The Impact of IFRS:
Getting Ready for the Major Change to Operations

Robert J. Laux, CPA
Senior Director, Technical Accounting and Reporting
Microsoft Corporation

Bob Laux is the Senior Director of Technical Accounting and Reporting at Microsoft Corporation. Mr. Laux is responsible for Microsoft’s technical accounting, including interacting with and responding to accounting standard setters on numerous issues. Technical accounting responsibilities include responding to GAAP questions and issues within Microsoft. He is also responsible for Microsoft’s comment letters on new accounting pronouncements and representing Microsoft at standard setters’ public roundtables.

Prior to joining Microsoft in 2000, Bob was an Industry Fellow at the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) where he was responsible for coordinating the activities of the Emerging Issues Task Force. Prior to joining the FASB, Bob spent eight years at General Motors managing their external financial reporting and interacting with and responding to accounting standard setters.

Accounting Related Activities
- Member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Board of Directors
- Member of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) Global Preparers Forum
- Member of the AICPA’s SEC Regulations Committee
- Vice President, Practice of the Financial Accounting and Reporting Section of the American Accounting
  Association (AAA). Member of AAA’s International Accounting Section.
- Member of the BNA Tax Management Accounting Advisory Board
- Member of the University of California-Berkeley Center for Financial Reporting & Management Advisory Board
- Alternate Member of the Committee on Corporate Reporting (CCR) of Financial Executives International
- Member of the AICPA’s Accounting Standards Executive Committee (AcSEC), 2001-2004
- Member of the AICPA’s Special Committee on Enhanced Business Reporting, 2003-2005


Education
- BA - Accounting, Michigan State University
- MBA - Finance, University of Houston
- Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Management Accountant.

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Michael J. Grace
Counsel
Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC

Michael J. Grace advises clients on a broad range of federal, international and state tax matters, including joint ventures, strategic alliances and investments, mergers and acquisitions and international transactions. Through service in government and transactional work, Michael has attained a national reputation for expertise in taxation of partnerships, limited liability companies, other passthrough entities, and their owners.

Michael is credentialed as both a JD and a CPA. In recent years, Michael has advised clients on financial accounting issues including their intersection with taxation. He leads a client service team working with BNA Tax Management, Inc., on the publisher's Accounting Policy and Practice Series of portfolios and associated publications, launched in autumn 2006. Published titles include "Accounting for Income Taxes: FAS 109."

An advocate for clients in IRS examinations and appeals, Michael has obtained IRS rulings on joint ventures, partnership allocations, disguised sales, entity classification, S corporation passive investment income, REIT qualifying income and S corporation inadvertent terminations. In 2003, he commented to the IRS on behalf of the ABA Section of Taxation on proposed revisions of Form 1065 Schedule K-1 on which partnerships report tax items to partners.

In the 1980s, Michael served as a senior attorney advisor in the IRS Office of Chief Counsel, Legislation and Regulations Division and Office of Associate Chief Counsel (Passthroughs and Special Industries). There, he represented the IRS on Capitol Hill in developing cornerstones of the Tax Reform Act of 1986 including the limitations on passive activity losses and credits. He then served as principal author of substantial regulations and other administrative interpretations of the legislation. After returning to private practice, Michael successfully represented the taxpayer in Glick v. United States, 96 F.Supp.2d 850 (S.D. Ind. 2000), a groundbreaking case in determining separate "activities" under Internal Revenue Code Section 469.

Before pursuing his law degree, Michael practiced accounting in Illinois. He frequently speaks and moderates panels at tax and accounting conferences, including the Annual Conference on Federal Taxation of Real Estate at New York University and the annual Real Estate Conference sponsored by the Illinois CPA Society and Foundation. He has also participated as a Seminar Leader in the Annual Partnership, LLC and S Corporation Tax Planning Forum (CCH). In June 2008, Michael lead a panel on International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for Financial Executives International (FEI).

In January 2008, Michael participated in Federal Business Tax Legislation: 2007 Outcomes and 2008 Outlook, the first in an anticipated series of teleconferences featuring members of our Tax and Federal Government Relations teams. A member of the Committee on Government Submissions, American Bar Association Section of Taxation, Michael has published articles in major national tax publications, including: Tax Management Memoranda (BNA), Tax Management Real Estate Journal (BNA), Journal of Taxation (RIA), Tax Notes (Tax Analysts), Taxes (CCH), Journal of Passthrough Entities (CCH), Journal of Partnership Taxation (RIA) and Practical Real Estate Lawyer (ALI-ABA).

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Ken Kuykendall
IFRS Tax Line of Service Leader
PricewaterhouseCoopers

Ken is a partner with PwC’s industry services group tax practice and is one of PwC’s thought leaders in the area of accounting for income taxes. Ken has over 15 years of experience in accounting for income taxation including extensive experience in SFAS 109 and FIN 48. He also has signifi cant experience in tax accounting for international operations of US multinational corporations, including branch operations, cross-border transactions and foreign currency transactions. Ken serves as the national leader of PwC’s tax IFRS efforts, as well as the leader of PwC’s tax accounting services practice in Greater Chicago. He is a frequent speaker on these topics in many public forums including Tax Executives Institute (TEI), Tax Analysts, Council for International Tax Education (CITE) and the Chicago Tax Club.

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