NYSSCPA Announces Society Award Winners Who Contributed to the CPA Profession

For the past 20 years, Gerard has hosted a Charitable Bowl-A-Thon for the Staten Island Chapter and raised over $300,000.

NYSSCPA Distinguished Service Award

The Distinguished Service Award salutes CPA members who have set themselves apart as Society leaders through service within the NYSSCPA and the accounting profession. Gregory J. Altman and Beth Van Bladel share this honor.

Greg is both a CPA and a finance and operations executive, with more than 30 years of experience in public accounting and private industry. He currently serves as the vice president of finance and operations at Nardin Academy, Buffalo, N.Y., and has more than a decade of expertise in operations at charter and independent schools in Buffalo.

Greg has held several leadership and volunteer positions in the accounting community. He is a past director, vice president, and a current member of the Executive Committee of the NYSSCPA, where he also served on the Budget, Awards and Membership committees. He is also a past president and vice president of the Buffalo Chapter, in addition to proudly serving on several local committees of the Buffalo Chapter.

He received the 2014 Buffalo Chapter NYSSCPA Distinguished Service Award.

Beth Van Bladel has over three decades of technical and operational accounting experience. Beth currently serves as a director with CFO for Hire, a division of BST & Co. CPAs, LLP. As a director, she is tasked with providing financial consulting, management and accounting services to support her clients’ mission and financial goals.

An active NYSSCPA member, Beth currently chairs the Northeast Chapter CFO Committee and co-chairs the Annual Business & Industry Conference. Dedicated to the Northeast Chapter, she is returning to the role of Northeast Chapter president with a focus on rebuilding the chapter leadership. Beth previously served two terms on the NYSSCPA Board of Directors and served on the president’s Industry Task Force and Industry Oversight Committee. She is a past recipient of the NYSSCPA Outstanding CPA in Industry Award.

Beth also recently completed a three-year term on the Private Company Council, the primary advisory body to the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) on private company matters. 

Dr. Emanuel Saxe Outstanding CPA in Education Award

This award pays tribute to the contributions of CPAs who have dedicated their life’s work to accounting education. Dr. Anthony Basile has been a professor at Hofstra University for over 30 years, teaching courses in forensic accounting, fraud, auditing, accounting information systems and taxation to both undergraduate and graduate students.

He has been given several awards for his commitment and dedication to his students during this time. Dr. Basile is not only dedicated to his students, however; he is also passionate about the university and its advancement within the community. Dr. Basile has contributed to the university by serving as faculty advisor to the Tax Society’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program for over 25 years, where he was recognized by the IRS for his service.

Dr. Basile is the past president of the Society’s Nassau Chapter and currently serves as a board member of the New York State Board for Public Accountancy, a regulatory board of the Regents of the State of New York, which oversees the CPA license in New York state. 

Outstanding CPA in Chapter Service Award

The Outstanding CPA in Chapter Service Award recognizes NYSSCPA CPA chapter members who have distinguished themselves as chapter leaders through model service within their chapter, the NYSSCPA and the profession. George T. Foundotos and Edward J. Torres will share this honor.

George served as president of the NYSSCPA from 1998 to 1999, and passed away on July 20, 2019.  His involvement with the Society was long and storied—he first became a member in 1969. During his 50 years of service, he was involved in many committees, task forces and boards; he was Suffolk Chapter president from 1988 to 1989 and also served in many roles as an officer of the chapter, including those of vice president, assistant chair and treasurer. He also served multiple terms as a member of the Board of Directors, among many other roles. He was the recipient of the 2012 Distinguished Service Award for his dedicated service to the NYSSCPA and the profession as a whole.  Besides being a founder of the firm Coughlin, Foundotos, Cullen & Danowski in Port Jefferson Station, N.Y., George was also known as a keen and enthusiastic educator, having taught accounting at Dowling College for 45 years. His dedication to fostering the next generation of CPAs was what led the Society to honor him with the Dr. Emanuel Saxe Outstanding CPA in Education Award in 1992.

Edward J. Torres is a CPA with decades of experience who has been an active member of both the NYSSCPA and the AICPA since 1993. Edward’s firm, Edward Torres, CPA PC, has been in operation for over 30 years and provides services to individuals, small and medium-sized businesses.

Edward has served on and chaired numerous NYSSCPA committees and task forces, and has served on the Board of Directors. He has helped many NYSSCPA members further their careers, armed with knowledge and information about the profession. He has helped CPAs network and take advantage of the many benefits and resources that the Society offers to all its members.

Since 1995, Edward has been active in Society operations and has served on over 120 committees and task forces, and has held Board of Directors and Council appointments. 

Edward founded the Queens/Brooklyn Chapter in 2001 and has served on its board ever since.

Outstanding CPA in Public Practice Award

The Outstanding CPA in Public Practice Award recognizes outstanding service and professional development in public practice. Robert “Bob” P. Garrett serves as managing partner for KPMG LLP’s New York metropolitan area, responsible for developing and implementing the firm’s strategic direction in its largest market. He oversees the delivery of high-quality client service, and helps to drive KPMG’s culture of high performance, ethics and integrity, innovation and diversity. He serves as account executive for many of KPMG’s largest clients.

Bob served as the partner-in-charge of KPMG’s New York financial services audit practice and was the Asset management industry leader for the New York office. He also served as a moderator for KPMG’s Audit Committee Institute New York Roundtable Series and as a facilitator at the Corporate Board Members Annual Boardroom Summit.

A 2009 David Rockefeller Fellow, he is active in British American Business (chairman), Lincoln Center Corporate Fund board, Catholic Charities, the Ireland Funds, the Oswego College Foundation, the Accountants’ Coalition (New York chair), the KPMG New York Foundation (chairman), and the Association for a Better New York.

Bob earned an M.B.A. from Columbia University and a B.S. from the State University of New York at Oswego.

These members were honored during the Society Awards Ceremony, which was restructured as a virtual program and was be conducted in late May, via Zoom.