State CPA Society News & Updates is a selection of recent announcements and initiatives by CPA associations in the United States and its territories.
The Massachusetts Society of CPAs (MassCPA) and the Maine Society of Certified Public Accountants (MECPA) is holding the New England Practice Management Conference, which will take place November 19-21 at the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut.
The cost of the three-day conference is $899 for members and $1,099 for non-members. For more information, check out the conference brochure or register for the conference online.
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The Utah Association of CPAs (UACPA) announced the winners of the Shellebrate CPAs. The awards ceremony was held on September 18, 2025 at that Loveland Living Planet Aquarium. The 2025 award recipients include:
- Distinguished Service Award: William E. “Bill” Walpole, CPA. Walpole is a founding member and Director of Small Business Services at Teuscher Walpole.
- Outstanding CPA in Public Practice: Aaron B. Rentschler, CPA. Rentschler is a tax partner at Davis and Bott in Brigham City with over 15 years of experience.
- Outstanding CPA in Nonprofit & Government: Ariane M. Gibson, CPA. Gibson is the Deputy Director and Chief Financial Officer at the Utah Inland Port Authority.
- Outstanding Educator: Scott W. Pickett, CPA. After a 28-year career at PwC, Pickett began a second career teaching at the University of Utah.
- Outstanding Leadership Council Member: Michael F. Michelsen, CPA. Michelsen is an Audit Partner at Eide Bailly LLP and an Adjunct Instructor of Accounting at Utah Valley University. He is the chair of the Utah CPA Foundation and serves on several other UACPA committees.
- Rising Star: Mike Acord, CPA. Acord is a Director in KPMG’s Deal Advisory – Accounting Advisory Services practice and serves on several UACPA committees including his role as Co-chair of the Emerging Professionals.
- Women to Watch: Emerging Leaders:
- McKenna Sanders, CPA started in tax services, but discovered her passion for mentoring and is the recruitment manager at Tanner.
- Madison Hirase, CPA is a Tax Director at Incite Tax where she has helped grow the tax division and share her passion for the profession.
- Women to Watch: Experienced Leaders:
- Megan Bronson, CPA is an Advisory Partner at Squire and has been named a Top 100 QuickBooks® ProAdvisor for 10 consecutive years.
- Erika Whitmore, CPA is the Office Managing Partner of KPMG’s Salt Lake City office with over 24 years of experience.
- Lifetime Members:
- Kevin L. Johansen, CPA spent 36 years with KPMG, with 26 years as an audit partner.
- Paul K. Mendenhall, CPA is the president of the Heber Valley Heritage Foundation and a past president of the UACPA.
- Bryan C. Bolander, CPA is a former president of the UACPA.
- Kent Wayne Goates, CPA retired as the CFO for BambooHR in 2022 and has been a UACPA member since 1983.
- Mark E. Low, CPA is a retired managing partner from Jones Simkins LLC.
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The Kansas Society of CPAs (KSCPA) has opened registration for the 75th Annual Tax Conference Videocast, which will be held at the Hinkle Family Law Firm LLC in Wichita. The conference is a mixture of in-person and virtual speakers and is scheduled for November 20-21, 2025. Check out the conference page for more details and to register for the event.
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The Michigan Association of CPAs (MICPA) will host Celebrate on November 12, 2025 to honor individuals and organizations shaping the future of accounting. 2025 honorees include:
- Accounting Teaching Excellence – Dr. Emily Zoet, CPA, MBA – Associate Professor, Accounting, Ferris State University
- Chair’s Service– Paul Glantz, CPA – Co-founder, Chairman and CEO, Emagine Entertainment
- Empower– Plante Moran
- Finance Visionary– Laci Christiansen, CPA – Finance Director/Treasurer, City of Hazel Park
- Future of Accounting– NABA Inc. at Western Michigan University
- Thomas M. Hoatlin Award– John P. Eardley, CPA, M.S.T – Partner, Crowe LLP
- Thomas M. Hoatlin Award– Mike Merkel, CPA – State and Local Tax Partner, Plante Moran
- Impact– Michelle F. Gallagher, CPA/ABV/CFF – Strategic Partner, Adamy Valuation; Partner, Gallagher Flintoff & Klein CPAs
- Rising Star– Michael Wilson II, CPA – Manager, Yeo & Yeo
- Small Firm– McKeown & Kraai Professional CPAs
- Volunteer of the Year– Duane Reyhl, CPA – Audit and Accounting Partner, AHP
- Women to Watch – Emerging Leader- Brittani Shantel Jackson, PhD, CPA – Assistant Professor of Accountancy, Western Michigan University
- Women to Watch – Experienced Leader– Marlene Beach, CPA – Principal, UHY LLP
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The Ohio Society of CPAs (OSCPA) has opened registration for the 2025 Mega Tax Conference, which will be held December 9-10, 2025. The cost for the virtual conference that features more than 30+ sessions is $483 with a non-member cost of $604. Visit the Mega Tax Conference page for more information and to register.
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The New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants (NJCPA) recently announced the 2025 Ovation Award winners.
LIFETIME LEADER– Edward I. Guttenplan, CPA, MBA, CGMA– Managing Shareholder Emeritus at WilkinGuttenplan
EMERGING LEADERS:
- Matthew G. Charne, CPA– Audit Director at CliftonLarsonAllen LLP
- Patrick Cleaver, CPA– Audit Senior Associate at Crowe LLP
- Andrew Coombs, CPA, MBA, MST– Partner at Coombs CPA PC
- Jay Maslow, CPA– Tax Associate at Alvarez and Marsal
- Guy A. Schaeffler, CPA, MAccy– Manager – Assurance Services at Ernst & Young LLP
- Bridget D. Uribe, CPA, MS– Tax Manager at WilkinGuttenplan
- Brandon M. Ventura, CPA– Financial Reporting Manager at AdvanSix Inc
- Kaitlin N. Vinch, CPA, MST– Senior Tax Analyst at Johnson & Johnson
- Joseph W. Zapf, CPA– Manager at CliftonLarsonAllen LLP
EXCEPTIONAL EDUCATOR:
- Natalia Jouan, CMA – Assistant Professor of Professional Practice at Rutgers Business School- New Brunswick
- Scott McGregor, CPA, CMA, CFA– Associate Professor of Accounting and Department Chair at Fairleigh Dickinson University – Madison
- Yigal M. Rechtman, CPA, CFE, CITP, CISM– Managing Partner at Rechtman Consulting LLC
- IMPACT– Daniel Barbera, CPA, MBA, CGMA– Chief Financial Officer at Lydia Security Monitoring, Inc.
- Robert J. Dethlefsen, CPA, CGMA, MBA– at Robert Dethlefsen, CPA
- Paula G. Ferreira, CPA– NY Metro Area – Assistant Managing Partner/NJ Market Leader at Forvis Mazars US
- Lauren M. Holman, CPA, PSA, MA– Partner at Holman Frenia Allison, P.C.
- Joseph F. Hunt, CPA, PSA– Assurance Manager at CliftonLarsonAllen LLP
- Donald E. Jump, CPA– Partner at Jump, Perry and Company, LLP
- James L. Massarelli, CPA, MST– at The Koenig Group, LLC
- Lisa Osofsky, CPA, MST– Partner at Forvis Mazars US
- Cam Pardo, CPA, MBA, CFP– Principal at Pardo & Associates, CPA
- Sherise D. Ritter, CPA, CGFM, CGMA, PSA– Principal at Mercadien Group
- David N. Roth, CPA– Managing Member and CEO at RRBB Advisors, LLC
- Debra M. Simon, CPA, MST– Princpal at DMSimon CPA, LLC
- Caitlin M. Smith, CPA– Partner at SKC & Co. CPAs, LLC
- Brian J. Waldron, CPA, PSA– Partner and Director of Quality Control at Holman Frenia Allison, P.C.
INNOVATION
- Elizabeth E. Bechtel, CPA, MBA– Owner at Bechtel CPA, LLC
- Michael J. Tagariello, CPA– Senior Manager at Giordano, Cohen, Fastiggi, Luciano, Sweeney & Co., P.A.
- Eric Yuan, CPA– Audit Senior Manager at Ernst & Young LLP
WOMAN TO WATCH
- Meggan L. Ciaccia, CPA– President at Ciaccia CPA
- Amanda Dominguez– COO/Partner at Wiss & Company, LLP
- Rachel Faith Efthemes, CPA, MST– Partner, Private Client Services at Forvis Mazars US
- Angela Garofalo, CPA, CFP– Partner at Citrin Cooperman
- Megan T. Kelly, CPA, CFE, CVA– Director at FAZ Forensics
- Patricia M. Linsley, CPA– Audit Manager at Holman Frenia Allison, P.C.
- Lori A. Roth, CPA/ABV, CFF– Global Managing Partner at Prager Metis CPAs, LLC
- Debra Simon, CPA– Tax Manager, Estate & Trust at Stephano Slack LLC
- Rachel Suntag, CPA– Associate Director, Financial Controls and Compliance at Novartis Corporation
- Katherine E. Zech, CPA– Partner at PKF O’Connor Davies, LLP
Be sure to check out the awards page for more information on each of the honorees.
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