Carol Ann Cantrell was born in Montmartre, Saskatchewan, Canada on May 13, 1952 while her father was temporarily employed there in search of oil. The family moved back to the United States in 1958 where Carol attended high school and graduated cum laude from the University of Texas in Austin with a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics. She began her career in public accounting in 1974 with Ernst & Young (formerly Arthur Young & Co.) and left there after becoming a CPA to form her own accounting firm in 1976. She has been self employed since that time with her husband as her partner. Self-employment allowed her the flexibility to work full-time while raising her three chilldren.

Carol and her husband merged their practice with Briggs & Veselka Co. in 2000 to become the tenth largest CPA firm in the Houston area. At the firm, Carol concentrates on tax planning for corporate executives, families, and retirees. She specilaizes in trusts, partnerships and estate taxes. She is also a frequent speaker for Texas legal and accounting organizations, national societies and financial planning groups. She has pubished numerous articles in magazines and trade journals on income taxation of partnerships, estates, trusts and individuals.

At the age of 48, Carol fulfilled a life-long goal and began law school at the University of Houston Law Center. She graduated cum laude in 2003, passed the Texas bar in 2004 and is admitted to practice law in Texas, the United States Tax Court, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Second and Fifth Circuits and the United States Supreme Court. She looks forward to updating this book every year as new developments unfold that affect fiduciary accounting income and tax matters.

F. Gordon Spoor has practiced public accounting in St. Petersburg, Florida since 1974. He is married to Chris Spoor and they have four children ranging in age from 27 to 33 and five grandchildren. He received his Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of South Florida and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Suncoast Estate Planning Council and holder of a NASD series 65 Registered Investment Advisor Representative license. He is licensed to practice as a CPA in both Florida and Georgia.

He is the managing shareholder of the CPA firm of Spoor & Associates, P.A., and a shareholder in the investment advisory firm of Anderson, Riley & Spoor, P.A. He is active in the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants (FICPA) and served on its Board of Governors in 2002-2003, as Chairman of the FICPA State Tax Section for two years, and as a member of the Legislative Policy Committees for one year.

He is currently a member of the FICPA Federal Tax Committee, Chairman of the AICPA Trust, Estate & Gift Tax Technical Resource Panel, Chairman of the AICPA Fiduciary Accounting Matters Task Force and has served on a joint committee composed of the FICPA, Florida Bar and Florida Bankers Association regarding the rewriting of Florida’s Trust Administration Code and revisions to Florida’s Principal & Income Act. Gordon also serves as an expert witness for the State of Florida Board of Accountancy.

Additionally, he serves as a discussion leader for continuing professional education courses and has been awarded an outstanding discussion leader award in every year the award has been given since he became a discussion leader in 1992. He is also the recipient of a 2000-2001 FICPA Presidential Service Award as a result of his efforts on behalf of the FICPA in serving as the lead representative of their Florida Uniform Principal & Income Act task force. He is a frequently published author on subjects relating to estates & trusts as well as the area of general tax practice.

He has published numerous articles covering these topics and others. He is co-author of the FICPA’s “Fiduciary Accounting For Florida” course materials and a contributing author to “Florida Law of Trusts – Fourth Edition” (West Publishing). Much of his time is spent consulting in the area of fiduciary accounting and income tax as well as litigation support in trust matters.