PwC U.S. appoints Greg Szczesny to risk assurance services practice

Big 4 accounting and consulting firm PwC US today announced the addition of Greg Szczesny as a managing director in the firm’s expanding Risk Assurance practice, where he will play a leading role developing the firm’s conflict minerals service offering.

PwC is making significant investments in helping companies address provisions within the Dodd-Frank Act around conflict minerals. Szczesny will help drive this service, which includes delivering large-scale readiness projects to clients across all industries, focusing specifically in healthcare, retail and industrial products.

Based in New York, Szczesny joins PwC after seven years with KPMG where he most recently served as a national leader in that firm’s Conflict Minerals Center of Excellence. His expertise is widely recognized having been one of KPMG’s national leaders in the development, validation and roll-out of the Dodd-Frank Act – Section 1502 (conflict minerals) compliance methodology and client engagement materials.

His prior project experience beyond conflict minerals includes leading a multi-year audit for a global diversified industrial firm, conducting internal audits and recommending process improvements across global manufacturing facilities. Prior to his position at KPMG, he held various leadership roles within Stryker Orthopaedics’ global supply chain organization, as well as having served as a United States Army infantry officer assigned to special and conventional units.

The SEC issued final rules in connection with Dodd-Frank conflict minerals provisions on August 22, 2012, and estimates are that the impact could reach half of all public companies and another 275,000 private companies. As a result, total compliance costs could range from $3-$4 billion, with the annual cost of ongoing compliance between $207 and $609 million.

“According to estimates by the SEC, it is clear that the new conflict mineral rules will have a wide reach across all industries and that many organizations will feel the pressures of reporting and due diligence,” said Dean Simone, leader of PwC’s U.S. Risk Assurance practice.

“As an early adopter of the conflict minerals service offering, Greg has significant, direct experience with the conflict minerals provision of the Dodd-Frank Act and is on the forefront of this issue, developing comprehensive readiness projects and delivering clients end-to-end conflict minerals programs. We look forward to utilizing his expertise to further build upon this increasingly important service offering.”

“Joining PwC’s Risk Assurance practice is the perfect fit for my background and I look forward to leveraging my previous experience working in conflict minerals to guide my clients through these new regulatory issues,” said Szczesny. “In addition, I’m happy to be joining a prestigious company such as PwC, and working with a team of valued and dedicated individuals.”

Szczesny attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, where he received his B.S. in systems engineering and he earned his MBA in finance from Auburn University. He is a certified Project Management Professional, an ASQ certified Six Sigma Black Belt as well as a Senior Professional Human Resources.

Szczesny is an active member of the Auburn University MBA Advisory Board and serves on the leadership committee for his local chapter of the American Society for Quality (ASQ).