Professionals on the Move – March 2023

As COO, Abbey will oversee all aspects of the firm’s operations and will work closely with the firm’s shareholders to implement strategies to continue driving growth and expanding the firm’s reach.

Before joining Payne Nickles & Company, Abbey was the Executive Director for Erie County Economic Development Corporation and Erie County Port Authority. She has received a number of industry awards including being named one of the nation’s top forty leaders in economic development under forty. She received an MBA from Duke’s Fuqua School of Business with high honors and her bachelor’s degree from Denison University in economics and international studies. She and her husband Andrew reside in Sandusky with their newborn triplets.

Abbey will begin her role as COO Summer of 2023.

FORVIS adds Joe Perfetto as assurance partner in New York

FORVIS, a professional services firm, recently announced the addition of Joe Perfetto as an assurance partner in its New York office. Perfetto comes to FORVIS with more than a decade of experience with a large international firm, focused primarily on the tech and life sciences industries. Perfetto has worked with numerous large, publicly traded clients on complex accounting and audit matters such as acquisitions, impairment analysis, valuation, income tax provision, group audits, and management review controls.  He also has significant experience working with mid-size and developing privately held businesses. Beyond his work in the technology sector, Perfetto has experience in the life sciences, consumer products, and industrial products industries. Perfetto is a registered CPA and holds a bachelor of science in business administration and accounting from the University of Connecticut.

Lavine, Lofgren, Morris & Engelberg, LLP Welcomes New Director and Manager

The accounting firm Lavine, Lofgren, Morris & Engelberg, LLP recently announced that Bill Dempsey has joined the firm as tax director and Larisa Strijicova has joined as tax manager.

Dempsey has more than 25 years of experience providing tax compliance and consulting services to medium-sized, closely held businesses and related owners in industries including health care, senior living, retail, manufacturing and distribution, professional services and real estate. He is also a member of the American Institute of CPAs and the Idaho Society of CPAs. He received his bachelor’s degree in personal finance from the University of San Francisco.

Strijicova is a CPA with more than 10 years of experience providing accounting and tax services to corporate and pass-through entities as well as individuals in the technology, real estate and professional services industries. She received her bachelor’s degree in economics with an emphasis in business administration from Saint-Petersburg State Technical University in Russia and her master’s degree in business administration from the International Graduate School of Management, a joint program between the University of Texas at Dallas and Saint-Petersburg State Technical University.

BST & Co. Appoints Director of Valuation, Forensic & Litigation Division

BST & Co. CPAs, LLP, one of the Capital Region’s leading accounting and management consulting firms, recently announced Sareena Sawhney as a director of the firm’s Valuation, Forensic Accounting & Litigation Support (VFL) team. 

Sawhney brings 25 years of experience in the fraud, forensic accounting and litigation support fields to BST & Co. She has dedicated her career to providing forensic accounting services within the tri-state area (New York and Long Island, New Jersey, Connecticut) and across a broad range of industries, including, but not limited to, real estate, financial services, healthcare, retail and manufacturing.

Sawhney received a bachelor’s degree in economics from Stony Brook University and a master’s degree in business administration in finance from Loyola University. She is a member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) and the National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts (NACVA), and has earned designations of Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE), Master Analyst in Financial Forensics (MAFF) and Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (CAMS).

WTW Appoints Leigh Ann Rodgers Western Region Client Strategy Leader for North America

WTW (Nasdaq: WTW), a leading global advisory, broking, and solutions company, recently announced the appointment of Leigh Ann Rodgers as the Western Region Client Strategy Leader for Real Estate, Hospitality, and Leisure within Corporate Risk and Broking (CRB), North America. In her new role, Rodgers will focus on strategy execution for industry vertical clients, while also working on the development of innovative, integrated solutions for clients throughout the region.

With more than twenty years of industry experience, most specifically within the Real Estate, Hospitality and Leisure industry, Rodgers brings a wealth of specialized expertise to WTW. She joins from Marsh, where she served as a Senior Vice President, Managing Director and Placement Leader for Commercial Property. Rodgers’ proficiency allowed her to be recognized by Risk & Insurance magazine as a “Hospitality Power Broker” in 2020.