You are here: Home / About / Our People

Our People

Founded on experience and passion

Our team’s credentials are outlined below. For more information, please contact us.

Bill Douglas

Bill Douglas

Bill Douglas

Founder and principal, Bill Douglas, is a prolific speaker, writer and instructor in the areas of fraud and internal controls. He is a frequent contributor to numerous industry organizations and publications, including the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, the Institute of Internal Auditors, the Oregon State Bar and the Oregon Society of Certified Public Accountants. Mr. Douglas also volunteers with the Fraud & Identity Theft Enforcement Team of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.

Prior to founding Cost Advisors, Mr. Douglas held management positions in accounting, IT systems, sales and marketing. He has been an auditor with Deloitte & Touche and CFO of a software firm. He graduated Summa Cum Laude from Villanova University with a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting.

Mr. Douglas holds numerous professional certifications: (Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Certified in Financial Forensics (CFF), Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), Certified Information Technology Professional (CITP), Certified Internal Auditor (CIA), Oregon Licensed Private Investigator (PI)); and memberships: (American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), Oregon Society of CPAs (OSCPA, past chair of the Business & Industry Committee), Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA, past board member of the Oregon chapter), Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE, past board member of the Oregon chapter), Oregon Association of Licensed Investigators (OALI), Northwest Fraud Investigators Association (NWFIA), and Multnomah Bar Association (MBA).
 

 
Patrick Leyshock

Patrick Leyshock

Patrick Leyshock

Patrick Leyshock is a Project Analyst with Cost Advisors. Mr. Leyshock’s responsibilities include both performing quantitative analyses for fraud litigation, and designing and developing investigative software tools.

Mr. Leyshock’s analytic skills and diverse work experience make him a valuable asset to the company. After serving for six years as Testing Director for a local Portland startup, he co-founded a successful business tech consultancy. In recent years, he served as an analyst for both Standard Insurance and the Bonneville Power Administration. Mr. Leyshock sits on the board of a flourishing Oregon non-profit, served as vice-chair for a state Governor’s Advisory Committee, and has delivered seminars for Portland State University’s Professional Development Center.

He is a graduate of Reed College, and has earned both an M.A. from Arizona State University and an M.S. from Portland State University. He is currently completing his PhD dissertation in Computer Science at Portland State University; his research focuses on tools for analyzing large datasets.
Yueping Ma

Yueping Ma

Yueping Ma

Yueping Ma is a Project Analyst with Cost Advisors. She builds queries and other analysis with Cost Advisors’ Reperio® investigation tool. Ms. Ma also provides litigation support by calculating damages and claims.

Prior to joining Cost Advisors, Ms. Ma worked as a research assistant and mechanical engineer in China. Ms. Ma has exceptional analytical skills in advanced mathematics and statistical methods. She is proficient with statistical programming tools, including Minitab, SAS and SQL. Ms. Ma graduated from the University of Massachusetts Lowell with a Master of Science degree in Mathematics, emphasizing Applied Statistics. Ms. Ma also has a Master of Science degree in Enterprise Management from Donghua University, China and a B.S. degree in Material Science and Engineering from Hefei University of Technology, China.
   

Our Credentials

Explanation of credentials (referenced in profiles above).

CPA (Certified Public Accountant) While requirements vary by state, obtaining a CPA license usually requires 150 semester hours (including accounting courses), one year of professional experience under another CPA and passing the CPA exam. To maintain the license, CPAs must complete 80 hours of continuing professional education every two years.* CIA (Certified Internal Auditor) The IIA’s (Institute of Internal Auditors) CIA certification is the only globally accepted designation for internal auditors. Candidates must have a Bachelor’s degree, 2 years’ professional experience in internal auditing and pass a four-part exam. A practicing CIA must complete 80 hours of continuing professional education every two years to maintain the certification.
CFE (Certified Fraud Examiner) The ACFE’s (Association of Certified Fraud Examiners) CFE certification requires a Bachelor’s degree, two year’s professional experience in a field related to the detection or deterrence of fraud and passing the CFE exam. 20 hours of fraud continuing professional education each year are required to maintain the certification. CFF (Certified in Financial Forensics) This credential is exclusively offered by the AICPA (American Institute of CPAs) to members who demonstrate considerable knowledge in forensic accounting. They must have five years’ accounting experience, hold a CPA license and pass the CFF exam. 60 hours of fraud training are required every three years. At the time of writing, the latest AICPA figures show that there are only 1,896 CFFs in the country (and only 24 in Oregon).
CITP (Certified Information Technology Professional) The CITP credential is offered by the AICPA (American Institute of CPAs) to attest to a member’s broad understanding of information management. CITPs must be CPAs, pass the CITP exam and have education and professional experience in information management. 60 hours of IT education are required every three years. At the time of writing, the latest AICPA figures show that there are only 1,638 CITPs in the country (and only 14 in Oregon). PI (Licensed Private Investigator) An Oregon PI is licensed by the State and engages in the business of obtaining or furnishing information. 1,500 hours of experience, passing an exam on criminal code and a State Police background check are required to obtain the license. 32 hours of continuing professional education are required every two years to maintain the license. A state license is REQUIRED of Oregon investigators regardless of other credentials. At Cost Advisors, our practice is limited to the detection and investigation of white-collar crime.

*NOTICE: Cost Advisors® is a consulting firm with expertise in Accounting Investigation and Forensics. Cost Advisors does not issue opinions on financial statements or offer attestation services.