Housing and Urban Development Audits for Financial Service Institutions

Instructor bio

Tom Cox is a controller for Public Risk Underwriters of Florida, Inc. (PRU), a Brown & Brown subsidiary that offers accounting and underwriting support to the Preferred Governmental Insurance Trust, a public entity risk pool providing property and casualty insurance to local governments in Florida. Prior to joining PRU, Tom’s experience includes nearly twenty years as the chief financial officer of the Act, Corp., a not-for-profit community mental heath center in Daytona Beach, and, before that, about ten years at Ernst & Young where he was an audit manager specializing in governmental and not-for profit accounting and auditing. 

Tom has also been an instructor for Becker Professional Review in Orlando since 1990 and been involved with various elements of either course editing and updates or course development since 1991 including governmental auditing. A senior faculty member for the course, Tom’s duties have also included national instructor for various elements of the review program and both presentation and development of continuing professional education courses. He is a 1978 graduate of Stetson University, a member of the Institute of Management Accountants since 1980 and a member of both the American and Florida Institutes of Certified Public Accountants since 1982. Tom is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and a Certified Management Accountant (CMA).

Education

• Stetson University: Bachelor's of Business Administration

Teaching & Instruction

• Becker CPA Exam Review
• Becker CMA Exam Review
• Becker CPE
  • GAO Green Book - Government Internal Standards of Control
  • Yellow Book and Single Audit Update - 2024
  • Introduction to Federal Grants

Business

• Brown & Brown Insurance

Organizations

• AICPA
• Institute of Management Accountants
• Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants

What do you love about Becker?

"The opportunity to help young and seasoned professionals achieve their goals.   It is particularly gratifying to get notification of a new CPA or CMA who announces their success and acknowledges that you have helped them achieve this life-changing accomplishment."

What would you tell an accounting student today?

"The accounting profession and accounting careers offer the stability, flexibility, and financial rewards that are worth pursuing.   And even if the degree or credential takes you in another direction, the knowledge you earn benefits you, your family, and our society.  Life is always better when you understand how the money works.  And if you get the double meaning, you are on your way to understanding the significance of what you learning how to do."

Becker fun facts

• I am an Alaskan native!  (courtesy of my father's military career)
• I love bicycling and have taken the opportunity to cycle in a number of European countries (Holland, France, Germany, and Italy) as well as some great destinations in the US (Maryland's Eastern Shore and Martha's Vineyard)
• I eat three apples every day (since 1990) after Newt Becker introduced me to the "Save Your Life Diet"

Instructor bio

John has extensive teaching experience serving as a Professor at Stanford, UC Berkeley, San Francisco State, San Jose State, and is the Director and Lead Faculty of the CPA Applied Program at Golden Gate University. While teaching college courses and leading audits with the Government Accountability Office, John has been the Lead Faculty for Becker Professional Education in Northern California for nearly 30 years. In addition to teaching live CPA classes, John has been involved in recruiting, training, and developing CPA instructors throughout the State of California. John is also an author and national instructor for Becker’s Continuing Professional Education program focusing on governmental accounting and auditing topics.

Before retiring in 2014, John served as a Senior Audit Manager for the Government Accountability Office which is the audit, evaluation, and investigative arm of the U.S. Congress. In his capacity with the GAO, John led audits of the Bureau of Public Debt, Federal Reserve and IRS. He has also led work with the GAO reviewing the accounting and auditing standards setting process in the United States where he was actively involved with the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the AICPA’s Auditing Standards Board. John holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from the California State University in Hayward, California and is an active U.S. Certified Public Accountant and past President of the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance and Accounting.