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Practice management

On the move: CalCPA honors members

By Daniel Hood
About Daniel
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daniel.hood@arizent.com
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Published August 14, 2026 1:29 PM
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Updated August 14, 2026 1:56 PM
1 Min Read

CalCPA held its annual member summit, installed its new chair and gave out a number of awards; Hitendra Patil has released a new book, "PE Deal Ready"; the Koltin Consulting Group and Top 100 Firm Bennett Thrasher made the Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies in the country; and other firm and personnel news from across the profession.

These summaries were drafted using AI and subjected to editorial review.

CALIFORNIA

CalCPA 2026 Awards
CalCPA held its annual Members Club Summit with hundreds of CPAs and accounting professionals in attendance, and installed Miklos Ringbauer, founder of MiklosCPA, as its 2026-27 board chair. The organization gave out a number of awards: Professor Annette Nellen of San José State University, San Jose, received the Distinguished Service Award; Professor Debbie Johnson of Cerritos College, Los Angeles, received the Outstanding Accounting Educator Award; Lynette Atchley received the Public Impact Award; SD Mayer was named Firm of the Year; Vasquez & Co. received the Community Impact Award; Gray Salt Associates received the Cultural Leadership Award; Miller Kaplan received the Most Innovative Firm Award; and EisnerAmper received the Next Gen Firm Award.

Weaver opened a new office in San Francisco, located at One Sansome St., Ste. 1800. The 4,796-square-foot office is led by executive partner Tigran Hovasapyan. The addition of the San Francisco office expands Weaver's California footprint to seven locations and brings the Houston-based firm's West Coast presence to eight offices.

FLORIDA

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Hitendra Patil has published "PE Deal Ready: See Your Firm the Way Private Equity Already Does Before You Sell, Merge, or Stay," which is written specifically for CPA firm owners evaluating private equity transactions or planning to remain independent. The ebook, available online, draws on three years of research into PE-CPA transactions and includes the Enterprise Attractiveness Scorecard, which calculates a firm's "True FirmWorth" based on 10 dimensions used by PE diligence teams to evaluate firms. The book contains more than 200 preparation actions, 41 questions PE buyers ask sellers, and 32 questions sellers should ask in return, covering the full transaction arc from initial contact through closing and post-deal integration. A free opening chapter is available.

International firm association Abacus Worldwide, Miami, has added Bolivian accounting firm Horady Ltda. Based in Cochabamba, Horady offers audit, accounting and business advisory services.

GEORGIA

Bennett Thrasher, Atlanta, was named to the 2026 Inc. 5000 list of the fastest-growing private companies in America. The firm has averaged 42% growth over the past three years.

ILLINOIS

Allan Koltin at the 2025 PE Summit
Allan Koltin
Koltin Consulting Group, Chicago, was named to the 2026 Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies in America, ranking No. 2,117 based on revenue growth over the past three years. The firm provides advisory services to accounting and financial services firms on M&A strategy, private equity transactions and strategic initiatives.

MARYLAND

Wanda Lynn of Brown Plus
Wanda Lynn
Wanda Lynn, principal, shareholder and audit director at Brown Plus, was named to The Daily Record's 2026 MD500, which  celebrates the most influential and accomplished professionals throughout Maryland, in the Accounting Category. Lynn has 30 years of experience providing attest services to manufacturing, service organizations, for-profit entities, nonprofit organizations and governmental entities. 

Chris Haiss, a partner at Gross, Mendelsohn & Associates, Baltimore, was elected to the board of directors of the American Subcontractors Association of Baltimore for the 2026-2027 term.

MICHIGAN

Plante Moran, Southfield, was ranked No. 13 on People magazine's "100 Companies that Care" list for 2026, marking the firm's fifth consecutive year on the list. PricewaterhouseCoopers came in at No. 14, KPMG at No. 59, RSM US at No. 61, and EY at No. 94.

NEW YORK

Scott Moritz of EisnerAmper
Scott Moritz
Scott Moritz has joined EisnerAmper, New York City, as a managing director in the forensic, litigation and valuation services practice. He brings nearly 40 years of experience in forensic accounting and investigations, previously serving as an FBI special agent and in senior leadership roles at several professional services firms before founding White Collar Forensic.

NORTH CAROLINA

The American Society of Cost Segregation Professionals is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Founded in 2006, the organization serves more than 300 members nationwide across accounting, engineering, tax and related disciplines, providing education, certification programs, technical resources and the Certified Cost Segregation Professional designation.

OHIO

Judy Luca of Meaden & Moore
Judy Luca
Judy Luca has joined Meaden & Moore, Cleveland, as a director in the tax services group, while Blake Norton has joined the firm as a tax senior manager.

PENNSYLVANIA

Centri Business Consulting, Philadelphia, was named to the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies in the United States for the third consecutive year. 

UNITED KINGDOM

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Sam Woods
IFRS Foundation
Steven Maijoor was appointed chair of the IFRS Foundation Trustees, succeeding Erkki Liikanen, while Sam Woods was appointed chair of the International Accounting Standards Board, succeeding Andreas Barckow. (See our story.)

WASHINGTON

Natalie Trudell of VSH
Natalie Trudell
Natalie Trudell has been promoted to the newly created position of director of tax at VSH CPAs, Bellingham. She joined the firm in 2014 as a staff accountant.

WASHINGTON, D.C.

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Kyle Hauptman
Kyle Hauptman was sworn in as a board member of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, Washington. (See our story.)

The Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board is seeking an executive director, with applications due by Sept. 3. Current executive director Monica Valentine plans to retire by the end of calendar year 2026 after more than 35 years with the organization. (See our story.)

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Daniel Hood
Editor-in-chief
Daniel Hood has been editor-in-chief of Accounting Today since 2011; he joined Accounting Today as managing editor in 1998. A graduate of Georgetown... Read full bio
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