AAFCPAs is proud to honor the outstanding achievements of our 2025 employee award recipients. The individuals honored this year reflect values that guide all of us. Their examples show how kindness steadies teams through change, how emerging leaders help colleagues grow, how a growth mindset opens new paths, and how inclusion, innovation, and character strengthen every relationship. Their work reminds us that progress is rarely the result of a single moment; it is built through daily choices, careful listening, and a willingness to help someone else move forward.

We hope these stories offer a glimpse into the values that shape our work and the relationships we build. Perhaps you’ll see echoes of your own experience with AAFCPAs or discover something new about the people behind your engagements.

Mary Scaduto

The Kindness Award

Mary Scaduto is the deserving recipient of AAFCPAs’ 2025 peer-nominated Michael Oliveira Kindness Award, presented annually since 2022 in memory of a remarkable colleague who inspired others with his selfless care and positivity. Mary embodies Michael’s spirit of unconditional care and concern for others and selfless kindness.

Mary’s colleagues describe her as a steady source of support and positivity during a time of significant change. She is “always willing to help out with anything and responds timely.” During our audit methodology transition, Mary “was extremely helpful,” pairing patience with precision as she “worked hard to help my team with financial statements and footnote presentations, going above and beyond to meet these deadlines.” Just as important, her presence elevated team morale: “She is a welcoming person and has been a great source of joy during a massive transition period.”

Hui-Ting Grady

The Growth Mindset Award

Hui-Ting Grady has been awarded the 2025 Growth Mindset Award, celebrating her commitment to seeking collaborators, embracing challenges, and proactively looking for opportunities to learn, grow, and improve. Hui-Ting demonstrates a commitment to support the firm’s strategic pillars of people, culture, and profitable growth. She joins past recipients who are also innovators and risk takers.

Hui-Ting’s colleagues describe a leader whose impact will resonate well beyond this season. “She has created endless guidance for audit teams to use to assist them with audit work going forward,” one teammate shared, noting that her contributions include not only detailed documentation but also countless hours of training. Her leadership during our new audit technology implementation has been “outstanding,” setting a tone of clarity and collaboration. Hui-Ting also “opened her mind this year to re-interpret the accounting standards,” bridging the gap between past practices and the new audit methodology approach. Tireless in her commitment, she ensures “our audit files have the best documentation that meets all the audit standards,” raising the bar for quality across the board.

Erin Cann

The Innovation Award

Erin Cann is the 2025 recipient of the Innovation Award, honoring her proactive approach to identifying opportunities for efficiency and automation. She has taken the lead in projects to improve processes and workflows that benefit the firm and the client experience.

Erin’s colleagues describe someone who is always looking ahead. “She is constantly thinking about how we can improve our current processes as well as ensuring that the work we are doing is correct under the new guidance,” one teammate shared. Her influence has been felt across the firm as “an integral part of the education niche as well as the audit methodology change leadership team this season.” Erin’s proactive approach stands out—“she has brought up numerous challenges and solutions, which has helped us enhance our audit methodology change overall.” Her ability to combine critical thinking with collaboration has made her a driving force for progress.

Patrick Downes

The Exceptional CPA Achievement Award

Patrick Downes is the proud recipient of AAFCPAs’ inaugural 2025 Exceptional CPA Achievement Award, which recognizes outstanding success on the CPA exam by a Zip2CPA participant. Zip2CPA is AAFCPAs’ structured program that combines hands-on accounting experience, personalized coaching, and exam support to help team members earn their CPA credential efficiently. The award is presented to a team member(s) in recognition of achieving exceptional performance by passing all four sections of the CPA exam on the first attempt and with a final score on each of the four parts of at least a 90 or higher.

“Patrick’s achievement is nothing short of remarkable, demonstrating exceptional dedication and mastery across all areas of the CPA exam,” said Jeff Mead, CPA, CGMA, AAFCPAs Assurance Partner and former Executive-Faculty-in-Residence and Adjunct Professor of Accounting at UMASS Lowell. “Patrick wowed us with scores of: FAR 94, REG 96, AUD 93, and Information Systems and Controls (ISC) 99 with an average score of 95.5.”

Patrick’s colleagues say his commitment to excellence “exemplifies the spirit of the Zip2CPA program and sets a high bar for future candidates.” Beyond his academic success, Patrick is known for his approachable and supportive nature. As his study partner, Alex Mellen, shared: “He is very friendly, always willing to help, and is a dog lover!” This combination of professional rigor and personal warmth makes Patrick a standout contributor and a role model for others pursuing their CPA journey.

Honoring Efforts That Strengthen Our Culture

“At AAFCPAs, we are fortunate to work with team members who approach each day with purpose and a commitment to high standards,” explained AAFCPAs’ Managing Partner Carla McCall, CPA, CGMA. “Their dedication to learning, their discipline in keeping commitments, and their care for colleagues and communities strengthen the foundation our clients rely on. These awards recognize individuals whose work advances our values and supports the experience we aim to deliver for every organization we serve.”

All other real estate owned by a charitable organization is taxable. This includes property leased to individuals and non-charitable entities or occupied or used for non-charitable purposes. In addition, property owned by a taxable individual or entity remains taxable even if leased to and occupied by a charity.

AAFCPAs advises that clients add Form 3ABC to your tracking lists with a due date of March 1. Acting now will help prevent your organization from paying unnecessary taxes. We are available for guidance on your compliances filings or as an extension of resources as needed.

If you have any questions related to the Form 3ABC and its filing requirements, please contact Caitlin Limoges, CPA, MBA, Director, Project Management at 774.512.4057 or climoges@aafcpa.com—or your AAFCPAs Partner.

Could Agreed-Upon Procedures (AUPs) serve the purpose of a Quality of Earnings (QofE) report for certain business acquisitions? 

Buyers engaging in or evaluating potential transactions, mergers, or acquisitions (M&A) need to assess the true value of a business’s assets, liabilities, and intellectual property. Proper due diligence can be used to pinpoint synergies among entities, offer transparency into a company’s tax position, uncover tax benefits and liabilities, and elevate stakeholder confidence. While bankers and attorneys frequently default to QofE reports, AUPs can be a suitable and, in many cases, more favorable alternative for certain M&A transactions. 

AUP engagements are conducted by qualified CPAs, verifying important aspects of a transaction or identifying specific problems that require discussions between buyer and seller. Afterward, the buyer is presented with a report outlining findings along with the procedures performed to derive that data. Buyers can then draw their own conclusions based on that analysis. 

AUPs support many asset or stock purchases that don’t require a comprehensive QofE report by confirming certain aspects of the deal or uncovering potential red flags and giving buyers increased comfort in the reasons they have chosen to purchase from the seller. Buyers using AUPs are given the flexibility to target a broad range of financial and nonfinancial information depending on what is most important to them. This may include net working capital, revenue contracts, and internal controls, accounts receivable quality, Generally Accepted Accounting Principles application, payroll, overtime—even tax compliance and/or exposures. 

AUP engagements may be a more cost-efficient alternative to the full QofE report given the ability to target only those procedures most important to you. Buyers appreciate that cost benefit along with the freedom to narrow findings around specific strategies, whether evaluating a contractor for major work, purchasing subsidiaries, deciding whether to use a vendor, or offering an advisory alternative through buy-side due diligence procedures. 

AUPs are particularly effective for mergers and acquisitions when the transaction involves a strategic versus a financial buyer. Beyond this, they are well suited for parties already in a relationship with the target company versus transactions among two entities that might not know much about one another. Whereas a private equity firm might not choose an AUP, a smaller, more closely held acquisition or a buyer in need of SBA loan backing might. Keep in mind, though, that while an AUP can be an effective substitute for a QofE, an effective due diligence process also includes tax inquiries and review. 

How We Help 

AAFCPAs works closely with clients to provide greater flexibility through AUP engagements. We develop and tailor procedures to best suit a buyer’s specific business or transactional needs. This might include recalculation of net working capital and EBIDTA or a focus on revenue and accounts receivable, current assets and liabilities, payroll, inventory, cost of sales, or cut-off and completeness testing procedures to pinpoint unrecorded liabilities. In addition to AUPs, AAFCPAs’ Business Transaction Advisory Practice helps clients make informed decisions and execute transactions through all stages of the deal cycle. 

If you have questions, please contact Destiny J. Flood, CPA, Commercial Partner, Outsourced Accounting & Finance at 774.512.4151 or dflood@aafcpa.com, Janice O’Reilly, CPA, CGMA, Partner at 774.512.9046 or joreilly@aafcpa.com, Richard Weiner, CPA, MST, CM&AA, Tax Partner at 774.512.4078 or rweiner@aafcpa.com—or your AAFCPAs Partner. 

Journal of Accountancy (March 2024) – A boss throws a tantrum to rival a 2-year-old. Co-workers snap after too many long days of work during busy season. Clients bite your head off when you ask for a crucial document they didn’t upload to your portal. You’ve heard about firms like this and may have even worked at one. But a workplace that tolerates hostility or has an unconcerned culture is not a place anyone wants to work, including young talent in a touch hiring market.

Innovative firms focusing on positive social and corporate governance are promoting a new kind of culture to attract and retain employees: a culture of kindness. Three firms, including AAFCPAs, implemented dynamic programs and activities to encourage kindness among their staff, clients, and communities — and it wasn’t difficult to do. Here are their stories.

This full article appeared on the cover of the March issue of Journal of Accountancy. >>

During AAFCPAs’ Nonprofit Educational Seminar (April 2023), Partner and Chief Marketing Officer Matthew Boyle, MBA updated 400+ CFO and Executive Director attendees on exciting firm developments by highlighting news that may be of particular interest to our nonprofit clients.

The full session was recorded and may be viewed as a webcast at your convenience. >>

An important part of AAFCPAs’ work is focused on serving the advancements and achievements of nonprofit organizations. For half a century, we have cherished the opportunity to work alongside and be inspired by you—the advocates, financial stewards, and leaders who work selflessly to fulfill your missions and enrich the lives of so many.

Great hearts.

Our 50^th Anniversary. In 2023, AAFCPAs celebrates its 50^th anniversary. During this milestone, we reflect on the tremendously positive impact nonprofit organizations make not only on our communities but also on our own organization. Service defines the spirit of our people, the work that unites us, and the essence of the AAFCPAs culture. This rings true even most recently, as we integrated a bike building activity into our 2023 annual summer outing, where team members worked together to assemble 24 20-inch bicycles that were donated to children aged 6 through 10 from low-income households.

Our Year-end Impact Report. In 2022, AAFCPAs released its third annual year-end impact report detailing the positive impact we made throughout the year. This includes data backing our pledge to give 10 percent back to nonprofits. It also reflects on intentional actions we have taken as a firm to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion along with great strides to ensure the health and wellbeing of all employees.

Our Contribution to Giving Tuesday. In 2022, our employees donated more than $28K to charities. During Giving Tuesday, our foundation matched 100 percent of all contributions versus our standard 50 percent match throughout the year. Much of those contributions were monetary donations to 501(c)3 beneficiaries, while non-monetary gifts valued at more than $2,250 were given to 75 children from low-income households. AAFCPAs’ seven-year donation total for the #GivingTuesday movement is more than $172,000!

Our inspiration from the top. Carla McCall, CPA, CGMA inspires and models our culture of giving every day, not only volunteering during many of our service projects but also on the AICPA Board of Directors. Her work has earned the title of Most Powerful Woman in Accounting in 2020-2021, 2022, and 2023 by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and CPA Practice Advisor Magazine. As a nonprofit auditor herself, she takes your nonprofit issues with her to the national stage.

Great minds.

AAFCPAs is growing to meet your needs. In fact, we now have clients in 36 of 50 states. We credit this growth to our value proposition, which encompasses people, processes, and technology. Think of our value proposition as a three-legged stool with equal parts talent to help you succeed, processes to effectively run your accounting and finance function, and technology to do so highly efficiently and economically.

To that end, we are pleased to be increasingly featured in the press on both a regional and national level. Augmenting this is the content we continue to share with you, content that is differentiated by its relevance and clarity. We will continue to provide you with insights and information on a timely basis, so you stay at the pulse of your industry. We invite you to reference our blog anytime you need an easy-to-reach knowledge base or resource for research on issues that affect you.

We welcome new AAFCPAs talent.

We celebrate four recent Partner promotions!

• Robyn Leet, Business Process Assessments & Attestations. Robyn brings 20 years of experience in the nonprofit space, helping organizations improve processes and systems that grow revenue, productivity, customer service, accuracy, and security.
• Richard O’Neil, CPA, Commercial Audit & Consulting. Rich brings extensive experience leading financial statement audits and is past recipient of the Joel Aronson Character Award, which recognizes honorable character, work ethic, and client dedication.
• Daniel Seaman, Tax Partner. Dan has extensive experience at the intersection of tax and wealth management. Supporting AAF Wealth Management, he plays a pivotal role in managing complex tax implications of financial decisions.
• Vassilis Kontoglis, Partner, Analytics, Automation & IT Security. Vassilis has more than 20 years of experience helping clients including nonprofits improve business through Robotic Process Automation, data analytics, data visualization, IT and cybersecurity solutions.

We are grateful for recent awards and recognitions.

• Recognized on Forbes’ 2023 Best Tax & Accounting Firms
• Ranked #95 on Accounting Today’s 2023 Annual List of the Nation’s Largest Accounting Firms
• Ranked #7 on BBJ’s 2023 List of the Largest Accounting Firms in Massachusetts
• Recognized on Accounting Today’s 2022 Top 150 Wealth Management CPA firms

Please also join us in congratulating our own Joyce Ripianzi, who was honored in November 2022 with the ECCF Professional Advisor Award for her outstanding commitment to the nonprofit sector. Joyce has so often been considered the first person nonprofit leaders turn to when they need immediate and sound advice.

AAFCPAs brings great minds and great hearts together to make a powerful difference in the work and achievements of nonprofit organizations. We have cherished the opportunity to work alongside you for half a century and are motivated in a significant way to help you make an even greater impact going forward.

If you have questions, please contact Matthew Boyle, MBA, Partner at 774.512.4125 or mboyle@aafcpa.com—or your AAFCPAs Partner.

IT infrastructure is the combination of hardware, software, communications, data centers/hosting services, and human resources that allow an organization to deliver information technology services to its constituent communities.

IT resiliency refers to an organization’s ability to avoid or minimize business disruption when the IT Infrastructure is challenged by planned or unplanned events.  IT resiliency is at the core of an effective IT strategy, designed to ensure organizations can quickly get back to business after something goes wrong, as well as how to protect your organization from threats in the first place.

Planned or unplanned events that could impede your ability to deliver optimal services may include: production and/or migration failure of systems and/or applications, turnover among key IT staff, man-made and natural disasters, cyberattacks, and malicious activities by known or unknown parties.  Any of these events can disrupt or even paralyze an enterprise if proper planning and controls are not in place.

What Are Measures to Improve IT Infrastructure Resiliency?

Documented and Tested Business Continuity Plan (BCP)

Business Continuity Plans (BCPs) are essential to the success of any organization with the intention of conducting business seamlessly when disruption strikes. Having a working BCP in place in advance of a disruptive event helps to lessen the impact on people, processes, and systems. AAFCPAs’ Business & IT Consulting practice advises clients to first answer the questions: “What do we need most?”, “How long can we be without?”, and “How much data can we afford to lose?”  The answers to these questions generate a Recovery Time Objective (RTO) and Recovery Point Objective (RPO). From there a specific plan to address the needs of each service may be developed.

Documented and Tested IT Disaster Recovery Plan

An IT Disaster Recovery Plan (DRP) is a documented and tested process or set of procedures which ensures your organization can recover IT systems, services, and data following an event. DRPs should be tailored to your business size, industry, and specific IT infrastructure. The plan will be multi-discipline and include other departments outside of IT.  A risk-based approach will drive answers to “How will we work?”, “Where will we work?”, “What is the impact to the business and our constituents?”, and “Who will communicate to our constituents?”  Once crafted, periodic testing of the DRP should be executed as part of your BCP in order to support business operations.

Sound Backup and Recovery Strategy

Organizations must implement strategies that protect both their data and their ability to access it. These strategies are only a single component of a comprehensive BCP and broader DRP.

The Backup and Recovery Strategy should include routinely scheduled backups of your business’ critical systems. Routine is subjective and driven by RTO an RPO requirements specific to the environment being backed up and recovered.

Robust Risk Assessment

Understanding where risks exist in your technology enterprise is paramount to your ability to effectively manage them. Risks come in many forms and are as individual as your organization.  Risks exist in aged technology, outdated solutions, access control deficiencies of incoming, existing, and departed staff, inappropriately configured systems, poor password management practices, and a lack of employee training and awareness, to name but a few.

AAFCPAs advises clients to perform regular top down risk assessments as a solution to help identify, prioritize, and remediate deficiencies.

Where to Start and How AAFCPAs Can Help

AAFCPAs recommends performing an IT Risks and Controls assessment first. Once completed, visibility to high risk concerns will be unveiled and then may be addressed. If cyber security is of strong concern, network penetration and cyber assessments may also be employed. If you host private and/or confidential information covered by HIPPA, GDPR, PCI, or other local, state, federal, or international governing requirements these services should be considered.

AAFCPAs’ Business Process & IT Consulting practice advises clients on improving their IT Resiliency with recommendations that are right-sized and tailored to be appropriate given each client’s resources and specific IT infrastructure requirements.

AAFCPAs is proud to announce that Carla McCall, CPA, CGMA will again volunteer as a professional mentor for the Boston Business Journal’s 10^th annual Bizwomen Mentoring Monday event, scheduled for February 27^th at the Westin Copley Place, Boston.

Mentoring Monday brings together women in the business community for a full afternoon of networking, mentoring and fun in a fast-paced coaching atmosphere. This event takes place in 40 Business Journal markets on the same day. This means at least 200+ women will be coached in every market or 10K women across America, from Boston to Hawaii. Learn more and get your ticket.>>

Carla was recently featured in FM Magazine offering guidance on 5 Ways to Develop as an Authentic Leader, and she was named one of the Most Powerful Women in the Accounting Profession in 2021 and 2022 by the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (AICPA) and CPA Practice Advisor Magazine. She has been nominated again in 2023 for this prestigious honor.

Carla recently spoke about authentic leadership at the Women’s Leadership Summit for the Massachusetts Society of CPAs. She reflected on her personal journey and early leadership experience, the moment she realized she wasn’t being authentically herself, and how she pivoted. Read the highlights and connect with Carla on LinkedIn.>>

“To me, authentic leadership means leading in a way that is innate and natural to you,” said Carla. “Many times, we try to fit someone else’s narrative. Often, others try to tell us how to lead. (Early in my journey, this included a lot of ‘mansplaining.’) The fact is, we are all different and when we are authentic to ourselves, we are genuine—and when we are genuine, we build trust.”

AAFCPAs has been selected to present two educational workshops at NECANN Boston 2023 (The New England Cannabis Convention) scheduled for March 10-12th at the Hynes Convention Center, Boston. AAFCPAs’ Cannabis Practice has also signed on as a Sponsor for the Convention, aka “THE Annual Meeting of the East Coast Cannabis Industry!”

Entrance to Exit for Your Cannabis Business

Friday, March 10^th, 2023 | 10:30 – 1:00pm

This valuable workshop will discuss all aspects of entering the legal cannabis market, from licensing and compliant operations to successfully exiting. The high-level panel will include Dave McManus, CPA & CGMA of AAFCPAs, one of the largest providers of cannabis tax services in the country; Ron Lipof, President of Prince Lobel Stategic Advisors, one of the leading cannabis advisory firms in the nation;  Attorney Daniel Glissman from Prince Lobel Tye, one of the country’s leading cannabis law firms; Peter D’Agostino, a Partner with Tenex Strategies, leading experts in navigating the licensing process; Melissa Maranda, President of Lighthouse Business Solutions, a leader in cannabis banking, and Dan Serard, Director of Business Development at Cannabis Creative Group, a leading provider of cannabis creative and marketing services.

KPIs: What Data Should Cannabis Operators Use to Drive Decisions?

Friday, March 10^th, 2023 | 10:30 – 11:20am

Data and finance are increasingly linked, and cannabis companies that are growing fast, or facing headwinds, should be on the lookout for information that helps them adapt and optimize profitability. AAFCPAs’ Cannabis leaders Scott Posnick and Alvin Rasmus will provide Key Business Questions (KBQs) and associated KPIs that can influence your decisions as an operator.

Learn more about NECANN Boston. >>

Please spread the word so others may benefit from this helpful industry conference, and please contact Dave McManus, Scott Posnick or Alvin Rasmus if you are headed to the Convention!

About AAFCPAs’ Cannabis Practice

AAFCPAs is an industry pioneer and since 2012 has been deeply immersed advising cannabis businesses in tax, finance, and outsourced accounting! With national recognition, our multi-disciplinary team of advisors include CPAs, CFOs, estate planning & tax attorneys, wealth advisors, as well as business process, data analytics, IT, and cyber security professionals.

Barron’s Magazine (November 13th, 2022) – This year’s market mayhem could shave your tax bill for years to come. AAFCPAs’ Partner & Tax Attorney Joshua England, LLM, Esq. was interviewed by Barron’s magazine on tax strategies in a down market.  (This is subscriber-only content.)