State CPA Societies Tap New Leaders

Several state CPA societies have announced new leaders this past week, including California, Minnesota, New Jersey and New York.

[IMGCAP(1)]In California, Andrew Mintzer became chair of the California Society of CPAs for 2016-17. He previously served as CalCPA's first vice chair. Mintzer is a forensic accountant and a principal with Hemming Morse LLP in Los Angeles. He currently serves on the AICPA's Professional Ethics Executive Committee and previously was on the Auditing Standards Board and the AICPA's Accounting Standards Executive Committee. He also has chaired several CalCPA state committees.

Speaking last week at the CalCPA Council's annual meeting at the Langham Huntington Hotel, he said, “My priorities for the coming year will be to elevate the engagement of our members by supporting a structure and increased opportunities for involvement—all with the goal of helping our members serve the public.”

Charles Osaki was elected president of CalCPA’s Education Foundation for 2016-17. He previously served as first vice president. In accepting his new position, Osaki said at the annual meeting that the Education Foundation is embracing technology advances, including data analytics and cloud computing, to expand content delivery. “We will try creative business models and come up with innovative products and services to effectively serve our customers,” he said. “We are laying the groundwork to continue our success in an extremely competitive environment.”

Osaki is a principal in human relations for Squar Miller LLP in Newport Beach, Calif. He is a former chair and continuing member of the CalCPA’s Accounting Education & Careers Committee and a member of the advisory committee for the master of science in taxation program at California State University, Northridge.

CalCPA also presented Dennis Young, a past president of the CalCPA Education Foundation, with its Distinguished Service Award.

In Minnesota, the Minnesota Society of CPAs’ board of directors recently named Linda Wedul, the MNCPA’s current vice president of member relationships and planning, as the organization’s new president. She was originally hired to do continuing professional education, and has since overseen operations in membership, marketing, communications, digital strategies and IT. Before working at the MNCPA, Wedul did branch reporting at Midwest Federal Savings and Loan in Minneapolis.

In New Jersey, Walter J. Brasch, partner and chief business development officer at PFK O’Connor Davies, began his one-year term as president of the New Jersey Society of CPAs on June 1. He first joined the NJCPA in 1977. Brasch has served on the NJCPA Board of Trustees as a trustee, treasurer, secretary and president-elect. He is a member of the NJCPA Finance and Retirement Savings Plan committees and is an Education Foundation and Scholarship Fund trustee. He also chaired the NJ-CPA-PAC and served as president, vice president, secretary and director of the NJCPA Monmouth/Ocean Chapter.

In New York, employee benefit plans advisor and auditor David Evangelista was recently elected president of the New York State Society of CPAs’ Foundation for Accounting Education by the FAE’s board of trustees. Evangelista, of Stony Point, N.Y., is a principal at MSPC Certified Public Accountants and Advisors. His one-year term as FAE president began June 1.

[IMGCAP(2)]The NYSSCPA also named Harold L. Deiters III as president-elect.  He is a partner at Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP in Melville, N.Y. He will serve a one-year term before he is automatically installed as president of the NYSSCPA Board of Directors in June 2017. He will succeed F. Michael Zovistoski, a managing director at UHY LLP, who began his term June 1.

Deiters is currently a member the Society’s Business Valuation and Finance committees. He previously served as a Suffolk Chapter president, president-elect, vice-president, treasurer and executive board member.

Greg J. Altman, director of finance and operations at Health Sciences Charter School, a charter high school located in Buffalo, was elected vice president of the NYSSCPA. He is currently a member of the Buffalo Chapter Cooperation with Educational Institutions and committees. Altman is also a member of the Buffalo COAP Advisory Board.

Anthony S. Chan, president of CA Global Consulting Inc. in Flushing, N.Y. has also been elected to the NYSSCPA board as vice president. His one-year term began June 1. He just completed a three-year term on the board as a director-at-large and he is currently a member of the Society’s Chief Financial Officers, Internal Audit and SEC committees.

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