Gem State Tax Symposium

The Symposium

Presented by Boise State University Department of Accountancy and University of Idaho College of Law

For CPAs, attorneys and other tax professionals

The Gem State Tax Symposium brings top national and Idaho speakers to Boise State to discuss current tax issues, law changes and policy issues professionals are facing. The 2026 Symposium will be held on Friday, May 15, 2026. Participants earned up to 9 CPE credits or 7.5 CLE credits.**

2026 Plenary Speakers:

• Scott Schiefelbein, Deloitte
• Brian Knox, Boise State University
• John Mitchell, M & H Economic Consultants
• Skip Newberry, Tech Oregon, & Teresa Coats, LearnAIR

2026 Breakout Speakers:

• Nick Gaudioso, Deloitte
• Adam Sweet, Eide Bailly
• Nicholas Brown, NC State
• Justin Coats, LearnAIR

Sponsors

Thank you to our 2025 Sponsors – Check back soon for our 2026 sponsors

Platinum Sponsors: Ahrens DeAngeli Law Group • Deloitte LLP

Gold Sponsors: Eide Bailly LLP • Hawley Troxell • Boise Cascade • Ripley Doorn & Company CPAs • Woolston & Tarter P.C.

If you have questions about the conference please contact the event coordinator, David Klungle at Davidklungle@boisestate.edu. For sponsorship opportunities, please contact Morgan Harris, morganharris@boisestate.edu.

** for more information concerning CPE and CLE credits see fine print tab

2026 Gem State Tax Symposium Agenda

Location

The Gem State Tax Symposium will be held in the Micron Business and Economics Building at Boise State University, 2360 W. University Drive, Boise, ID 83706 (on the corner of University Drive and Capitol Blvd).

Free parking will be available in the Brady Garage next to the Micron Business and Economics Building. *Campus is currently repairing portions of the Brady Garage. Please follow all signage for parking.

Maps

• Campus Interactive Map – Micron Business and Economics Building
• Campus Interactive Map – Brady Garage

2026 Speakers and Bios include:

John Mitchell

John Mitchell received his B.A. degree from Williams College and his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Oregon. He is a fellow of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Oregon and a member of Phi Beta Kappa.  He was a professor of economics at Boise State University for 13 years, before joining U.S. Bancorp in 1983.  He was Chief Economist of U.S. Bancorp until July of 1998 and served as Economist Western Region for US Bank until July of 2007, He wrote US Bank’s economic publications and was a columnist for Oregon Business Magazine. He was Business Analyst for KPTV on Portland. He served as Sterling Bank’s economist from 2007 to 2012.  He has been making economic presentations on the nation and the region for more than 52 years and currently speaks to business groups around the nation.

John was a member of the Western Blue Chip Forecast Panel, the ABA’s Panel of Economists, a Trustee of the Aquila Tax Free Trust of Oregon, and a Board member of Oregon Mutual Insurance. He is a Board member of Northwest Bank.  John was Chairman of the Oregon Council of Economic Advisors from 1992 to 1998 and a member from 1984 to 1998. He currently serves on the Association of Washington Business’s Council of Economic Advisers.

John and his wife, Carol live in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. He enjoys biking, railroading, sea kayaking and his granddaughters.

Scott Schiefelbein

Scott Schiefelbein, a Managing Director in Deloitte’s Washington National Tax practice, has practiced business and tax law for over 29 years.  Scott has also led Deloitte’s Portland multistate tax practice since 2008.  Scott serves as the firm’s Jurisdictional Technical Lead for all Alaska, Idaho, and Oregon tax questions. Scott also is a member of Deloitte’s multistate tax controversy practice and represents taxpayers in audits and also before the Oregon Tax Court (Magistrate Division), including several software, cloud-based, and consumer products companies.

Scott joined Deloitte in 2008 after spending eight years with Portland-area law firms where he practiced tax and business law.  Scott represented clients in disputes with both the Internal Revenue Service and state tax agencies.

Scott is a frequent speaker at Deloitte-sponsored seminars and trainings as well as external speaking events in addition to writing articles for various tax publications.  Scott also serves on the Oregon State Bar Laws Committee.  Scott graduated from the Duke University School of Law and graduated with Honors and Highest Distinction from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Adam Sweet

Adam leads Eide Bailly’s Passthrough Entity Consulting group. He has extensive knowledge in the area of partnership tax, including interpreting partnership agreements, allocation and distribution provisions, and issuing compensatory equity. He is also experienced with both the buying and selling sides of domestic and foreign joint ventures, tax credit partnerships, as well as a variety of IRS controversy matters. Adam also leads Eide Bailly’s Opportunity Zone working group.

Fine Print – CPE Credit Information – Expected distribution first two weeks of June 2026

For All Sessions:

• Pre-Requisites: None
• Advanced Preparation: None
• Instructional Delivery Method: Group – Live
• Recommended CPE: 9.0 Credits*
• CLE Subject Area: Tax 6.5, Ethics 1.00 (Idaho MCLE credit – Course TBD)

Plenary Sessions:

Program Level:  Update

Breakout Sessions (See the agenda for details):

• “A” Sessions (Advanced):  Intermediate
• “B” Sessions (Basic):  Basic
• “C” Sessions (Special Topic):  Overview

*CPE Subject Areas and number of CPE credits are pending review.  The Department of Accountancy at Boise State has made every effort to comply with the CPE requirements set forth in the joint NASBA/AICPA Statement on Standards for Continuing Professional Education, Rev. Jan. 2012 (Standards).  As noted in the Standards, “it is the participant’s responsibility to report the appropriate number of credits earned” and “state boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit.”    Per the Standards, CPE credits are granted based on a 50-minute hour.

Complaint Resolution Policy: Contact the Department of Accountancy at acct@boisestate.edu to register complaints related to the timeliness/accuracy of CPE credit reporting, program delivery, or program content.

Refund/Cancellation Policy: Refund less 10% for cancellations. Refunds unavailable after May 4.

CLE Credit Information:

The Department of Accountancy has applied to the Idaho State Bar for 7.5 CLE credits, based on a 60-minute hour (6.5 credits of general; 1 credit of ethics).  Approval is pending.  The Idaho State Bar has final authority on the approval/acceptance of individual courses for CLE credit.