I was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY and left in 2006 to relocate with my family to Hillsborough, NC. In 1986, I graduated from Long Island University Brooklyn Campus with a Bachelor of Science Degree in accounting. I spent the first part of my career in NYC-based CPA firms auditing and reviewing small and medium sized entities involved in manufacturing, services, construction, advertising, real estate and technology companies. In 1996, seeking a better work-life balance, I left auditing as a manager to join an internet commerce start-up as the chief financial officer raising capital and ensuring the record keeping was accurate then joined an international, vertically integrated diamond cutter-wholesaler’s U.S. operations (based in Israel) also as CFO.

Being a CFO wasn’t quite the work-life improvement I hoped for and I missed auditing though and the application of accounting standards so I found the best of both worlds at the AICPA where I stayed for 19 years mostly in the Professional Ethics Division. I left in May 2018 as an associate director responsible for reviewing and investigating allegations that practitioners improperly applied professional standards. I supervised a staff of up to 17 people at the AICPA and we reviewed the work of approximately 4,500 fellow CPAs with the goal of remediation and improving their practice based on whether professional standards were misapplied. Those 19 years greatly enhanced my knowledge of accounting and auditing standards, my ability to communicate the application of these standards to both experienced accountants and those without such experience, and taught me how to quickly identify weaknesses, deficiencies and areas for improvement in accounting records and audit engagements to assist practitioners in making improvements. The ethics division and the AICPA overall provides a huge benefit to the profession’s integrity and knowledge, but it was time to look for new challenges so I started my own practice.

While I have had a rewarding career, I am most proud of my family; I have two wonderful grown daughters who have successful lives and careers. My eldest daughter, Amanda, has earned a PhD in ecology and is working to understand and better protect freshwater ecosystems. We were blessed in adopting our second daughter, Gayle, in 1995 who has a degree in education and is currently director of a children’s after-school and summer program. Before the passing of my beloved wife Gay in 2014, after an amazing 27-year marriage, we adopted our son Abezu from Ethiopia who is an aspiring hockey and running star, a hiker extraordinaire and a great person. All of my free time is spent outdoors, mostly hiking in the U.S. National Parks and sometimes exploring an occasional touristy attraction.