Professionals on the Move - May 2024

Professionals on the Move is a round-up of recent promotions, management changes, and other staffing announcements from across the profession.

Wolters Kluwer announces two senior executive appointments

Wolters Kluwer, a global leader in information, software, and services for professionals, recently announced Atul Dubey as General Manager of its Finance, Risk and Regulatory Reporting (FRR) business, part of its Corporate Performance & ESG (CP & ESG) division. Suzanne Konstance will succeed Dubey as General Manager of Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S, part of the company’s Legal & Regulatory division, effective May 1.

Dubey joined Wolters Kluwer in 2016 as Chief Strategy Officer, with a strong background in institutional banking, having held senior leadership roles at Citigroup, S&P Global and Booz Allen.

Konstance held leadership positions in Wolters Kluwer for eight years, in which she built a strong track record in product management, strategy and go-to-market. She most recently served as Vice President & Segment Leader of Lien Solutions for the Wolters Kluwer Compliance Solutions business unit – a part of the company’s Financial & Corporate Compliance (FCC) division. She successfully engaged in launching AI-enabled products to transform the business while managing to achieve an above-market growth rate. Prior to joining Wolters Kluwer, Konstance held senior roles at Pitney Bowes, Citibank, and MetLife.

KSM Announces Appointments for Five New Leadership Roles

Katz, Sapper & Miller (KSM) recently announced the appointments of Erin Eberly, Jason Patch, Mike North, Mike Lee, and Jamie Ellis to newly created roles overseeing the firm’s tax, audit, and advisory practices, its industry groups, and its operations. As partners-in-charge, Eberly, Patch, North, Lee, and Ellis set strategic direction and oversee hiring and talent development for their respective areas. They also work together to ensure a world-class experience for KSM’s people and clients. Together, with CEO and President Tim Cook, they comprise KSM’s executive committee, the firm’s leadership team.

Erin Eberly has been named the partner-in-charge of KSM’s tax services. In this role, Eberly leads tax professionals across the firm to deliver tax compliance and consulting services with excellence. Since joining the firm in 2002, Eberly has served as a tax and business advisor to entrepreneurs, high-net-worth individuals, high-growth companies, and some of central Indiana’s most prominent technology companies as the partner-in-charge of KSM’s Technology Industry Services Group. She has been a key voice in the creation of the firm’s internal diversity initiative and is a trailblazer for women’s professional development.

Jason Patch is the newly appointed partner-in-charge of KSM’s audit services. In this role, Patch leads audit professionals across the firm to deliver core audit and assurance services with excellence. Since joining the firm in 2001, Patch has provided audit, review, and attestation services to clients in numerous industries, with a particular emphasis in manufacturing and distribution. He serves as the partner-in-charge of the firm’s Manufacturing & Distribution Services Group.

Mike North has assumed the role of partner-in-charge of KSM’s advisory services. In this role, North leads a team of professionals across the firm who provide a multitude of specialty advisory services. Since joining the firm in 2000, North has consulted with clients in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, financial reporting, auditing, compliance, and internal control matters. As an executive committee member, North is responsible for KSM’s merger and acquisition initiatives and other strategic investments.

Mike Lee has been named the partner-in-charge of KSM’s key industries. In this role, Lee provides guidance and direction to the firm’s industry leaders and supports the development and execution of their go-to-market strategic plans. He helps to ensure a world-class client experience through leveraging industry insights, setting client service standards, and implementing processes and programs to exceed KSM clients’ expectations.

Jamie Ellis is chief operating officer of KSM and has also assumed the role of partner-in-charge of operations. Ellis leads a team of operations leaders whose purpose is to align and optimize KSM’s resources and capabilities with the firm’s strategic direction. Additionally, Ellis focuses on overall strategy and direction for the firm, using his previous experience in a variety of operations and financial roles to help move KSM forward.

FORVIS adds two managing directors to State & Local Tax team

FORVIS, an integrated professional services firm has hired two new managing directors to bolster its State & Local Tax (SALT) practice in two key markets. Karin Ecroyd has joined the firm in New York City, New York, and Scott Smith has joined in Nashville, Tennessee. Karin Ecroyd has 34 years of experience, with deep technical knowledge and broad multistate tax experience advising large multinational corporations, pass-through entities, and closely held businesses in a wide variety of industries. Ecroyd has split her career between in-house roles and public accounting at local and international firms. She has a wide range of SALT experience including income and franchise, sales and use, provisions, compliance, M&A and transactions work, and audits. Ecroyd is a licensed CPA in New York and Colorado. She is a former member of the Tax Executives Institute’s New York Chapter, where she chaired the State and Local Tax Committee and was a member of the Council on State Taxation and participated in the Legislative Committee. She is a frequent lecturer, facilitator, and published author. Ecroyd earned an M.S. degree in taxation from S.U.N.Y. Albany in New York. Scott Smith also has 34 years of experience at regional and international professional services firms, including nearly a decade in a national technical practice leader role immediately prior to joining FORVIS. He provided technical leadership on multistate tax issues and focused on developing new service offerings, thought leadership, training, quality control, and risk management. Scott’s focus is primarily on state corporate income and franchise taxes, but he also has experience with state personal income taxes, sales and indirect taxes, and gross receipts taxes Smith is a member of the Tennessee Bar, Washington, D.C. Bar, and Ohio Bar, and is authorized to present in front of the Supreme Court of the United States and the United States Tax Court. He received his L.L.M. degree from Georgetown University Law Center, and J.D. degree from The University of Toledo College of Law.

Schneider Downs Expands Management Team

Schneider Downs & Co., a Top 60 independent CPA firm, recently announced that Erin Wood has joined the firm’s growing Tax practice as a Tax Director.

Wood has over ten years of experience providing tax planning, consultation and compliance services to all types of not-for-profit and tax-exempt organizations. Prior to joining Schneider Downs, she worked for a Big 4 accounting firm where she specialized in Affordable Care Act consulting with large health systems and other health care organizations.

Wood will consult with clients on all aspects of the tax lifecycle process – tax compliance, tax planning, tax accounting and controls and tax controversy. She advises clients on a variety of issues, including executive compensation, applications for tax-exempt status, private benefit, inurement and intermediate sanctions concerns, unrelated business income tax, organizational structure and planning, supporting organization qualifications and compliance and other relationship tax issues.

Wood received her bachelor’s in economics, as well as her master’s in accounting, from the University of Pittsburgh.

Accounting