News

Across the board, stakeholders charged with promoting and protecting the accounting profession are searching for solutions to a talent acquisition issue that isn't unique to the profession.

Women and racial and ethnic minorities continue their rise to executive roles, although the percentages remain low. The percentage of CFOs who are women hit an all-time high last year, and the number of female CFOs has almost doubled over the past 10 years, according to the Crist Kolder Volatility Report.

CohnReznick LLP, one of the leading advisory, assurance, and tax firms in the United States, elected Andrew Sciarra to its partnership in the Hartford Office, effective February 1, 2023. “As CohnReznick continues to expand its capabilities and market presence, recognizing the talents and achievements of outstanding professionals is critical to our growth strategy,” said David Kessler, CEO of CohnReznick. “Our newly promoted partners will serve as key leaders across our industries and service lines – each having demonstrated a strong commitment to our clients, our people, and our communities. Our 19 new partners represent the future of CohnReznick and will play a critical role in helping to advance our clients’ goals, and our own, for many years to come.”

In the field of cybersecurity, most things we do to increase security have an equally significant “opposite” effect on productivity. Simply put, they make your life harder.

Job interviews have long been an essential part of the hiring process. But now, some public accounting firms are turning the lens on themselves. They're conducting "stay" or "retention" interviews with existing employees. The goal is to understand how they can be a more attractive workplace and reduce employee turnover — a top issue for many public accounting firms.

The Partners of Glastonbury accounting firm Nicola, Yester & Company, P.C. are pleased to announce a number of promotions.

Fiondella, Milone & LaSaracina, LLP (FML CPAs) has completed a merger with Bregman & Company, PC, bringing together two of Connecticut’s most well-established independent accounting firms. Following the merger, Bregman & Company, P.C., which has offices in Stamford and Avon, will operate as a division of FML.

Stacy Farber was unanimously voted in as a Managing Director at UHY LLP. Stacy joined UHY in June of 2020 and has been promoted twice during this time, now at the highest ranking position.

Sara DeSmith has headed PwC's Sustainability Assurance practice for eight years now, a tenure that takes her back to a time when many finance executives potentially in her purview didn't know what ESG stood for.

The IRS collected a single-year record of $4.9 trillion of total tax revenue from return filings in fiscal year 2022, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) said in a report on IRS compliance activities.

The Connecticut Society of CPAs (CTCPA) will honor eight outstanding women at the CTCPA Women’s Awards event on January 18 at the TPC River Highlands. The program recognizes excellence in leadership and management in the accounting profession.

Alina is an Audit & Assurance Senior Manager at Deloitte & Touche LLP (“Deloitte”), with more than 11 years of experience serving large public and private clients within Deloitte’s financial services group in Connecticut. She specializes in the banking and capital markets and investment management industries. In addition, she is active in many other activities such as facilitating technical trainings, serving as a coach to several mentees, and co-chairing Deloitte’s Talent Advisory Council in Stamford.

Amber is a partner with FML CPAs, a regional accounting firm headquartered in Glastonbury, where she leads the Not-for-Profit Assurance and Tax practice alongside colleague Brian Kelleher. Amber helps guide the team of 20 professionals as they develop the skills necessary to best serve not-for-profit clients in all their accounting and advisory needs.

Isabelle is the owner of Isabelle V. Curtiss, P.C., CPA. As both a CPA and a Personal Financial Specialist (PFS), she has amassed a long list of accolades throughout her career. A former CTCPA Board member, she served as a member of or liaison to many committees and was founder of the CTCPA Personal Financial Planning Committee.

Jeanna is a partner at Ernst & Young LLP (EY), where she has worked since graduating from college 28 years ago. She is the firm’s Americas Assurance Operations Leader. She works with assurance leadership on planning, budgeting, talent, and process optimization. She also serves as coordinating partner for health clients and leads the firm’s assurance audit environmental efforts, helping more than 800 audit clients prepare for proposed new SEC rules on climate disclosures.

Kimberly is a partner in the Audit Department at Whittlesey, concentrating on nonprofits and credit unions. She co-founded and co-chairs the firm’s women’s leadership group, Women of Whittlesey (WoW), and is the firm’s Quality Control Director. She is also a member of the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce Nonprofit Resource Council.

Melissa Braun, CPA Whittlesey Melissa is a Manager in the Whittlesey Tax Department, providing tax and consulting services to commercial, residential, and affordable housing real estate entities, financial institutions, construction, manufacturing and closely held businesses, and high-net-worth individuals.

Noelle’s professional life today evolved from a varied journey as a CPA in public accounting, Fortune 100 corporate, and education. She now combines her passion with her experiences and shares them as a college professor, career advocate, and accounting coach for the Travelers EDGE (Empowering Dreams for Graduation and Employment) program.

Teresa currently serves as Independent Trustee and Audit Committee Chair for SSGA Select Sector SPDR Trust, an ETF complex of 11 funds covering the sectors of the S&P 500. She also serves on not-for-profit boards, including her alma mater, Saint Francis University in Loretto, Pennsylvania, and Girl Scouts of Connecticut, and on the CTCPA Investment Committee.

Some members of Connecticut’s medical marijuana community are concerned about the recreational market with sales expected to start on Jan. 10, 2023. They are also concerned about the mold threshold allowed under Connecticut law.