* California
Tom O'Rourke has joined Haskell & White LLP, Irvine, as a partner in the Tax Department. He spent the last six years at Ernst & Young, where he specialized in the real estate, construction and hospitality industries. ... BDO Seidman LLP has admitted two new partners: Carol-Ann Simon, in the San Jose office, and Doug Hart, in the San Francisco office. Simon will be national partner-in-charge of expatriate tax; she previously worked at Ernst & Young. Hart previously worked at KPMG, where he led the consumer industries practice. ... Kevin D. Holmes has been promoted to partner at Good Swartz Brown & Berns LLP, Los Angeles. He co-founded the firm's Sarbanes-Oxley consulting practice. ... Andrew J. Armanino has been promoted to managing partner at Armanino McKenna LLP, San Ramon, succeeding Joseph Moore, who will continue with the firm in a senior consulting position as he transitions to retirement. In addition, Paul O'Grady was promoted to partner in the Audit Department, and Ralph Haskew joined the firm as a manager in the tax practice.
* Colorado
Lori Bauer, Michael Marso and Jennifer Todd have been promoted to senior at Bondi & Co., Englewood. Bauer brings two decades of experience, including owning a tax and accounting firm; Marso has three years of experience; Todd has four years of experience, and previously worked in banking.
* Connecticut
George M. Thomson, head of the business valuation practice at Filomeno & Co., West Hartford, has earned the Certified Valuation Analyst designation from the National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts. ... Marc Schnabolk has been appointed president of Cartesis North America, Norwalk. He brings 18 years of technology experience, including senior management and operations positions at Oracle, Open Text and Business Objects.
* Florida
Suzanne C. Low, director of Florida operations for Lassus Wherley, Naples, has been appointed to the Government Relations Committee of the Financial Planning Association for 2005. ... Kendall Chancellor, Rebecca J. Ingram and Vicki K. Jernigan have been promoted to accounting manager, accounting semi-senior and accounting supervisor, respectively, at Bloomer, Geri & Co., Pensacola. Chancellor joined the firm in 2002, and specializes in accounting and tax for the construction industry. Ingram joined the firm in 2003, and recently co-wrote and co-presented a presentation on casualty losses in the wake of Hurricane Ivan. Jernigan joined the firm in 2002; she previously worked for a construction contractor. ... Benjamin B. Green, an accountant with Wiltshire, Whitley, Richardson & English PA, Fort Myers, has achieved his CPA status. He has been with the firm for two years. ... Conard Wrightsman Jr. has joined Wentzel, Berry, Wentzel & Phillips PA, Naples, as senior auditor. Prior to joining the firm, he was a senior accountant with another Naples CPA firm, and an assistant vice president at First Union National Bank.
* Illinois
Richard D. Spiegel has been admitted as partner-in-charge of quality assurance at Steinberg Advisors, Northbrook. He joined the firm in 2002. ... Robert A. Cann has been admitted to partnership in Legacy Professionals LLP, Chicago.
* Maryland
Richard Gray and James McAlpin have joined the Business Valuation/Forensic and Litigation Services Group of Ellin & Tucker Chartered, Baltimore, as a senior manager and an analyst, respectively. Gray brings 19 years of experience, most recently as a senior manager at Clifton Gunderson. McAlpin was formerly a senior analyst at the Reznick Group. In addition, Carl Kampel, the firm's director in charge of professional standards, has been appointed to the American Institute of CPAs' Health Care Accounting and Audit Guide Revision Task Force. ... Reena V. Mathunny has joined Councilor, Buchanan & Mitchell PC, Bethesda, as a senior auditor, and James H. Chang and Michael P. Uong have joined the firm as staff auditors.
* Massachusetts
Dianna Crowell has joined Caras and Shulman PC, Burlington, as a staff accountant in the accounting and audit practice. In addition, Angela Iacono has been promoted to supervisor of retirement plan services. ... Paul A. Marcus has joined Tofias PC, Cambridge, as a principal in the dispute and investigative advisory practice. He was previously a managing director of a corporate finance group. ... Braver & Co. PC, Newton, has chosen new leaders: Patrick B. Riley, managing shareholder and director of the firm's International and Litigation Services Practice Groups, has been elected president; Dennis S. Pellecchia, director of the Real Estate, Tax and Accounting Practice Groups, has been elected chairman of the executive board; and Christopher M. Stevens has been elected vice president.
* Michigan
UHY Advisors announced a number of promotions: In Southfield, Heather Brenke was promoted from senior manager to principal, and Terese Cutajar and John Gallo from manager to senior manager. Brenke has been with the firm for 13 years, specializing in nonprofits and employee benefit plans; Cutajar has been with the firm for eight years, specializing in the petroleum and convenience store industry; and Gallo has been with the firm for nine years, specializing in corporate tax and turnaround work for construction and manufacturing clients. In Sterling Heights, Laura Spiegel has been promoted from senior accountant to manager. She has been with the firm for three years. ... Thomas P. Rosenbach, managing partner of Moore Stephens Beene Garter PLC, Grand Rapids, has been named chairman of Moore Stephens North America Inc.
* Missouri
Deborah Underhill has joined Brown Smith Wallace Barvan Small Business Services LLC, St. Louis, as a staff accountant. She previously spent 10 years at CPA firms in Indiana and New Jersey, most recently as a senior audit manager. In addition, Patrick M. Shelton has been promoted to principal in Benefit Plans Plus, a BSW subsidiary, and Jeff Gusdorf has been promoted to principal in BSW's Consulting Group.
* New Jersey
Hal R. Terr has joined WithumSmith+Brown as a manager in the Tax Department of the Princeton office. He brings ten years of experience in income tax and financial and advanced estate planning, most recently as a regional managing director at Wachovia Wealth Management. ... Walter J. Brasch and Theresa M. Dominianni have joined Wiss & Co. LLP as partners in the Red Bank and Livingston offices, respectively. Brasch brings over 30 years of experience in public accounting; Dominianni, who will be partner-in-charge of the firm's nonprofit practice, brings 25 years of experience.
* New York
U.S. Chief District Judge Sven Erik Holmes will join KPMG LLP, New York, as vice chair of legal affairs and chief legal officer when he steps down from the bench in March. He has served for ten years as chief judge for the Northern District of Oklahoma. ... Aimee A. Losurdo has been promoted to manager in the Tax Department of Grimaldi & Nelkin CPAs PLLC, Syracuse. She recently returned to the firm after a year with a firm in Arizona. ... Ralph M. Jeswald has joined Dopkins & Co. LLP, Buffalo, as a director. He brings over 20 years of experience from Tronconi, Segarra & Associates, where he was most recently in charge of business advisory and assurance services.
* North Carolina
Rose E. Lay has become a shareholder in Burgess, Lowman & Associates PA, Kitty Hawk. She has 16 years of public accounting experience, including stints as a federal auditor and a chief financial officer. ... Jennifer Burton, Kirk Lusch, David Rainey, Rich Rollins and Joyce Waterbury have been admitted to membership in Dixon Hughes, High Point. Burton joined the firm in 1988, and specializes in auditing and receivership accounting for property and casualty insurance companies; Lusch joined the firm in 2002, after more than 10 years at a Big Four firm; Rainey has been with the firm for three years, after 14 years as a tax partner at a Big Four firm; Rollins joined the firm in 2001, specializing in hospital operations improvement and financial feasibility studies; and Waterbury joined the firm in 1998, and focuses on the tax practice.
* Ohio
Tanya L. Malone and Jodi L. Scott have joined Skoda, Minotti & Co., Mayfield Village, as a manager and as director of employee development, respectively. Malone will work in the Accounting and Auditing Department, focusing on Sarbanes-Oxley work. Previously, Scott was a senior education and training specialist with a large health system.
* Pennsylvania
Ronald J. Scanlon has been named managing director of the Financial Services Industry Group of Parente Randolph. Previously, he was an audit principal in the Pittsburgh office, having joined the firm in 2003. In addition, Martin Foley has been named principal-in-charge of the firm's assurance and tax practices for the southeast region. ... Thomas Bunting III, managing partner of Briggs, Bunting & Dougherty LLP, Philadelphia, has received the Certified in Mergers & Acquisitions designation from the Alliance of Merger & Acquisition Advisors. ... Thomas G. Rees has joined Penn Mutual Life Insurance Co., Horsham, as vice president and chief accounting officer. He brings 20 years of experience, most recently as deputy chief accountant at the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
* Wisconsin
Karin M. Gale has joined Schenck Business Solutions, Milwaukee, as a shareholder. She specializes in buying and selling businesses, and was previously a shareholder with Vrakas/Blum.
