On the move: Baker Tilly names new brand ambassador

May 27, 2022 9:05 AM

Baker Tilly has named golfer Cameron Smith its new brand ambassador; RSM launched its Family Office Institute; a new Examinations director at the Securities and Exchange Commission; and other firm and personnel news from across the accounting profession.

CALIFORNIA

Lynette Stolarzyk

Lynette Stolarzyk has been named managing partner for the Bay Area market at Baker Tilly US, effective June 1. She joined the firm in 2015, and has held several leadership positions, most recently as specialty tax managing partner.

ILLINOIS

LAHAINA, HAWAII - JANUARY 09: Cameron Smith of Australia plays an approach shot on the ninth hole during the final round of the Sentry Tournament of Champions at the Plantation Course at Kapalua Golf Club on January 09, 2022 in Lahaina, Hawaii. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

Cameron Smith in the final round of the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January 2022.

Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

Baker Tilly US announced PGA Tour professional Cameron Smith as its brand ambassador. Smith is currently the fourth-ranked golfer in the world, winning the 2022 The Players Championship and finishing third at the 2022 Masters Tournament. “We admire Cameron Smith’s originality on and off the course,” said Baker Tilly CEO Alan Whitman, in a statement. “Baker Tilly is an organization that embraces authenticity. Like Cam Smith, our people challenge the status quo and find the new in the everyday. We are excited for the world to know us better.” Separately, the firm named partner Duncan Campbell to lead its private wealth practice effective June 1. Campbell joined Baker Tilly in 2019.

RSM US has partnered with Cornell University’s SC Johnson College of Business Smith Family Business Initiative to develop the RSM Family Office Institute. Designed for experienced managers and above, the institute aims to teach participants about the complex dynamics of family office business, wealth, generational, succession and other issues, and to give them skills to analyze trends tailored to the individual circumstances of each family office. It was created and will be led by Tony Wood, national family office leader with RSM US, and Karen Costa, the firm's national family office advisory center leader, with Cornell University expert faculty. It will begin in June 2022 with an initial class of 35 family office specialists. Separately, the firm announced the fifth class of its Industry Eminence Program, a three-year program that trains senior analysts to understand, forecast and communicate economic, business and technology trends shaping the industries the firm serves. This latest class comprises 13 senior analysts, including two from RSM UK.

MASSACHUSETTS

CPACharge has partnered with the Massachusetts Society of CPAs to give the society's members access to its online payment solution, which was developed specifically for accounting firms.

PENNSYLVANIA

Hershey-Ashley-Brown Schultz Sheridan Fritz

Ashley Hershey

Ashley M. Hershey, a manager at Brown Schultz Sheridan & Fritz, was named a Woman to Watch in the Central Penn Business Journal’s 2022 Women of Influence Awards. The honorees will be recognized during an awards celebration event on June 30. Twenty-nine Women of Influence, four Women to Watch and six Circle of Excellence honorees were selected by CPBJ for their significant contributions to their respective fields and for their leadership in Central Pennsylvania.

TEXAS

Kristen Sayegh

Kristen Sayegh, a tax partner at Whitley Penn, has been named to the Houston Business Journal’s 2022 40 Under 40 Class of 2022, which recognizes individuals based on their leadership, ability to overcome challenges and community involvement. The recipients will be honored in a special section of the Houston Business Journal the week of June 17.
Sayegh joined Whitley Penn in 2012, and works with families, entrepreneurs, closely held businesses, and high-net-worth individuals on estate planning, financial planning, federal and multi-jurisdictional income tax planning, and professional accounting services.

UNITED KINGDOM

Linda Mezon-Hutter and Robert Uhl have been appointed to five-year terms on the International Accounting Standards Board starting in September, succeeding Tom Scott and Mary Tokar in the Americas positions. In addition, Nick Anderson, Jianqiao Lu and Ann Tarca have been reappointed to serve second three-year terms.

The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants), the Pan African Federation of Accountants and PwC jointly released "State of the Profession in Africa," a report that polled more than 1,750 professionals to capture their views on capacity building, partnerships, influencing for socio-economic development, and future-readiness of the profession. Overall, the report — available here — found that the accounting profession in Africa was broadly optimistic about the continent's economic prospects.

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Joshua Roberts/Bloomberg

Richard R. Best has been named director of the Division of Examinations at the Securities and Exchange Commission. He has been acting director since late March; prior to that, he was the director of the SEC's New York Regional Office. He joined the commission in 2015, after holding positions at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, and serving as a prosecutor in the Bronx.

WISCONSIN

The National Association of Tax Professionals, Appleton, and Drake Software have partnered to present Taxes Today, a roundtable discussion covering pressing topics for professional tax preparers, including a wide range of credits and tax forms, cannabis tax, IRS issues, cryptocurrency and nonfungible tokens, and more. The panel for the prerecorded event includes Larry Gray, a firm owner and NATP government liaison; Sheri Fronsee; Drake COO John Sapp; and NATP instructor Randy Adams.