Professionals on the Move – July 5, 2023

Professionals on the Move is a round-up of recent promotions and staffing assignments from around the accounting profession.

Members Choice Credit Union Welcomes Keith Hrnyak as Chief Financial Officer

Members Choice Credit Union (MCCU), a full-service financial institution based in Houston, Texas, recently announced that Keith Hrnyak, CPA has been named chief financial officer. 

With more than 25 years of experience in the financial sector, Hrnyak joins MCCU from Texas Dow Employees Credit Union (TDECU), where he served as controller and vice president. Previously, he spent several years at AECOM, a leading infrastructure consulting firm, as the information technology manager and the director of financial reporting. He also served as financial center manager for various banking institutions, including Fifth Third Bank and Bank One (now JP Morgan Chase Bank) throughout his career.

Hrnyak received his Bachelor of Science in business management from the University of Phoenix and a Master of Business Administration from Texas A&M University. In 2020, he earned his Master of Science in accounting from the University of St. Thomas in Houston. 

CARET Announces Two New Additions to Executive Team 

CARET, a leading software provider for legal and accounting professionals, recently today announced the addition of two new members to the executive team that will continue to accelerate the company’s growth.

Joanna Trimble has joined the company as chief revenue officer of CARET and president of HotDocs, where she will oversee the company’s go to market functions and provide strategic leadership to the industry-leading document automation solution. Trimble brings more than 25 years of sales leadership experience in both the legal and accounting industries, most recently as general manager at Thomson Reuters, Tax and Accounting Professionals. Prior to that, Trimble served as CRO at Kira and vice president of sales for small law firms at Practical Law Company and later Thomson Reuters.

Charlie Anderson hasjoined the company as head of partnerships with a responsibility to lead, grow and scale the channel and product partnership programs across the organization. Anderson brings more than a decade of experience in sales and partnership leadership in the small business tech space, most recently focused on accounting firms at Xero.

Coleman Rowland named national leader of FORVIS’ energy & natural resources practice

FORVIS has appointed Managing Director Coleman Rowland as the new leader of its national energy and natural resources (ENR) practice. Rowland succeeds Brian Matlock in the role, following Matlock’s appointment as managing partner of the firm’s newly opened South Florida office. Based in Houston, Rowland has more than 30 years of experience in the upstream, midstream, downstream, oil field service, power, and utilities sectors. He joined FORVIS in 2020 and was previously the national advisory leader for the ENR practice.   Prior to joining FORVIS, Rowland spent 23 years with the risk advisory and consulting practices of a large international firm. Before that, he spent seven years at Shell Oil Company in the upstream and midstream accounting and finance groups. Rowland is a graduate of Texas A&M University, with a B.B.A in accounting and management information systems. He also holds a M.B.A. in finance from the University of Houston.

EisnerAmper Adds Two New Tax Partners

NEW YORK: Wednesday, June 28, 2023 – Global business advisory firm EisnerAmper recently announced that Pamela Dennett and John Clausen have joined the firm as partners with a specialization in taxation.

Pamela, a partner in the firm’s Private Client Services Group, has 30 years of experience helping ultra-high-net-worth individuals, family offices and business owners navigate complex tax landscapes. She guides clients through the intricacies of estate tax, gift tax, charitable planning, income tax and generation-skipping transfer tax.

Pamela has a B.S. in Political Science from Old Dominion University. She is a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Financial Planner as well as a member of the American Institute of CPAs, Communities Foundation of Texas Advisory Council, and the Dallas Estate Planning Council. Pamela is based at the firm’s Dallas office.

John, a partner in the firm’s SALT Group, specializes in state and local taxation. With 30-years of experience, John serves individuals, start-ups and large entities in the technology and life sciences, financial services and manufacturing sectors. He assists clients in assessing their tax obligations resulting from cross-border sales, maintaining employees in states, and engaging contractors or vendors in states. John applies complex state apportionment rules to determine state income taxes for multi-state businesses. He also helps individuals with state residency transitions.

Carlton Hodges, CPA, CGMA Elected Chair of GSCPA Board of Directors for 2023-24 Year

Carlton Hodges, CPA, partner at Caines, Hodges & Company, PC of Savannah, Georgia has been elected chair of The Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants (GSCPA) Board of Directors for the 2023-24 fiscal year. Mr. Hodges was selected at the Society’s annual business meeting in Girdwood, Alaska.

Hodges has been an active and involved member of GSCPA for 42 years. He previously has served on the GSCPA Board of Directors and has volunteered his time on numerous committees and task forces.

Mr. Hodges is the senior partner of Caines, Hodges & Company, PC.  providing accounting, auditing, and tax services. Mr. Hodges is proud to call Savannah, Georgia home.

Withum Names Nineteen New Partners

Withum, a leading advisory, technology and accounting firm, recently announced its 2023 New Partner Class. Nineteen team members advance to partner in Withum offices nationwide and join the dynamic, diverse corporate leadership team at the Firm, totaling 225 partners.

1. Ryan Brandt is a seasoned tax compliance expert specializing in manufacturing, distribution and logistics, real estate, cannabis and private client services.
2. Devin Desmond is an expert in audits of insurance organizations and not-for-profits and is a leader on the Firm’s Not-for-Profit Tax Team. 
3. Alexander Dundara specializes in providing assurance services to Technology and Emerging Growth and Life Sciences companies and serves as the Firm’s Digital Health Team Leader.
4. Stephanie Fitzgerald is an expert in SOC audits and Systems and Process Assurance Services.
5. Tom Girone has individual and business tax expertise across multiple industries and co-founded the Firm’s Tax Controversy Team.

• Sam Greenbaum specializes in tax services for the Technology and Emerging Growth Practice, co-leads Withum’s E-Commerce Sector, and leads the Parents Network business resource group.
• Jeanette Jordan is an expert in mergers and acquisitions with Withum’s Transaction Advisory Team.
• Albert Leech leads Withum’s Seattle office and specializes in audits of employee benefit plans and labor organizations.
• Kevin Lin is an expert in tax strategies and tax planning for businesses and high-net-worth individuals.

1. Stephanie Maresca specializes in accounting for healthcare organizations and is the Team Leader for Withum’s Physician and Dental Practices.
2. Daniel Mayo is the Lead of National Tax Services at Withum and co-leads the ERC Team.
3. Amanda McKenna is the Team Lead of Venture Capital Tax at Withum as a financial services expert.
4. Shannon Metz is the Team Leader of the International Financial Reporting and Auditing Services Team and has experience with employee benefit plan audits.
5. Val Orekhov is an expert in Cloud Computing and AI and supports Withum’s integration of Microsoft’s digital workplace solutions.
6. Vince Phorn is a Team Leader for Withum’s West Coast Technology and Mortgage Banking Services practices with a focus on complex audits.
7. Aaron Slaughter specializes in audits of multiemployer benefit plans and labor unions.
8. Hayley Stout specializes in tax compliance and consulting services for the Healthcare industry.
9. Robert Thomas is the West Coast Lead for audits of publicly traded life science and technology companies.
10. Daniel Vukosa has business tax expertise in the Technology, Life Sciences and Consumer Products industries.

QuickFee Appoints Rafael Casas as Director, Strategic Alliances & Partnerships

As an Accounts Receivable (AR) accelerator and payments solution provider for accounting firms, QuickFee continues to invest in its partnerships within the CPA profession – most recently by appointing experienced industry leader Rafael Casas as Director, Strategic Alliances & Partnerships in the US.

Starting on June 20, 2023, Casas now leads the US alliances and partner strategy to cultivate and deepen QuickFee’s strategic relationships in the accounting profession. He is also responsible for increasing QuickFee brand awareness among CPA firms by empowering partners to become strong advocates for our unique product suite in speeding up the bill-to-cash cycle, which includes an easy online payment platform, multiple convenient payment options, and powerful e-invoicing integrations with leading practice management systems. 

Casas brings almost 20 years of business development, consulting, and advisory experience in the financial technology sector and the accounting profession, across a wide variety of areas including Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Robotic Process Automation (RPA), blockchain, cryptocurrency, and payments.

He also has extensive experience supporting and working alongside accounting teams within global companies like Sage, Oracle Netsuite, Hansen Technologies, and Bitwave.