Benjamin S. Neuhausen is the National Director of Accounting for BDO Seidman, LLP. He is an expert on financial reporting, with particular expertise in accounting for compensation arrangements (both executive compensation and qualified retirement plans), financial instruments, including derivatives, consolidation and equity method, leasing, insurance, real estate, motion pictures, oil and gas, and health care. At BDO, his responsibilities include: advising clients on financial reporting for complex or unusual transactions, assisting public companies respond to comments from the staff of the SEC, and representing BDO before accounting standard-setting organizations.

Prior to joining BDO, Mr. Neuhausen was a partner in the Professional Standards Group of Arthur Andersen LLP. From 1979 to 1981, he was a FASB Fellow.

Mr. Neuhausen has been a member of numerous professional committees, task forces, and working groups. He is currently chairman of the AICPA AcSEC, and a member of the Institute of Management Accountants Financial Reporting Committee and the FASB Liabilities and Equity Resource Group.

Mr. Neuhausen holds an MBA in Accounting from New York University and a BA in Economics from Michigan State University. He is a member of the AICPA, the Illinois CPA Society, and the Institute of Management Accountants.

Rosemary Schlank is a director in the National Assurance Department of BDO Seidman, LLP, where she provides consultation and support to the practice on matters involving professional standards. She has a wealth of experience in researching and interpreting a wide range of accounting and reporting trends and developments, and she has written extensively on these subjects.

Prior to joining BDO, Ms. Schlank was a self-employed provider of research, consulting, and communications services, specializing in accounting, reporting, and investor relations. Her prior experience includes 12 years as associate director, National Accounting, Auditing, and SEC Services, for Price Waterhouse and its successor firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers. She also provided research and consulting services on accounting and tax matters as the manager for the Economist Intelligence Unit.

Ms. Schlank holds an MBA from Pace University. She is a member of the NYS Society of CPAs, the AICPA, where she serves on the Virtual Grass Roots Advisory Panel, and the Institute of Management Accountants, where she served as founding director of the Controllers Council.

Editorial Reviewing Author: Ronald G. Pippin, CPA, Managing Director, Accounting Research Manager, authors and oversees the maintenance of the SEC content on the Accounting Research Manager (ARM) database as well as a significant portion of the accounting content on ARM. Among other responsibilities at ARM, Ron reviews the completeness of the content for this publication, CCH Accounting for Business Combinations, Goodwill, and Other Intangible Assets.

Ron has 20 years of public accounting experience, including six years as an audit partner with Arthur Andersen. He also served as the senior technical accounting officer at a Chicago-based Fortune 50 firm for 10 years. Before Ron joined CCH, a Wolters Kluwer business, he worked in Andersen's Professional Standards Group (commonly known as the “national office”), where he consulted on technical accounting matters and contributed to the authoring and maintenance of ARM's accounting content. Wolters Kluwer purchased ARM from Andersen in 2001.

Ron is a CPA, a graduate of the University of Colorado in Boulder, and a member of Financial Executives International, the AICPA, and the Illinois Society of CPAs.