Newsmakers In The Profession

Edward A. Valaitis was named officer in charge of Amper Risk Advisors, part of Amper, Politziner & Mattia of Edison, NJ. He is based in the firm's New York office. Previously, Valaitis was National Director and Co-Founder of the risk consulting division of BDO Seidman providing internal audit, risk mitigation, forensic, information systems security, business process improvement and Sarbanes-Oxley services to middle-market and Fortune 1000 companies. Prior to that, he was instrumental in building Jefferson Wells International. AP&M has FY06 net revenue of $65.7 million, 48 partners, 372 total staff and five offices.

David P. Bloch, former assistant chief enforcement litigator with the SEC and a federal prosecutor with the U.S. Department of Justice in the Tax Division's Criminal Section, joined Deloitte as a principal in its Forensic & Dispute Services practice. Bloch is based in Washington. He will work closely with law firms, corporate counsel and audit committees in assisting with investigations arising from civil and criminal enforcement inquiries. Bloch will also assist counsel with False Claims Act matters, whistle-blower investigations and fraud investigations for privately held entities.

Randi A. Schuster joined Holtz Rubenstein Reminick of Mellville, N. Y. as principal in charge of trust and estate services. Schuster, a lawyer, previously was National Director of Family Wealth Planning at BDO Seidman and the U.S. representative on BDO's International Committee for Global Private Client Services. HRR has FY05 net revenue of $26.2 million, 22 partners, 169 total staff and two offices.

Scott Work joined Malone & Bailey of Houston as an SEC audit partner. He joins the firm from Duke Energy, where he oversaw the implementation of SOX regulations internationally and internal controls. He is also an alumnus of KPMG. M&B had FY05 net revenue of $3.3 million.

Mohler Nixon & Williams of Campbell, Calif., admitted two new partners: Kevin Maddock and David Welsh. Maddock works in the audit department. Welsh works in the tax department and specializes in tax planning and compliance for corporations. Previously, both were senior managers at the firm. In other news, founding partner Earl Mohler retired after 26 years with the firm. During his tenure, the firm grew from three partners to 22 partners. It has FY06 net revenue of $26.9 million, 149 total staff and two offices.

Morrison Brown Argiz & Farra of Miami admitted three new partners: David Barbeito, Rosa Bravo and David Hollander. Previously, Barbeito was a director in the audit department. He focuses his practice on auditing services for finance companies, manufacturing companies, not-for-profits, professional sports franchises, real estate, tobacco growers and wholesale distributors. Bravo was a director in the tax consulting department and focuses on real estate, retail automotive and small businesses. Hollander specializes in audits of small and medium size businesses. MBA&F has FY05 net revenue of $37.1 million, 21 partners, 180 total staff and three offices.

John F. Mackey joined Reznick Group as a principal in the Real Estate Transactions practice. He'll be based at the firm's headquarters in Bethesda, Md., and will also have an office in Boston. Previously, he was with Ziner, Kennedy & Lehan in Boston and directed its real estate syndication services practice. The firm has FY05 net revenue of $133.6 million, 71 principals, 808 total staff, and seven offices.

RubinBrown of St. Louis admitted Eric A. Janson and James R. Ritts to partnership. Janson works in the assurance services and SEC practice groups and provides assurance services, SEC advisory services, and consults on technical accounting topics and SEC financial reporting issues. Ritts works in the Tax Consulting Services Group. He works with clients in the contractors, manufacturing and distribution, consulting and not-for-profit groups. RubinBrown has FY05 net revenue of $39.9 million, 45 partners, more than 320 total staff and two offices.

Bruce Kreindel joined Templeton & Co. of West Palm Beach, Fla., as vice president. He will concentrate on providing services to middle-market emerging growth companies. He spent the last 28 years at PricewaterhouseCoopers, where he was a senior partner and served clients in the hospitality and leisure industries and other clients. Templeton has FY05 net revenue of $4.2 million, two partners, 25 total staff and two offices.

Tidwell DeWitt of Birmingham, Ala., admitted Mike McCraw as a member and a partner. He leads the firm's Project Outsourcing division and serves as an outsourced CFO. He specializes in the construction, manufacturing and healthcare industries. TD has FY05 net revenue of $7.9 million, 11 partners, 113 total staff and five offices.

WithumSmith+Brown of Princeton, N. J., admitted three new shareholders: Thomas J. Hoberman, John J. O'Donnell, and Randall M. Paulikens. All previously were senior managers at' the firm and work in the litigation support group. Hoberman and O'Donnell are based in the Princeton office. Paulikens is based in the firm's Red Bank, N.J., office. WS+B has FY06 net revenue of $53 million, 51 partners, 289 total staff, and seven offices.