Last week was awesome! The 6th Industry and Financial Professionals Conference was held in Helena and we had 80 attendees.  Who comes to this conference? The attendees exemplify our “BING” acronym working in all non-public areas of the profession: business, industry, nonprofit and government. It’s a really unique conference for these folks–a chance to network and connect with peers and attend classes chosen by industry professionals for industry professionals.

One of the most significant events at the Industry Conference is the presentation of the Outstanding CPA in Industry Award. The MSCPA Outstanding CPA in Business and Industry Award recognizes the achievements of individual CPAs employed in the non-public arena. The 2015 award was presented to Craig Stahlberg at this year’s conference by his friends, fellow Missoulians and past recipients of this award, Craig Birgenheier and Reidun Johnston.

2015 Outstanding Industry CPA

Craig Stahlberg is the Vice-President of Finance at PayneWest Insurance, Missoula. Craig entered the insurance industry in 1988 as Controller for Western States Insurance. Over the past twenty-six years Craig received numerous promotions including Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and later, Executive Vice President/Chief Financial Officer.  Effective November 1, 2012 he became co-CFO and then Vice President of Finance for PayneWest Insurance, one of the fifteen largest independently owned insurance agencies in the country.

Craig has been an active member of the MSCPA Industry Group since its beginning, helping facilitate the growth of the conference and participation by his wealth of knowledge, insight into the profession and contributions to the group. As the “Salary Survey King” he is instrumental in developing and encouraging participation in this valuable tool that we all use and benefit from in our duties.

Congratulations Craig Stahlberg on being named the 2015 Outstanding CPA in Industry! And our immense respect and pride for the contributions BING members make to our economy and the accounting profession.