASB through comment letters and participation in roundtable discussions and other outreach; participating in discussions of accounting matters with the SEC, other large accounting firms, and industry groups; and preparation and delivery of presentations on accounting topics within the firm and to outside groups.  Mark was the primary firm representative in discussions with the FASB, SEC, and AICPA on accounting and financial reporting issues.  Mark had thirty years experience with Grant Thornton LLP with an emphasis on consolidation, transfers of financial assets, financial instruments and derivatives, fair value measurements, and debt and equity arrangements.  Prior to rejoining Grant Thornton in 1998, Mark had seven years of management experience with a national real estate financial services company.

Mark was a member of the Emerging Issues Task Force of the Financial Accounting Standards Board.  He previously served as a member of Financial Reporting Executive Committee of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and as a member of the Auditing Standards Board of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. 

George M. Wilson, MBA, CPA

Director
SEC Institute, a Division of PLI

As a Director of the SEC Institute Division of PLI, George teaches workshops dealing with a variety of SEC and FASB related topics. He developed the Institute’s initial “Advanced Accounting and Reporting for SEC Professionals” workshop, as well as workshops in a variety of technical areas including “Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities,” and SOX 404 ICFR audits. Before joining the SEC Institute, George was an Assistant Professor in the Department of Accounting at the University of Saint Thomas in Saint Paul, MN. He was director of the University's Accounting MBA program and also taught in the undergraduate accounting department. He has received the AICPA's Outstanding Discussion Leader Award and the Minnesota State Society's R. Glenn Berryman Award. George also served as Senior Vice President, Operations of Security Financial, where he managed the organization's initial public offering, and as a senior manager with KPMG.