CALIFORNIA

BlackLine announced its plan to open an office next month in Pleasanton, which will be its 14th worldwide and will serve as another research and development center.

CAMICO, San Mateo, posted total policyholders’ surplus of $42.6 million in net income of more than $2.1 million for the year ended Dec. 31, 2018. The company outlined the rest on the annual results in its 2018 Operations Report.

COSTA RICA

CGS-CPAs & Consultores, San Jose, was appointed as the newest member firm of global association Morison KSi.

ILLINOIS

moorestephens-growth-academy-2019
The Moore Stephens North American Dynamic Growth Academy (formerly Leadership Growth Academy) completed its first program, graduating 19 participants from nine member firms. Graduates included: Kevin Boeving, Scott Brandt, Todd Goldenhersh, Amy Ribick, Anne Ritter, Dan Schoenleber, Greg Smith, Jen Vacha and Debbie Vandeven from Brown Smith Wallace; Chris Leikert from Beene Garter; Phil Lampugnano and Yoko Yamamoto from CDH; Francys Brown and Isabelle Lemieux from Demers Beaulne; Daniel Gaudet from DiCicco, Gulman & Co.; Chris Tull from Doeren Mayhew; Pete Jones from Frazer; Stephen Rollins from G.T. Reilly & Co.; and Eli Gembom from Segal. (Read the full story.)

IOWA

Honkamp Krueger & Co.
Honkamp Krueger, Dubuque, launched the first episode of its new “Not Just Any Business” podcast, which will feature subject matter experts from the industry discussing hot topics, news and strategies. The podcast is available here.

MASSACHUSETTS

Blumshapiro, Quincy, announced a new board of directors for the Blumshapiro Foundation, along with a new focus for the firm’s community giving. Blumshapiro CEO Joseph Kask will now serves as the president of the foundation, with partners Andrew Lattimer, Mary Kay Curtiss and Michelle Hatch serving as vice president, treasurer and secretary, respectively. The foundation has also formalized its mission in supporting the greater community where the firm is located.

NEW JERSEY

The New Jersey Society of CPAs, Roseland, added four new business service providers that will offer discounted services to NJCPA members: Accountants Advisory Group in New York and Florida; Marketing 360 in Fort Collins, Colorado; Matters of Management of Wayne, N.J.; and Whitman Business Advisors of Morganville, N.J.

NEW YORK

KPMG logo on wall
The offices of KPMG in Chicago
KPMG, New York, announced that Villanova School of Business and the University of Southern California Leventhal School of Accounting have expanded their offering in the KPMG master of accounting with data and analytics program to include a tax concentration for the 2020-21 academic year. The universities join the University of Mississippi’s Patterson School of Accountancy in including tax in the curriculum, and applications for all participating institutions are being accepted through May 19 for the 2020-21 program. More information is available here.

EisnerAmper joined forces with Preqin, a provider of data, insights and tools for alternative asset professionals, to publish the 2019 Private Equity Real Estate Market Outlook, a 24-page report focusing on key topics like fundraising, Qualified Opportunity Funds, deals in 2018, and attracting capital. The report is available here.

Marcum, New York, was the top-ranked IPO auditor for the first quarter of 2019, according to Audit Analytics, for completing more IPO audits than any other U.S. accounting firm.

NORTH DAKOTA

Eide Bailly's office in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Eide Bailly, Fargo, joined the Wall Street Blockchain Alliance and the Accounting Blockchain Coalition, both aimed at educating businesses about matters relevant to digital assets and distributed ledger technology.

PENNSYLVANIA

The Pennsylvania CPA Foundation announced the launch of a new podcast series, “Work Your Way to CPA,” a four-part series that began with the first episode, “Selecting a review provider.” (Read the full story.)

RHODE ISLAND

The RI Society of CPAs, Cranston, launched the Accounting & Financial Collaborative, a workforce training program involving RealJobsRI, college students and Rhode Island accounting firms and aimed at college juniors and seniors majoring in accounting and finance. The program has brought together blumshapiro, DiSanto, Priest & Co., Piccerelli, Gilstein & Co., Sansiveri, Kimball & Co., and TD Bank.

TENNESSEE

LBMC's offices in Brentwood, Tenn., near Nashville
LBMC's offices in Brentwood, Tenn., near Nashville
LBMC, Nashville, announced that its BALLAST business unit launched a partner program that enables IT managed services providers, and compliance and audit professionals to streamline the risk assessment process for clients and provide access to IT audit and security experts.

UNITED KINGDOM

The IFRS Foundation, London, published its annual report and audited financial statements for the year ended Dec. 31, 2018. The report is available here.

WASHINGTON, D.C.

The Center for Audit Quality and the Auditing Section of the American Accounting Association have made four new awards under the Access to Audit Personnel Program. The review committee selected the following projects to support: Lindsay M. Andiola, Virginia Commonwealth University, “The Effect of Early Prompts on Auditors’ Going Concern Reporting Judgments” (with Tamara A. Lambert and Marietta Peytcheva, Lehigh University); Christy Nielson, University of Georgia, “Investigating How Empowerment Improves Auditors’ Skepticism and Fraud Detection” (with Ashley Austin, University of Richmond, and Tina Carpenter and Margaret Christ, University of Georgia); K. Kelli Saunders, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, “Outcome Bias or Surrogation? Examining Audit Reviewer Evaluations of Skeptical Actions” (with Mary E. Marshall, Louisiana Tech University; and Chad M. Stefaniak, University of South Carolina); and Amy C. Tegeler, University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, “Auditors’ Reaction to Feedback from PCAOB Inspections” (with Veena L. Brown, University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, and Denise H. Downey, Villanova University).
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