07 2019 Advantage final

News from Your Accounting Association

CPAmerica Advantage 2019 CPAmerica Events and Meetings are in Full Swing

July 2019 Surgent CPE Scholarship P. 2

We are nearly to the halfway point of 2019, and we already have more than seven of our prominent events and meetings behind us. CPAmerica’s upcoming events lineup optimistically expects robust member participation for the remainder of the offerings coming up in the second half of the year.

their firms through networking opportunities, sharing ideas with peers, and continuing education related to professional development, all at carefully selected settings throughout the U.S.

This year, we started things off early in January with our Large Firm Group Meeting in San Diego, Calif. Then, May saw both our Next The Large Firm Group met at the US Generation (Next Gen) Grant Hotel in San Diego in January Conference and later on in the month, the New Leading Partner Meeting took place, both in San Diego. June is when our events really started to heat up and saw our A&A Conference (which was co-located with the Technology Roundtable) in Seattle, Wash., the Marketing Roundtable in Las Vegas, Nev., and the Midwest/Northeast Regional Meeting in Minneapolis, Minn. CPAmerica participants were able to come together from all corners of the country to enhance

2019 events commenced with the Large Firm Group Meeting getting together in the deluxe venue of the US Grant Hotel in downtown San Diego. This one-day meeting featured Jennifer Wilson of ConvergenceCoaching start with a twopart presentation covering forthcoming transformational changes being made by firms in technology, client experience, and talent. The meeting also included a member sharing session and a talk titled: Creating a Culture of Work-Life Balance Without Sacrificing Profitability.

Member News P. 3 President's Corner - Alan Deichler P. 4

CPAmerica's 2019 Southeast Regional Meeting is set for Atlanta, Georgia. The elegant Waldorf Astoria Atlanta Buckhead will host the event on August 15-16.

For more info on the CPAmerica website, visit and sign in at: http:// tinyurl.com/yxru3z38

In May, the Next Generation Conference visited San Diego and the unique Kona Kai Resort on Shelter Island. Brian Kush of Intend2Lead led off with See Events and Meetings, continued on page 2

New Member Snapshot: Albin, Randall & Bennett, CPAs Albin, Randall & Bennett, CPAs

Headquarters:

130 Middle Street, 3rd Floor Portland, Maine 04101 Tel: (207) 772-1981 | Fax: (207) 772-1982 www.arbcpa.com

Portland, Maine

“Providing solutions ... fostering growth.”

Cheri Walker | Managing Principal | cwalker@arbcpa.com Daniel Doiron | Principal | ddoiron@arbcpa.com

Specialized, customized CPA and business consulting services.

David Jean | Principal | djean@arbcpa.com Barton Haag | Principal | bhaag@arbcpa.com Holly Ferguson | Principal | hferguson@arbcpa.com Jason LeBlanc | Principal | jleblanc@arbcpa.com Mary Polito | Firm Administrator | mpolito@arbcpa.com Kim Adams | HR Director | kadams@arbcpa.com David Jean | Marketing Director | djean@arbcpa.com Daniel Doiron | IT Network Administrator | ddorion@arbcpa.com

In today’s complex world, privately-owned companies and individuals with complex financial lives require expert financial advice and services that are only available from specialists.

That’s why Albin, Randall & Bennett is organized into teams of specialists, each focused on a specific industry.

As one of Maine’s oldest full-service certified public accounting and business consulting firms, the firm’s specialists already understand the challenges clients face.

CPAmerica-Surgent CPA Review Course Scholarship

CPAmerica has partnered with preferred provider Surgent to offer a scholarship for Surgent’s CPA Review Course.

This course was named Accounting Today’s #1 CPA review course with an 88 percent pass rate. We will be giving away three scholarships in 2019 for the Surgent CPA Review (valued at $2,899). Two runner-ups will receive Surgent’s diagnostic testing at no cost (valued at $99). Current CPAmerica members who are planning to sit for the CPA exam are encouraged to apply.

Before beginning this application, please be sure you have the following: • A single-page document (PDF) telling us about your most rewarding experience the in the accounting field and why you think it’s important to earn your CPA • A signed, single-page (PDF) recommendation letter from a partner at your firm For more info and to apply on the CPAmerica website, visit and sign in at: http://tinyurl.com/y47wrlo6 Please submit your online application by October 1, 2019

Events and Meetings, continued from front page

a pre-con designed to teach the elements of leadership.

The meet ing feat u red intermediate and advanced tracks where attendees c ou ld pic k b e t w e en presentations by Jeremy Clopton from Upstream Academy; Jennifer Wilson Stuart Paap pitched & presented to atof ConvergenceCoaching; tendees at the Next Gen Conference Donna Salter from Catalyst Leadership LLC; Trevor Williams of Gelman, Rosenberg & Freedman CPAs; Michael Platt of INSIDE Public Accounting; Stuart Paap of Pitch DNA; and Kristen Rampe from Rampe Consulting.

The next stop for events was for the New Leading Partner Meeting (back in San Diego) in May at the DoubleTree– Mission Valley. Participants met at the offices of member firm Aldrich CPAs & Advisors. There, Joe Pease of Pease & Associates, CPAs lead in-depth discussions among the group driven by his insights on if he had it to do all over again.

June launched with co-located events in Seattle – the A&A Conference and the Technology Roundtable. A&A

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attendees began with a Yellow Book pre-con led by Leita Hart-Fanta of YellowBook-CPE.com. With a slew of speakers such as Rich Daisley of Surgent CPE; Jason Kalies, Aud itWatch, Thom son Reuters; Stuart Paap, Pitch DNA; Art Winstead, A&A director and consultant, DMJ & Co.; Randy Johnston Members met at the DoubleTree Hilton of NMGI; Jon Murphy in San Diego for the New Leading Partner Meeting this May of RGC ybersec u r it y ; David Chitty from Crowe Global; David Cieslak of RKL eSolutions; Christopher Shockey of Simpli5 powered by 5 Dynamics; Jorge Chavez of Topaz Consulting; and Richard Nemanick of The Leadership Effect, this year’s A&A Conference was loaded with industry-leading experts sharing practical knowledge that members could bring back and employ at their firms.

The Technology Roundtable began with an optional pre-conference all about cybersecurity and then day one moved on to a visit to Dell on the first day of the The A&A Conference was co-located with the Tech Roundtable in Seattle meeting. The roundtable then saw industry insider Randy Johnston of NMGI and David Cieslak, RKL eSolutions cover all things technology. Topics ranged from AI, blockchain, technology trends, privacy regulations, remote technologies, Microsoft Office 365, and security concerns.

Also taking place in June was the Marketing Roundtable. The exciting city of Las Vegas and the MGM Grand Hotel served as backdrop to this year’s event. CPAmerica marketers heard from Brian Swanson of FlashPoint Marketing covering SEO and Adelle Erdman from Frazier & Deeter, LLC talking about Brian Swanson of FlashPoint Marketing the firm of the future. at the Marketing Roundtable Our last event of June was our combined Midwest/ Northeast Regional Meeting which took place at the offices of member firm Cummings, Keegan & Co., P.L.L.P. The centrally-located site offered an ideal locale for regional partners to meet and hear Carrie Steffen from The Whetstone Group and Randy Johnston of NMGI go over best practices and innovative technology issues.

As seen in this article, CPAmerica conferences offer members an excellent chance to meet with their peers and pick up practical knowledge that they can put to work immediately at their firms. The amazing thing about our events and meetings is that there are still more than 12 opportunities to attend in 2019. If you would like to see what we have in store, visit www.cpamerica.org and look under the Events tab.

Member News Lindsay from Mississippi firm Matthews, Cutrer & Lindsay, P.A. joins accounting advisory board

Charles R. Lindsay, CPA, of recently began service on The University of Southern Mississippi's School of Accountancy Advisory Board. The board is experiencing a boom in membership due to the efforts of Dr. Marvin Bouillon, director of the USM School of Accountancy.

The advisory board exists to promote and support the educational programs of the School of Accountancy and to strengthen the school’s position as a premier institution of accounting education within the Gulf South region.

The members represent a dedicated group of professionals selected for their enthusiasm and interest in advancing the accounting programs at the university.

Colorado-based member firm Stratagem congratulates Fabrizio on attaining CPA license , with headquarters in Lakewood, Colo., announced that April Fabrizio earned her CPA license in May 2019. Fabrizio is a senior April Fabrizio accountant in their Tax Department and has been with the firm since 2016.

BS&P CPAs and Consultants announces new hires and promotions Buffalo, N.Y.-based

, announced that they recently hired three accountants and promoted three more.

Colleen Arnold, CPA, and Larry Johnson, CPA, both joined the firm as tax managers. Arnold graduated from Canisius College with a bachelor’s in business administration in accounting and Johnson graduated from the University at Albany with a master’s in taxation. Lindsay Cory joined BS&P as a staff accountant and received her bachelor's in accounting and earned a master’s in accounting from the University at Buffalo.

Meanwhile, Kylie Katz and Margaret Seifert were promoted to senior accountant and Dan Suttell, CPA, was promoted to manager. Katz received her bachelor's in accounting and earned a master’s in accounting from the University at Buffalo. She has been with the firm for more than three years.

Seifert received her bachelor's in public accounting from the State University of New York at Fredonia and has been with the firm for more than two years. Suttell

has more than 15 years’ experience in public accounting and has been with the firm for seven years. He graduated from the University at Buffalo with a bachelor’s in business administration in accounting.

Baum, Smith & Clemens, LLP announce recent alignment and scholarship award

, recently announced that the firm has recently acquired the accounting and tax practice of Joseph J. Ochotny, Jr., CPA of North Wales, Pa. BS&C continues to seek similar firms that share their culture and quality of service for future growth.

BS&C also announced this year’s winner of the Travis Bechtel Scholarship.

It is awarded to a graduating senior of Dock Mennonite Academy, chosen by the school, who has excelled in academics, sports and business. Brody Moyer is this year’s recipient of the scholarship.

He is the son of Chris Moyer and Chari Buongiovanni. While at Dock, Brody was a member of the baseball, basketball and golf teams and communications secretary for the National Honor Society.

He will be continuing his education at The University of North Carolina majoring in Accounting with a finance minor.

Cendrowski Corporate Advisors deepens white collar, investigative & anti-fraud expertise LLC (CCA), added to its investigative, anti-fraud, money laundering, internal investigations, and asset forfeiture capabilities with the launch of an alliance with Chicago-headquartered Ron Braver and Associates LLC. Braver and his firm bring decades of combined federal law enforcement and private sector consulting experience with a focus on high-profile investigations involving criminal tax matters, failed banks (and savings and loans), bankruptcies, and fraud across a range of issues including securities, mortgage, healthcare, foreign exchange as well as embezzlement. He is a former special agent and supervisory special agent of the IRS – Criminal Investigation Division and was a senior manager in the forensic accounting and investigative services practice of a major accounting organization.

He is a CPA, Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), Certified Anti Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS), and a licensed private detective in Illinois and holds a master's in taxation from DePaul University and a bachelor's in accounting from Truman State University.

Tolbert and Truscott join Frazier & Deeter

Atlanta, Ga.-based member firm, , a nationally-ranked public accounting and advisory firm, announced recently that Gail Tolbert has joined the firm as the new executive director of people & culture.

Tolbert brings FD more than 15 years of human resource and development consulting experience, most of which has been performed at the senior management level. She specializes in employee engagement, employee retention and general operating efficiency.

Tolbert’s areas of expertise include benefits & compensation, workforce forecasting and workforce analytics. She earned a master's in human resources from Georgia State University and a bachelor’s in psychology from Emory University.

Also, Michael (Mike) Truscott has joined the firm as a principal in the firm’s tax practice with a focus on the real estate industry.

Truscott’s expertise includes overall tax compliance, tax due diligence and advice regarding structuring around various transactions, especially as Mike Truscott they relate to Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs & UPREITs) and partnerships. He has served on REIT Investment Committees to provide advice on real estate transactions with regards to REIT qualification under current tax laws and regulations.

In addition, he has participated in new product development, providing insight and strategy for related tax implications, as well as overseeing quarterly and annual REIT and RIC compliance tests.

Prior to joining FD, Truscott served as vice president of corporate tax for a real estate investment company, tax director at a Big 4 accounting firm, and director of tax for a large REIT.

Alabama member firm RTBH expands their team Mobile, Ala.-based

, recently announced their continued growth with the addition of Briana Archey to their team as a staff accountant. She is a graduate of the University of South Alabama where she earned her bachelor's in business administration with a concentration in accounting. RTBH also welcomed Erin Whittle to the team as an executive coordinator. Whittle is a graduate of Harding University and is pursuing her MBA through Southern New Hampshire University.

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President's Corner: News and a Change for CPAmerica I’d like to share some news and a change happening here at CPA mer ica.

First, the great news.

Since last December, six new member firms have decided to join our association. It is very unusual that firms would Alan Deichler take time out of their yearPresident end work and tax season to apply for membership, but I’m choosing to believe that this is indicative of the attractiveness of our association, the sharing between our firms, and the great programs we offer to members.

We also owe a big thank you to the leading partners (LPs) that conducted the final prospect visits of our new firms and provided our board of directors with recommendations to proceed to the member vote. One of these prospect visits even took place on a Saturday this past March.

Our new members include: - Whalen & Company CPAs, with headquarters in Worthington, Ohio (Visiting LP was Frank Monaco from 415 Group) - Stoy, Malone & Company, P.C., with headquarters in Baltimore, Mar yland (Visiting LP was Chip Helme from Thompson Greenspon) - Grooms & Harkins, P.C., with headquarters in Casper, Wyoming (Visiting LP was Phil Erickson from Erickson, Brown & Kloster, P.C.) - Sobul, Primes & Schenkel, CPAs, APC, with

2019 Crowe Global Conference Sydney, Australia October 27-30, 2019

headquarters in Los Angeles, California (Visiting LP was John Lerias from GYL LLP) - Mathieson, Moyski, Austin & Co., LLP, with headquarters in Wheaton, Illinois (Visiting LP was Don Swick from Brickley DeLong, PC) - Albin, Randall & Bennett, CPAs, with headquarters in Portland, Maine (Visiting LP was Jim DeLeo from Gray, Gray & Gray, LLP)

comparable buildings.

The staff is looking forward to our new home – especially since it has plenty of room for the team and our activities. If you get the chance to be in Gainesville, we would love to show you around our new building.

The other big change is that CPAmerica is moving! By the time you read this, we will have already moved across town to our new location at 7555 West University Avenue in Gainesville, Florida. The lease was up for our previous downtown location at 104 North Main Street in Gainesville and it was time to move on. The downtown bank building was built in 1973 and was starting to show a bit of its old age and wear and tear. Some of you knew we used to share our old building with the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service.

The FBI moved out last year and the revenue service has downsized to one or two people.

Seems like a number of the tenants felt it was just time to move on!

Our new building is located about six miles west of of downtown. It is on the west side of I-75 and Newberry Road (which becomes University Avenue, the major east-west thoroughfare in town). Our new building was built in the early ‘90s and is getting quite a refresh with paint, carpet, new offices and other updates. It is a bit bigger and is a standalone building in a professional services development along with a number of other

Our new address is: 7555 W. Univerisity Ave. Gainesville, FL 32607 (352) 727-4070 www.cpamerica.org

This year’s theme is Elevate, reflecting Crowe's desire to take their strategy to the next level – to elevate their game, to work together across borders, and to find new and innovative ways to grow the business.

Questions? Please contact: events@crowe.org

Send feedback and advantage@cpamerica.org OHM

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