Baker Tilly Names Seven New Partners

Monica Modi Dalwadi, CPA, CIA, CFE is a partner in Baker Tilly’s risk advisory services and internal audit practice with over ten years of experience. This practice has over 75 professionals who provide industry-specialized services to the higher education, public sector, real estate, government contracting, lobbying, financial services, professional services, manufacturing, and energy and utilities industries. Practice areas include internal audit, risk assessment, resource optimization, financial and operational risk management, Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, fraud investigation, technology risk consulting, and organizational governance. Dalwadi serves on Baker Tilly’s Growth and Retention of Women Committee and is a member of Ascend (Pan-Asian Leaders in Finance and Accounting).

She is the immediate past Chair of the Board of Directors of the Washington Improv Theatre. She was recognized as a SMARTCPA by SMARTCEO Magazine and awarded the Virginia Society of CPA’s Top 5 Under 35 honor. She has been published in the National Council of University Research Administrators (NCURA) Magazine and Fraud Magazine. Prior to joining the firm, Dalwadi worked in the internal audit department of a financial institution, where she led risk assessment activities and audited lending, deposits, and trusts. Dalwadi received her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and her Masters of Business Administration from Georgetown University.

Jodi L. Dobson, CPA  is on the Energy and Utilities team and has been with Baker Tilly since 1998. She specializes in serving municipal utilities (electric, water, wastewater, stormwater, and transit) and joint action agencies. Her experience includes performing financial audits, A-133 single audits, agreed-upon procedure reviews, and fraud investigations as well as preparing rate studies, cost of service studies, rate designs, and financial forecasts. Dobson is active in several industry associations such as the Municipal Electric Utilities of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Waterworks Association, Wisconsin Rural Water Association. She has her Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting and International Business from Carthage College and resides in our Madison office.

Laurie Horvath, CPA  has more than twenty years of public accounting experience, including twelve years with a Big 4 firm with five in a National Office role. As a member of our not-for-profit services group, she specializes in providing auditing and accounting services to not-for-profit clients, including financial statement and compliance auditing for OMB Circular A-133. She has served on numerous audit engagements for not-for-profit entities including foundations, human service agencies, and several large multi-entity engagements. Horvath holds several leadership positions within the profession and in her community including serving on the not-for-profit Expert Panel with the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), Chair for the Lighthouse of Oakland County Board of Trustees, Treasurer for St. Joseph’s Mercy Oakland Hospital Foundation, and the Membership Development Committee for the Detroit Athletic Club. Horvath has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Michigan, a Masters of Business Administration from Michigan State University, and an Executive Education Certificate from Harvard Business School. Horvath resides in our Detroit office.

Christopher E. Jeffrey, CPA supports Risk and Internal Audit Services firmwide and resides in the Minneapolis office. He is part of a practice with over 75 professionals who provide industry-specialized services to industries including manufacturing, higher education, public sector, real estate, government contracting, financial services, professional services, and energy and utilities. Practice areas include internal audit, risk assessment, resource optimization, financial and operational risk management, Sarbanes-Oxley compliance, fraud investigation, technology risk consulting, and organizational governance. Jeffrey has managed numerous engagements and specializes in complex global organizations. He has also published several articles and has spoken numerous times on the topics of internal audit, internal controls, and compliance. Jeffrey attended the University of Minnesota – Duluth where he received his Bachelor of Accounting.    

Amar K. Kothapalli, CPA brings twelve years of public accounting experience to the firm, previously working with an internationally recognized firm in their financial services practice in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Kothapalli specializes in working with various financial institutions including those in the insurance and asset management industries. He has served clients including life, property and casualty, and health insurance companies; large multi-fund registered fund families; non-registered partnerships; hedge and venture capital funds; investment advisors (private and public); broker-dealers and banking institutions. In addition to core audit work he has experience in other attestation engagements including internal audit assistance, agreed-upon procedures and examination engagements. Kothapalli resides in our Milwaukee office and attended Marquette University where he received his Bachelor of Science in Accounting.

Peter T. McElwain, CPA resides in our DC office and is a member of the firm’s Tax and Assurance Group. McElwain has over fourteen years of experience serving the financial statement assurance and business advisory needs of clients across a broad variety of industries, including technology, manufacturing, financial services, private equity, real estate, and hospitality. He has extensive experience in serving US Securities and Exchange Commission, multinational and multi-location clients, as well as in matters pertaining to internal controls, corporate governance, SOX, GAAS, US GAAP, and IFRS. McElwain attended the University of Virginia, McIntire School of Commerce and has a Bachelor of Science in Commerce and a Masters of Science in Accounting.