Christian R. Stormer, CPA

Leadership

Chris joined BPS in 1992 as a shareholder. Chris's practice is comprised of three niches: telecommunications, insurance, and entrepreneurial services.

Chris has provided accounting and business advisory services to telecommunications carriers throughout the United States for more than 25 years. His first telecommunications clients included some of the nation's largest wireless carriers early in the development of the wireless industry. His practice has grown to include fiber networks, local exchanges, cable television, internet service providers, as well as wireless carriers nationwide.

BPS is nationally recognized and highly sought after by companies in both the telecom and captive insurance industries seeking professionals well versed in their industries with a significant depth of resources.

Chris has a broad background providing audit services to alternative risk clientele, first with Ernst & Young and now with BPS. His first alternative risk clients were primarily workers’ compensation and healthcare related self-insurance funds. Today, Chris leads the firm’s services to regulated insurance carriers, risk retention groups, association captives, and pure captive insurance companies.

The startup community in North and South Carolina is vibrant. My goal is to help entrepreneurs increase their likelihood for success by helping them put in place infrastructure that includes accounting systems, e-commerce systems, internal controls and business processes, inventory and cash management programs.

Chris also provides accounting and business advisory services to the Carolinas' entrepreneurial business community where he works with clients in the medical, distribution, technology, and real estate industries.

In addition to providing traditional audit services, he provides a wide range of systems and organization controls (SOC 1.2.3) assurance services to clients as well as assisting clients in the development of cost accounting systems, obtaining financing, strategic management, inventory and cash management programs, and merger/acquisition/divestiture strategies.

From 1997 through 2004, as a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants' (AICPA) Electronic Commerce Assurance Services Task Force, Chris helped develop and launch a comprehensive series of standards against which business processes and systems may be measured for compliance with best practices in the areas of security, on-line privacy, availability, processing integrity, and confidentiality. This work formed the foundation for today's Service Organization Controls services.

Education:
  • B.S., Accounting, Clemson University
Areas of Expertise:
  • Audit/Assurance
  • Merger and Acquisition/Divestiture Strategies
  • Strategic Management
  • Cost Accounting
  • IT Assurance (SOC, HIPAA, HiTrust, ISO)
  • Financing for Start-ups
  • Inventory and Cash Management Programs
Industry Expertise:
  • Insurance
  • Telecommunications
  • Technology
  • Entrepreneurial Services
Professional Involvement:
  • Board Member, Delaware Captive Insurance Association
  • Past Chairman, Information Technology Committee, South Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants
  • Former Member, Electronic Commerce Task Force, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
  • Former Treasurer (2013), President (2014) and Chairman (2015), South Carolina Captive Insurance Association
  • Member, Vermont, Delaware, and North Carolina Captive Insurance Associations
  • Member, Board of Directors, CPP Insurance Company
Publications:
  • Guide to Business Start-Ups
  • Guide to Obtaining Business Financing
  • Guide to Data Extraction Software
  • Guide to Non-Traditional Engagements
Community Involvement:
  • Treasurer, South Carolina Chamber of Commerce
  • Finance Committee Chair, Midlands Technical College Foundation Board of Directors
  • Graduate, Leadership Columbia (1989)
  • Named "100 Influential People in Accounting" by the South Carolina Association of CPAs