VSCPA News

The LEAD Round, cont’d

to our clients. With this demand comes great responsibility: to our clients, to our staff and to our families. The ability to have “off” days is just not provided. It sounds tough, but with a simple approach to each day, the right attitude and common-sense communications, being “on” is easily achieved.

When I say a simple approach to each day, what I mean is not coming in to work and having a “list” of items to cross off. We all know that when we make that list, more times than not, we do not achieve all items, so we come down on ourselves. As a leader, our main job should be to assist others in crossing items off their list. We all know that the email, phone call or demand for staff assistance arises out of nowhere, so we need to be prepared to tackle. It is this simple approach that proves successful at the end of the day.

The right attitude sounds clichéd, but it is, and will always be, the key ingredient of a great leader. The culture of an organization is most certainly formed from the attitude of those at the top. Positive direction and positive reinforcement will most certainly show your clients and staff that you care and are willing to be by their side as they move along the path.

Common-sense communications should come naturally. A great leader should make sure they are responsive to their clients and can explain things to them in a manner that they understand. A great leader should always be available to their staff and working with them to teach, guide and mentor them through the maze of being a public accountant. The common sense part of communication is the ability to listen, absorb the issue at hand and respond in a manner that is appropriate and fair to all concerned. n

Walker wins Arthur J. Dixon Award from AICPA

The Tax Division of the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) honored VSCPA member Deborah Walker, CPA, with the Arthur J. Dixon Memorial Award, the highest honor the accounting profession bestows in the area of taxation.

Walker, the national director of compensation and benefits at Cherry Bekaert in Vienna, received the award Nov. 8 at the AICPA’s Fall Tax Division meeting in Washington. She has 35 years of experience in a broad range of employment-related issues, including executive compensation, qualified retirement plans, employment taxes and domestic and international compensation agreements. In addition to her work at Cherry Bekaert, she edits for Bloomberg BNA as part of its Tax and Accounting Center and is the former editor-in-chief of the Journal of Taxation of Employee Benefits. She previously served as Deputy to the Benefits Tax Counsel in the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Tax Policy.

She has volunteered for the AICPA for 30 years, including a stint as chair of the association’s Tax Executive Committee. She currently serves on the planning committee for the AICPA’s annual Employee Benefit Plan Conference, where she previously served as chair and co-chair.

The AICPA established the award in 1981 to honor the late Arthur Dixon, former chair of its Tax Executive Committee, to honor outstanding CPAs in the field of taxation. Walker is the second VSCPA member to win the award in recent years, joining former VSCPA Board of Directors chair Lisa Germano, CPA, who was honored in 2015.

THE VSCPA MOURNS THE LOSS OF...

Patricia Leviege of Bristow.

Chuck Tingler, CPA, a VSCPA Life member from Louisa. A graduate of the University of Richmond, he served in the Virginia Army National Guard and was active with the William A. Cooke Foundation, where he served as chairman of the board, and County Line Baptist Church. He served on the VSCPA’s International, Professional Ethics and CPE Steering committees.

vscpa news

Congratulations to the following members!

Jenny Bonsiewich, CPA, Bo Garner, CPA, John McDowell, CPA, Brian Plum, CPA.

NEW HIRES

Fairfax firm Thompson Greenspon has hired Susan Sturgeon, CPA, as tax senior; Carey Besch, CPA, as tax staff; and Steven Mack as audit staff.

PROMOTIONS

Travis Brake, CPA, was named partner at Miller & Jameson in Harrisonburg.

Jennifer Lehman, CPA, was appointed CEO at Hantzmon Wiebel in Charlottesville, becoming the firm’s first female CEO.

John McDowell, CPA, partner at Dixon Hughes Goodman, has moved to the firm’s Norfolk office from its Tysons office.

Charlotte Ramage, CPA, and Andrew Sledd, CPA, were named partner at Keiter in Glen Allen.

APPOINTMENTS & AWARDS

The following members received the Top 40 Under 40 award from Inside Business in Norfolk:

• Jenny Bonsiewich, CPA, senior manager at Dixon Hughes

Goodman in Norfolk • Bo Garner, CPA, manager at PBMares in Newport News • Richard Groover, CPA, shareholder at Wall, Einhorn &

Chernitzer in Norfolk

Brian Plum, CPA, president and CEO of Blue Ridge Bankshares Inc. in Luray, was named chairman-elect of the Virginia Association of Community Banks board of directors. FIRM NEWS

Vault.com ranked its best accounting internships for 2018. The following Virginia firms made the list:

Elliott Davis Dixon Hughes Goodman KPMG BDO USA PricewaterhouseCoopers Baker Tilly Virchow Krause CohnReznick

Elliott Davis Decosimo has rebranded itself to the name of one of its predecessor firms, Elliott Davis.

MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

Richmond-based firm Cherry Bekaert has acquired Berlin, Ramos & Co. in Rockville, Md., and Frasier, Dean & Howard in Nashville, Tenn.

Gross, Mendelsohn & Associates, a Baltimore-based firm with an office in Fairfax, has acquired Fairfax CPA and consulting firm Gurman & Co.

We want to hear from you! The VSCPA prints news of members’ awards, appointments and promotions as well as new hire and job change announcements. Firm news, such as mergers and acquisitions and community service activities, is also welcome. Email disclosures@vscpa.com if you have exciting news to share.

vscpa news

Richmond Chapter presents $7,750 in scholarships

The VSCPA’s Richmond Chapter held its annual CPE event and Past Presidents and Scholarship Dinner on Nov. 14 at The Place in Innsbrook, with presentations by VSCPA President & CEO Stephanie Peters, CAE, Sonya Waddell, director of regional economics at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, and Ed Grier, dean of the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Business. The chapter awarded 11 scholarships for a total of $7,750. Manleen Bajaj of Virginia Commonwealth University received the chapter’s first Past Presidents Scholarship, while the following students received Accounting Excellence Scholarships:

• Thabit Ababneh, Virginia Commonwealth University • Yasar Aljaafar, J. Sargent Reynolds Community College • Sarah Baldwin, Virginia Commonwealth University • Brook Bishop, Virginia Commonwealth University • Stephenson Botten, Randolph-Macon College • Geordan Dent, Virginia Union University • Kyrsten Jones, J. Sargent Reynolds Community College • Mozhdeh Mirshahi, J. Sargent Reynolds Community College • Margaret Raymond, Virginia Commonwealth University • Sadonia Sylvester, Virginia State University

CONGRATS TO THE VSCPA’S NEWEST CPAs

Gregory Amorosso, Norfolk Connor Arnone, Williamsport, Md. David Belt, Arlington Brittany Blanchard, Lorton Ted Kin Chen, McLean Ruth Condit, Abingdon Jameson Cooke, Richmond April Crandall, Newport News William D’Amato, Midlothian Rachael DeBoard, Midlothian John DeMarzo, Richmond Elena Dorogy, Washington, D.C. Michael Dwyer, Tysons Manuel Dwyer, Richmond Katherine Feeser, Richmond Jordan Ferguson, Richmond Logan Fitzgerald, Glen Allen Patrick Gibbons, Reston Sarah Golusky, Vienna Rohullah Hasher, Herndon Haley Henderson, Arlington My Hoang, Richmond Ramy Khalil, Annandale Richard Kunisaki, Arlington Wenqian Leng, Richmond John Longacre, Arlington Stuart Madden, Midlothian AshbyRose Nelson, Springfield Hang Pham, Arlington Nga Pham, Arlington Brian Ripley, Madison, Wisc. Grant Sauer, Arlington Katelyn Scott, Abingdon Kathleen Sheets, Powhatan Jacob Spector, Bethesda, Md. Josef Storm, Fairfax Ryan Vosburgh, Herndon

List from October and November. Compiled Nov. 28, 2017.

STAFF NEWS

ANNIVERSARIES

Feb 7: Technology Director Jen Syer (top right) & Vice President of Innovation Tina Bates, CAE (bottom left), both 18 years Feb 17: Amy Mawyer, vice president of learning (top left), 24 years

NEW HIRE

Evan Taylor (bottom right) has joined the VSCPA as a membership marketing specialist. Previously, he was director of marketing and communications for Filtroil in Richmond. Welcome aboard, Evan!

DEPARTURE

Learning Manager Valerie Vaughn has left the VSCPA. Good luck and best wishes, Val!

ONLINE CPE TEST

Visit vscpa.com/CPE. Choose “On Demand” from the side filters to find the exam and others from previous Disclosures issues.

vscpa news

VSCPA 100% Member Firms

VSCPA 100% Member Firms show their commitment to their employees, the profession and the association. A 100% Member Firm is simply a Virginia CPA firm or company that has all of its CPAs enrolled as members in the VSCPA.

Interested in being listed as a 100% Member Firm? Contact VSCPA Membership Development Director Julia Henderson at jhenderson@vscpa.com.

A.F. Thomas & Associates, PC A. Rohm, Smith & Company, PC Actuarial Benefits & Design Company Adams & Co., PC Adams & Delp, PC Anderson & Anderson CPAs, PC Anderson & Reed, LLP Andrews CPA Associates, PC Atlas Financial Barnes, Brock, Cornwell and Painter Beale & Curran, PC Beck & Company, CPAs, PC Bennett, Atkinson & Associates, PC Bishop, Farmer & Co., LLP Bishop, Farmer & Co., LLP Black Marlin CPA (Ann Black CPA PLC) Boyce, Spady & Moore PLC Britt & Peak, PC, CPAs Bruce, Renner & Company, PLC Bullock & Associates, PC Burdette Smith & Bish, LLC Burgess & Co., PC, CPAs Burnett & Sneed, CPAs, LLC Cameron, Moberly & Hamrick, PC Charles H. McCoy, Jr., Inc. Charles W. Snader, PC Chesapeake Accounting Group PC Christopher A. Enright, CPA, PLC Cole & Associates CPAs, LLC Coley, Eubank & Company, PC Corbin & Company, PC Craver, Green and Company, PLC Creedle, Jones and Alga, PC CST Group, CPAs, PC Dalal & Company David L Zimmer CPA PC Didawick & Company, PC Donald R. Pinkleton, CPA Donald W. Coleman, CPA, Inc., PC DT & Company, PLC DuvallWheeler, LLP Eggleston & Eggleston, PC Elmore, Hupp & Company, PLC Everett O. Winn, CPA, PLC Fritz & Company, PC, CPAs G.L. Roberson CPA, PLLC G4 CPA Firm, Inc. Garland & Garland, CPAs, PC Garris and Company, PC Graham and Poirot, CPA, PC Gregg & Bailey, PC Gregory & Associates, PLLC Gurman & Company, PLLC Hampton & Everett, PC Hantzmon Wiebel LLP Harris, Hardy & Johnstone, PC Harris, Harvey, Neal & Co., LLP Henley & Henley, PC Hogan & Reed, PC, CPAs Holland & Brown LLP Homes, Lowry, Horn & Johnson Honeycutt & McGuire, PC Hortenstine and McCown, CPAs, PC Hottel & Willis, PC Hughes & Basye, PC Hunt, Calderone & Abbott PC Jay E. Reiner CPA PLLC John M. Watkins, CPA Jones & Company CPA, LLC Jones & McIntyre, PLLC Jones CPA Group, PC Jones, Madden & Council, PLC JS Morlu, LLC Katherine L. Foley CPA, PC Keiter Kositzka, Wicks & Company Kris McMackin CPA L.P. Martin & Company, PC Lane & Associates, PC Larry D. Greene, CPA, PC Lauren V. Wolcott, CPA, PC Lent & Hawthorne, PC M. Lee Winder & Associates, PC Maida Development Company Mallard & Mallard CPA, LLC Malvin, Riggins & Company, PC Martin, Beachy & Arehart, PLLC McCallum & Kudravetz, PC Meadows Urquhart Acree & Cook, LLP Michael B. Cooke, CPA, PC Michael R. Anliker CPA PC Miller Consulting Group, LLC Mitchell, Wiggins & Company, LLP Moss & Riggs, PLLC Mulkey & Co., PC Murray, Jonson, White & Assoc., Ltd. Nicholas, Jones & Co., PLC PBMares, LLP Pearson&Co., PC R.P. Willis, PC R.T. McCalpin & Associates, LLC Renner & Company, CPAs, PC Robb Scott Bradshaw & Rawls, PC Robinson Consulting Group Roger L. Handy PC Rubin, Koehmstedt & Nadler, PLC Rumble & Associates, Inc. Russell, Evans & Thompson, PLLC Rutherford & Johnson, PC Salter & Associates, PC Saunders & Saunders, PC Saunders, Matthews & Pfitzner, PLLC Scheulen, Patchett & Edwards, PC Sells Hogg & Associates CPAs, PC Sherman, Spero, Safarino & Spencer, Hager & Mosdell, PC Spitler, Stephens & Associates PLL Stephen F. Perry, CPA, PC Stephen Merritt CPA, PC Stephen T. Shickel, CPA, PLC Steve Guy & Associates, PC Steve Walls & Associates, PLLC Stokes Office Solutions Sullivan, Andrews & Taylor PC T.L. Pyne, PC Terry L. Jones, CPA, LLC The Davidson Group, PC The Foley Group, Ltd. Thompson Greenspon Tongelidis Consulting, LLC Updegrove, Combs & McDaniel, PLC Valderas Financial Solutions LLC VanHuss & Associates, PLLC DBA Kimble Verus Financial Partners W.D. Sanders & Company, PC Wall, Einhorn & Chernitzer WellsColeman White, Withers, Masincup & Cannaday Wilkinson Consulting & CPA PLC William B. May, Jr., CPA, PC Wineholt & Associates, PC Yancey, Bowman & Helsley, CPA Yount, Hyde & Barbour, PC

Compiled Nov. 20, 2017. Check vscpa.com/100Percent for a complete list.