On the move: BKD launches ransomware service

CALIFORNIA

Andy Park

Andy Park, a tax partner at Ernst & Young, has been named managing partner of the firm's Los Angeles office, succeeding Patrick Niemann, who has assumed a new leadership role with the EY Center for Board Matters. Park joined the firm 17 years ago as a tax intern. The LA office has 2,300 professionals.

Paul Davison has been promoted to partner at Dedekian, George, Small & Markarian Accountancy Corp., Fresno. He has been with the firm for more than 14 years, working with clients in the construction, agricultural and manufacturing industries on financial statement compliance, tax return preparation, audit services and consulting. He also leads the firm’s training program for new staff.

Kash Hussain has been named office managing partner for the Los Angeles and Woodland Hills offices of CohnReznick, succeeding Scott Sachs, who is retiring. Hussain most recently led the assurance practice in the two offices.

ILLINOIS

Katy Giesecke

Katy Giesecke, CPA, has been named a partner at MichaelSilver, Deerfield. She has been with the firm for three years and has over 26 years of experience in assurance services, tax planning and compliance in a broad range of industries, with a specialty focusing on trust, estate and gift tax planning and compliance.

Sikich has partnered with Innovation DuPage, a nonprofit small-business incubator serving DuPage County, Illinois, to provide mentorship, resources and financial support to startup founders and small-business owners. Innovation DuPage currently has more than 60 members, which it helps nurture from the pre-revenue stage to million-dollar companies.

MICHIGAN

Jeff Antaya book - Don't Ride a Dinosaur

Jeff Antaya, managing director of Antaya Gladiator Marketing and until recently chief marketing officer of Plante Moran, has released a new book, Don't Ride a Dinosaur into Your Battle for New Clients, which aims to guide professional services firms through the sweeping changes that are transforming how they can reach and engage clients.

MISSOURI

Garret Layman

BKD Cyber, a division of BKD CPAs & Advisors, Springfield, rolled out of a new ransomware risk assessment service, which focuses on testing a variety of controls, including remote access configuration, phishing prevention, email and web protection, access controls, endpoint monitoring, end-user awareness and backup resiliency. At the end of the assessment, BKD Cyber professionals provide clients with findings and recommendations to help the organization prevent, detect and ultimately respond to a ransomware attack.

NEW YORK

CohnReznick LLP's restructuring & dispute resolution practice was honored twice in the 2021 Turnaround Atlas Awards from Global M&A Network: It won Turnaround of the Year in the Small Markets Category for its restructuring work on bakery restaurant chain Le Pain Quotidien, and Chapter 11 Restructuring of the Year in the Small Mid-Markets Category for its work on costume designer and manufacturer Rubie's.

MS Consultants LLC, Buffalo, is marking the 25th anniversary of its founding this year. It has grown to include 10 offices across the U.S. with locations in Arizona, Florida, New England, New York, Utah, Texas and Virginia.

Shlomo Lang and Peter Lohrey have joined the forensics & valuation services division of BKD CPAs & Advisors in the New York office as a managing director and a director, respectively. In addition managing consultant Sam Schriver is relocating from Southwest Missouri to New York.

BKR International, New York, appointed four new members to its Americas Regional Board: Alicia Brockland, managing partner of Conner Ash, St. Louis; Clarence Kehoe, a partner at Anchin, Block & Anchin, New York; Francisco Perdomo, managing partner of PSV & Co., San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Charlotte Tay, managing partner of Lindquist, von Husen and Joyce, San Francisco.

NORTH CAROLINA

The atrium at Dixon Hughes Goodman's headquarters in Charlotte, N.C.

Courtesy of Dixon Hughes Goodman

DHG, Charlotte, announced a new hybrid workforce model, DHG Anywhere, in which all employees are categorized as either hybrid or fully virtual, and are allowed to decide when, how and where they work based on client and team needs, without the firm requiring employees to spend specific days or hours at a DHG office. (See the full story.)

Gerard F. Cannito has been named Tax Professional of the Year by the National Association of Tax Professionals. A resident of Charlotte, Cannito has been a tax preparer for over 45 years; he served on the North Carolina NATP state board of directors for six years and on the NATP National Board of Directors for nine.

PENNSYLVANIA

Blocker-Greg-Brown Schultz Sheridan & Fritz

Greg Blocker

TERRY E SNYDER JR

Gregory A. Blocker, a manager at Brown Schultz Sheridan & Fritz, has received a 2021 Young Leader Award from the Pennsylvania Institute of CPAs. The award recognizes institute members under the age of 40 who have demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to the accounting profession through active participation in the PICPA, as well as within their communities. Blocker and the other honorees will be recognized during PICPA’s Leadership Conference in September. BSSF also announced a number of promotions: Alexander Craver, Collins Lethbridge and Monica Martin were promoted to supervisor; Mike Basti and Amanda Moats to senior staff accountant; and Karin Shockey to small business accounting services senior associate.

David Gibbs, of McCarthy & Co. PC, Lafayette Hill, Pennsylvania, and Tinton Falls, N.J., has received the Counselor of Real Estate designation from The Counselors of Real Estate.

David Sekula has been named CEO of Global Tax Management, Wayne. He joined the corporate tax services firm in 2006 and co-founded its tax automation services practice. He succeeds Dave Laurinaitis, who has been CEO since 2015. Laurinaitis will serve as a strategic advisor to Sekula and the firm's leadership team until he retires at the end of 2022.

Laurie Peter, a partner at RKL and president of RKL Wealth Management, Wyomissing, has earned the Certified Exit Planning Advisor and Certified Professional Co-Active Coach credentials.

TEXAS

Courtesy of Whitley Penn

Whitley Penn has been named one of the Houston Business Journal’s Largest Houston Area Accounting Firms, ranking No. 11 on this year’s list, up from No. 13 in 2020 and No. 16 in 2019.

Enterprise order-to-cash solutions provider Gotransverse, Austin, has restructured its senior management team: Geoff Coleman is moving from chief operating officer to chief product officer, and Brian Rohde has been promoted to COO. In addition, Jay Irian has joined the company as director of product management and Eric McCaw as the new director of SaaS Operations.

UNITED KINGDOM

Andrew Leck

Mark Earthy/Mark Earthy

Andrew Leck has been named CEO of MSI Global Alliance. He was previously an associate partner and business development leader for Scotland at EY. He succeeds Tim Wilson, who is leaving after seven years as CEO.

Ronan O’Dea has been named head of product at Validis, London. He has held leadership roles in product strategy for the last seven years, including at Lloyds and, most recently, Metro Bank.