2025 Insurance Accounting Summit

Specialized Education for Insurance Accounting Professionals

Join us on November 13 for a half-day education event just for insurance accounting professionals. You'll get 3 CPE credits on current issues and topics focused on the ever-changing statutory accounting environment. Network with your peers and learn from leaders in the insurance industry. Register before October 30 to guarantee your limited edition Larson pullover.

Date: Thursday, November 13

Registration and Breakfast 8:30am - 9am
Training 9am-12pm
Lunch 12-1

Location: Larson & Company's Salt Lake City office, 11240 S. River Heights Dr., Suite 300, South Jordan, UT 84095

Cost: $75 per attendee

Breakfast and lunch will be served.

Full agenda available below.

FULL EVENT AGENDA

3 cpe credits will be available for this event

8:30 am - 9:00 am	Welcome Breakfast and Networking: Allison Johnson, CPA, Larson & Company
9:00 am -9:50 am	The One Big Beautiful Bill Act and Other Tax Updates: Jason Parker, CPA, and Craig Swindlehurst, CPA, Larson & Company The One Big Beautiful Bill Act has made headlines, but how much of it will affect your company's tax position? Jason and Craig cover the most important parts of the recent tax legislation and highlight other changes that will affect your tax planning for the future.
9:50 am - 10:00 am	Networking Break
10:00 am - 10:50 am	Executive Panel Q&A: Moderated by James Davis, CPA; Brian Smith, WCF Insurance, Daren Hackett, Bear River Mutual Insurance, Byron Allen, American Savings Life What are the things insurance leaders are thinking about for the future? How are they approaching problem solving during uncertainty? What types of technology solutions have they implemented in their companies? Join us in a discussion on hot topics for all types of insurance companies.
10:50 am - 11:00 am	Networking break
11:00 am - 11:50 am	Market Outlook for Year End 2025/2026 & Navigating the Current Environment: Ryan Brown, Regional Vice President and Senior Wealth Management Advisor, Mariner Wealth Advisors Ryan will do a rewind of Mariner’s Market Outlook for 2025 and how that has played out for investors. He will then discuss the “Current Wall of Worry Items” that are impacting investments such as Fed policy and interest rates, tariffs, recession/stagflation, trends in labor productivity and profit margins, valuations, etc. From there he will walk you through some of the alternative investment strategies that Mariner utilizes to reduce risk and generate income with assets that have a low correlation relative to traditional equities and fixed income. This session will provide Mariner’s outlook, as well as some investment and planning strategies to consider for your business and/or personally.
11:50 am - 12:50 pm	Lunch
12:50 pm - 1:00 pm	Closing Remarks and Thank You: Allison Johnson, CPA, Audit Partner, Larson & Company

Brian Smith, CPA

Brian Smith currently serves as the Controller at WCF Insurance, with over 19 years of experience in the accounting and insurance industries. He began his career in public accounting at Larson & Company, where he specialized in statutory financial statement audits for Property & Casualty as well as Life and Accident & Health insurance companies.

Brian holds a Master of Accountancy from the University of Utah and a Bachelor of Accountancy from Utah State University. He is a licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA).

Residing in Centerville, Utah, Brian enjoys spending time outdoors with his wife and four children. Together, they love camping, boating, hiking, and fishing. Brian also takes great pride in supporting his kids in their various sports—soccer, basketball, football, and baseball.

Ryan Brown, SVP

Ryan Brown oversees business development initiatives across the country. His primary focus is working closely with local offices and wealth advisors to ensure appropriate resources are used to help meet clients’ goals, objectives and needs.

He works closely with leadership and consultants from referral partners that use Mariner for complex planning and investment solutions. He develops presentations and speaks on various topics such as comprehensive wealth planning, income and estate tax strategies, business succession planning, insurance solutions, and investment alternative strategies.

Ryan also provides portfolio management services and wealth planning to high-net-worth individuals and families. With more than 20 years of experience in investment management and financial planning, Ryan has worked with retirees from Procter & Gamble, General Electric and Kroger, to name a few.

Prior to joining Mariner, he was a senior investment specialist at Charles Schwab & Company where he advised clients and customized their investment portfolios.

Ryan received a Bachelor of Arts degree in business administration from MidAmerica Nazarene University.

Daren Hackett, CPA

Daren Hackett currently serves as the Controller at Bear River Mutual Insurance Company. He has over 25 years of experience in the accounting and insurance industry. He has experience in both Life and P&C insurance. Prior to joining Bear River, Daren worked at WCF, Equitable Life & Casualty, and a couple years in public accounting in Utah and California. As an adjunct instructor, he taught accounting courses at Ensign College for more than 10 years.

He received an MBA degree from the University of Notre Dame and a Bachelor of Science degree from Brigham Young University. He is a Utah licensed Certified Public Accountant.

He lives in North Salt Lake, Utah. He enjoys serving in the community, spending time with his wife and four children, and recreating in the outdoors in Eastern Utah where he was raised.

Byron Allen, President and CEO

Byron Allen has served as President and CEO of American Savings Life (ASL) since 2007, bringing extensive professional and leadership experience to the company. Under his leadership, ASL has expanded its insurance footprint from two states to fifteen and grown its lending operations from a single state to nationwide. During his tenure, ASL’s insurance reserves have increased twentyfold, its commercial loan portfolio has grown more than tenfold, and total assets have expanded by 500%.

Allen led the development of ASL’s first annuity products and established a loan participation program that now includes more than twenty participating insurance companies. He holds an MBA from Arizona State University and has held multiple leadership roles in industry organizations, including the Life Insurers Council, the American Council of Life Insurers, and the National Alliance of Life Companies.

James Davis, CPA

James Davis is a senior audit manager who has been with Larson & Company since 2016 and has become one of our most in-demand auditors in that time. James is an insurance audit specialist and has worked with many of our insurance clients. His clients appreciate his friendly, approachable manner, his ability to train and lead a team, and his understanding of complex issues.

James enjoys interacting with clients and answering their questions. He is also specialized in captive insurance, large consolidation audits, small and medium business audits, and SOC auditing.

James’ academic and professional accomplishments include the following:

Bachelor of Science in Accounting, Brigham Young University, April 2017
Master of Accountancy, Brigham Young University, April 2017
Member, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
Member, Utah Association of Certified Public Accountants (UACPA)
Member, Insurance Accounting Systems Association (IASA)
Member, Association of Certified Fraud Examiners
Board Treasurer, Needs Beyond Medicine

Jason Parker, CPA

Jason Parker is a senior tax manager at Larson & Company and specializes in serving our insurance clients with tax preparation, income tax provisions, and other tax services. He has 9 years of experience in public accounting at Larson & Company. He has been working with insurance companies and captives during the majority of his career and has gained valuable knowledge and skills to assist P&C and Life insurance companies with their tax needs.

Before joining Larson & Company, Jason worked behind the scenes at a tax software company helping develop and update the preparation software for individual filers. His desire to become a certified public accountant and work more closely with clients helped him complete the education and training necessary to shift into public accounting. Being a part of Larson & Company has helped him realize those goals.

Jason’s academic and professional accomplishments include the following:

Bachelor of Science in Accountancy, Brigham Young University, 2011
Master of Professional Accountancy, Southern Utah University, 2015
Member, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
Member, Utah Association of Certified Public Accountants (UACPA)
Treasurer, Utah Chapter, Insurance Accounting & Systems Association (IASA)

Craig Swindlehurst, CPA

Craig Swindlehurst is a tax partner at Larson & Company. He joined Larson & Company in November of 2017. Previously he spent five years at Deloitte in Orange County, California, where he specialized in providing tax services to various industries including retail, manufacturing, real estate, and investment management. Craig has a broad area of focus at Larson, encompassing tax compliance and consulting for small- and medium-sized businesses, individual tax, and multi-state tax compliance as it pertains to both income and sales tax.

Craig is well known for his friendly and easygoing personality. He brings accessibility to complex tax matters and his clients appreciate his ability to explain issues in a way that they can understand.

Craig’s academic and professional accomplishments include the following:

Bachelors and Masters of Accounting, Marriott School of Management, Brigham Young University, 2012
Member, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
Member, Utah Association of Certified Public Accountants (UACPA)

Allison Johnson, CPA

Allison Johnson is an audit partner at Larson & Company. She has developed a strong expertise in working with and directing audits of insurance and captive insurance audits as well as nonprofit organizations. As the education specialist and leader of the Insurance Practice Development Group, Allison is actively involved in keeping clients and Larson & Company employees up to date on NAIC adoptions and exposure drafts.

Allison started with Larson & Company in 2012 and has been a valuable addition to our audit department. Allison is gifted with the ability to work with any type of insurance company, including life and health insurance, captive insurance, and property and casualty insurance companies.

Allison’s academic and professional accomplishments include the following: