Zachary Gordon, CPA – 2021 40 Under 40 Honoree

I started my career at Marks Paneth LLP as an associate through senior accountant, working on a variety of clients across real estate, non-profit and others. Upon reaching that precipice, I decided to see the “other side of the table” and moved to private equity. During this period, I was able to get experience with real estate, healthcare, fintech, cannabis and tech startups. I learned quite a bit about fundraising, setting up internal control frameworks, developing processes and investor reporting, and scaling up a business via automation and optimization. I also founded the Cannabis Committee for the NYSSCPA, the first committee of its kind in the country. I decided to come back into public accounting to co-lead a cannabis practice and modernize a client accounting services practice. I have spent my time since working with cannabis, crypto, family office and other clients on tax, operational, compliance and financial modeling.

What are you doing to make a difference in the profession, your community, the world?

I am an active member of the AICPA and NYSSCPA, serving on the Board of the NYSSCPA as well as multiple committees. I am passionate about educating those in and outside the industry on its evolution. I have been published in many publications, including Accounting Today, CPA Trendlines, Cannabis Industry Journal, Tax Stringer, Law360 and Yahoo! Finance. I have spoken across a multitude of conferences and podcasts on items including cannabis, emerging technologies, and cryptocurrency/blockchain technology. I have been a volunteer with Big Brother Big Sister NYC since 2014 and hold regular “office hours” with startup founders via CoFounders Lab.

Favorite books/websites/podcasts/speakers/bloggers:

• CPA Practice Advisor
• Accounting Today
• AICPA publications
• Barry Melancon
• CPA.com

What do you like best about the accounting profession?

The opportunity. Public accounting has so many new and interesting opportunities outside of just tax and attestation. From data analytics to financial modeling to cannabis, crypto and beyond, there are fascinating clients and engagements that simply did not exist a short time ago.

See all of the 2021 “40 Under 40” honorees.