JULY, 2010---Berkowitz Dick Pollack & Brant Certified Public Accountants & Consultants, LLP is pleased to announce that Associate Directors Andreea Cioara-Schinas, Adam L. Firestein, Daniel S. Hughes and Sandra L. Perez have been promoted to Firm Directors.
Andreea Cioara-Schinas, CPA
Director of Tax ServicesAndreea Cioara-Schinas has extensive experience in various areas of taxation, including pass-through, corporate, bankruptcy, receiverships, FAS 109 and Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404. She provides tax consulting services to recognized names in the real estate industry and to corporations engaging in mergers and acquisitions. She is also an insolvency tax specialist on some of the largest bankruptcy and receivership cases in South Florida.
A summa cum laude graduate of the Florida International University Master of Science in Taxation program, Ms. Cioara-Schinas is a member of the Leadership Council of Take Stock in Children of Miami –Dade County as well as Vice-Chair of the FICPA Florida Institute on Federal Taxation Committee. She was named as an “Emerging Leader-A Woman to Watch” this June at the FICPA’s Women’s Leadership Summit. She also is a guest speaker at the Florida International University, Executive Master in Taxation Program, at the Greater Fort Lauderdale Tax Council, and at the Greater Miami Tax Institute.
Adam L. Firestein, CPA
Director of Attest and Accounting ServicesAdam L. Firestein has provided attestation services to clients for more than 13 years. His experience includes auditing financial statements (including audits under Yellow Book requirements and public entities), performing review and agreed-upon procedure engagements and reviewing internal controls. He is also responsible for managing multiple audit engagements as well as the supervision and training of audit staff. His diversified experience includes clients in the governmental, employee benefit plan, not-for-profit, construction and manufacturing industries.
Mr. Firestein is a former member of the Annual FICPA Nonprofit Conference Committee and a current member of the Annual FICPA Construction Conference Committee as well as a Reviewer on the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) and a member of the Construction Financial Management Association (CFMA). He is a graduate of the University of South Florida with both a BS and a Master’s degree in Accounting.
Daniel S. Hughes, CPA, CFF
Director of Forensic and Business Valuation ServicesDan Hughes focuses his practice in Forensic Services and has nearly 20 years of experience with international accounting and consulting firms. Mr. Hughes has extensive experience in the quantification of economic damages in variety of commercial litigation matters as well as complex business interruption insurance claims. In addition, he has significant experience assisting officers and Board of Director committees with accounting investigations for financial reporting irregularities, embezzlement schemes, undisclosed transactions, unfair self-dealing, and undisclosed conflicts of interest / related party transactions. Mr. Hughes also has experience in post-merger / acquisition disputes as well as bankruptcy / reorganization. Industries served include hotels/real estate/restaurants, consumer retail, health care, and financial institutions.
Mr. Hughes is a graduate of the University of Illinois. A member of the 2010 class of Leadership Miami, he is also a member of the Board of Directors of the South Florida Chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth and Treasurer and member of the Board of the Bankers Club.
Sandra L. Perez, CPA, ABV, CFFDirector of Family Law Forensic ServicesSandra Perez has been performing forensic and valuation services for over 16 years and has developed a specialization in complex matrimonial and divorce issues. She has provided deposition testimony and has appeared before the courts as an expert witness. Assisting legal counsel in all aspects of the cases, she provides assistance in settlement conferences and mediations; she testifies in court; and she prepares business valuations as a part of determining the net worth and income of the parties. Ms Perez also prepares valuations of closely held companies for estate and gift tax purposes, purchase and sale transactions and buy-out agreements.
Certified in financial forensics and accredited in business valuation, Ms. Perez has been recognized several times as one of the top CPAs in Litigation Support. She is an associate member of the Broward County Bar Association, an affiliate member of the Florida Bar Family Law Section and a member of the Resource Council of the FICPA Valuation/Forensic Accounting and Litigation section. She holds a Master of Science in Taxation from the University of Miami.
Richard S. Fechter, JD, CAMS is an expert in forensic accounting investigations. He assists governments, court-appointed receivers, and corporate officers and directors and their outside counsel in the following situations: (1) government misappropriations; (2) anti-money laundering investigations and compliance; (3) embezzlement schemes; (4) ponzi schemes; (5) payments to fictitious vendors; (6) compliance with corporate ethics policies; (7) improper financial reporting; (8) analysis of lost profits; and (9) analysis of fraudulent conveyances, preferences, and other forensic issues involving insolvency case. An attorney and Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist, he is a member of the Florida Bar Association; The Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists; the Dade County Bar Association; and the South Florida Chapter of Certified Fraud Examiners.
Joel D. Glick, CPA, CFF provides litigation support in the areas of lost profit and damage analysis, bankruptcy and receivership matters, fraud and forensic accounting investigations, breach of contract, shareholder disputes, non-compete covenants, securities litigation, matrimonial disputes, wrongful death, defamation, and other general commercial matters.
