Advisory Board

With 30 years of experience, Steven Amato is a partner in Special Acquisition Services Group in New York City, where his responsibility is to provide accounting, auditing, and M&A structuring and transaction advisory services to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. and other private equity and strategic buyers. His primary focus is on transactions in the sports, media and entertainment industries.

In addition to serving as the national M&A leader for the sports, media and entertainment industry practice, Mr. Amato is the lead client service partner for the National Football League, JT Sports (Brooklyn Nets), and US lead client service partner for Bertelsmann. In these roles, Mr. Amato manages the overall relationships and oversees the delivery of all professional services to these clients, including audit, tax, consulting, and M&A services. He is also the advisory partner for World Wrestling Entertainment.

Mr. Amato is the industry advisory partner for NBCUniversal and in the past was a special adviser to the senior executive team of Fox Pan American Sports, a joint venture between HM Capital and Fox. In addition to media and entertainment companies, Mr. Amato advises clients in the industrial products, technology, and business and consumer services sectors.

Before joining Deloitte, Mr. Amato was involved with the restructuring and turnaround of 180 Connect, a $400 million publicly traded home services company. As senior vice president and CFO, he was primarily responsible for restructuring and refinancing debt agreements, interacting with investors and analysts, and preparing the company for its ultimate sale.

Mr. Amato hold a BBA in Accounting from Hofstra University, is a licensed CPA in New York State, and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Eugene Gelling is a partner at Deloitte in the financial services practice, with over 20 years of experience. He currently serves as the lead client service partner on several strategic clients and serves as an engagement quality reviewer on several public engagements, primarily in the insurance industry. Through the years, Mr. Gelling has led special audit and advisory related projects, has dealt with complex financial reporting matters affecting Fortune 50 global companies, and has developed deep experience with SEC reporting matters, having led initial registration statement filings, acquisition and carve-out, and various capital market and fundraising transactions.

Mr. Gelling is recognized for his hands-on approach to working with management and Deloitte teams to address accounting and auditing matters quickly and efficiently, as well as his ability to establish a rapport with his colleagues and clients. As a supplement to this client service work, Mr. Gelling is part of a select group of partners that participates in the Deloitte Leader of Tomorrow program. He plays a major role in recruiting, training and mentoring many Deloitte professionals.

Mr. Gelling earned his Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.), Summa Cum Laude, in Accounting from Hofstra University in 1997. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants. Mr. Gelling also serves as a member of the United Way of Long Island’s Allocation Board.

Jill Grossman has more than 25 years of public accounting experience, spanning a variety of industries, including professional services, technology, real estate, healthcare, retail, distribution, and manufacturing. She serves both public and private companies that have operations both domestically and internationally. She is responsible for many aspects of services rendered to corporate, partnership, and individual clients, including tax consulting, tax compliance, and ASC 740 tax provision services. She also has extensive experience in tax controversy matters, representing clients before the Internal Revenue Service.

Ms. Grossman holds a BBA from SUNY Albany, an MBA from Hofstra University, and a Masters in Taxation from Hofstra University. She is a member of American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants. She was named to Long Island Business News' Who's Who List of Women in Professional Services in 2011. She is a member of the luncheon committee for the American Heart Association Long Island "Go Red for Women" and the Hofstra University Business School Advisory Board, and she is the lead recruiter at Hofstra University. She is a past board member of the Women's Fund of Long Island.

Jeffrey Hecht, MBA, CPA, Partner, Ernst & Young LLP Financial Services EY Global Private Equity Tax Leader Jeffrey Hecht is a partner at EY in New York and serves as the EY global private equity tax leader. He previously served as the Americas private equity tax leader for six years and has more than 24 years of experience in providing domestic and international tax and advisory services to private equity funds and their portfolio investments, infrastructure, and real estate funds.

Mr. Hecht's responsibilities have included fund structuring, domestic and international advisory on acquisition, operation and divesture of portfolio company investments, asset acquisitions, the creation of business structures outside the United States, tax planning for inbound investments, financial modeling and complex partnership, and corporate tax compliance for his clients. He has advised his clients in structuring their worldwide investments to reduce taxes and improve the returns realized by their global investor pools, including numerous cross-border transactions throughout Europe, Asia, and the Americas. He has had responsibility for large and complex tax engagements serving the fund, management company, portfolio investments, and principals.

Prior to joining Ernst & Young LLP, Mr. Hecht was a partner at another Big Four firm serving private equity, real estate, and infrastructure clients. In addition to his responsibilities within leadership of the financial services practice in New York, he served as the infrastructure tax practice leader for the Americas.

Mr. Hecht graduated with a BBA in Finance from the State University of New York at Buffalo and earned an MBA in Accounting, with distinction, from Hofstra University's Zarb School of Business. He has spoken at numerous industry conferences and taught at the firm's partnership and private equity industry training programs. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Sean Hunt is a Tax Partner in PwC's Private Company Services practice and is based in Melville, NY. He has 14 years of diverse experience consulting on US corporate income tax issues, including international, state and local taxation, M&A planning, due diligence analysis, and tax minimization strategies. In addition, Mr. Hunt has significant experience dealing with the IRS, state and local tax authorities on income tax audits and other tax administrative matters. Throughout his career with PwC, Mr. Hunt has worked on many different types of clients from early stage, growth companies and closely-held family businesses, to middle market, entrepreneurial companies, multinationals, and large SEC registrants.

Mr. Hunt is a Hofstra graduate, earning his BBA in Accounting and MS in Taxation from the University. In addition, he has been heavily involved with the firm's campus recruiting efforts.

Robert O. Mayer is a Partner of Prager Metis CPAs, a member of Prager Metis International. He also serves as Chief Revenue Officer. Mr. Mayer has over forty years of experience in the accounting profession.

Mr. Mayer's entrepreneurial spirit and innovative growth strategies are among the many assets that he provides to his clients. In 1978, Mr. Mayer started his accounting career joining an accounting firm as its second staff person and helped the firm grow to 40 employees within five years. Mr. Mayer went on to be the Chief Financial Officer for a Long Island company, which he helped expand from one location to five, and increase sales from $12 million to $60 million over five years.

Mr. Mayer has been included in Long Island Business News' "Who's Who in Accounting" and was recognized by the publication in 2010 as among Long Island's highest achieving "50 Around 50."

Prior to joining Prager Metis, Mr. Mayer was the managing partner of Mayer CPAs LLP, which merged with Prager Metis in 2016.

Michael Nawrocki is Managing Partner of Nawrocki Smith LLP and is responsible for overall management of the firm. In addition, he heads up the Attestation and Assurance Department at the firm.

Mr. Nawrocki has over 30 years of experience in rendering audit and other attestation services to numerous industries, including not-for-profit, government, manufacturing, wholesale trade, government and construction contractors and service entities. These entities have ranged from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies. After spending the initial ten years of his career gaining diversified experience with the world's largest international accounting firm, Mr. Nawrocki cofounded Nawrocki Smith LLP, which has become one of the largest Long Island based accounting firms over the past twenty years, with a proven reputation for outstanding client service.

A business consultant, accounting technician and seasoned auditor, Mr. Nawrocki is a valuable resource to clients in solving problems, navigating through turbulent economics and achieving successful business plans. He is widely considered one of Long Island's experts in not-for-profit and governmental accounting and represents over 100 entities throughout the area.

Mr. Nawrocki has lectured at Hofstra University and C.W. Post College in various areas of accounting and auditing. He has also been a feature speaker at the National Conference of CPA Practitioners and various trade organizations. Mr. Nawrocki has also attained the status of Certified Government Financial Manager and is Certified in Financial Forensics.

Mr. Nawrocki earned a BBA degree in Accounting from Hofstra University.

Anthony Passaeratti is an assurance partner at PwC in the New York Metro Private Company Services (PCS) practice, with 33 years of experience with the Firm and more than 20 of them as a partner. Tony is responsible for all aspects of his client relationships, most notably for the overall quality and delivery of PwC's assurance services, and leading the risk assessment, strategy development and execution of the audit. He is a "hands-on" partner who is client-centric and focuses on understanding his clients' needs, enabling him to provide value above and beyond the audit.

Tony earned his Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A.) in Accounting from Hofstra University in 1983 and began his career as an internal auditor with an international commercial bank in New York City. He joined PwC in 1986 within the Firm's financial services practice. In 1988, Tony joined the Firm's Emerging Business Services Group, the practice now known as PCS. His diverse experience has included clients in the retail, consumer products, packaged goods, luxury goods, footwear, personal care products, distribution, manufacturing, advertising, service, publishing and media industries that have ranged from multinational companies to owner-managed businesses of all sizes.

Tony is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants. In addition, he is a licensed CPA in New York State and New Jersey.

Brian Przedwiecki is a Partner at KPMG LLP. Mr. Przedwiecki's primary role is providing audit services to companies in all stages of development from start-ups to national and global accounts in several sectors including consumer and industrial markets, pharmaceuticals, and communications. Mr. Przedwiecki's audit experience includes review of SEC filings, addressing technical accounting, auditing, and financial reporting issues associated with complex accounting transactions related to revenue recognition, business combinations, restructurings, and income taxes, as well as the preparation of comfort letters. Mr. Przedwiecki has completed a rotation in KPMG's National Office – the Department of Professional Practice (DPP) and has also completed a secondment to KPMG International providing audit quality support services to KPMG's network of International Member Firms. Mr. Przedwiecki is a National Instructor at KPMG and is also the Partner in Charge of Recruiting for the Long Island Marketplace.

Mr. Przedwiecki is a member of the AICPA, a committee member of the NYSSCPA's – Auditing Committee, and a licensed CPA in New York State. He was honored as one of the top 40 executives under age 40 by the Long Island Business News in 2018 and has conducted and moderated many public events concerning accounting and regulatory topics.

Mr. Przedwiecki is a graduate of Hofstra University where he earned his BBA in Accounting in 2000.

Jo-Ann Rey started her career at Margolin, Winer & Evens LLP as an accountant in 1986. After approximately three years, she moved into a human resources position.  Ms. Rey’s focus is predominantly on hiring both non-client service and client service individuals from entry level to senior managerial level employees. Additionally, she conducts all phases of onboarding and orientation of hired employees.

Ms. Rey holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting and a Masters of Business Administration in Management from Hofstra University. She is a licensed CPA in New York State and is an active member of the New York State Society of CPAs.

Virginia Richter has over 15 years of accounting experience at Henry Schein, Inc. Beginning her career at Henry Schein in 2002 as a Financial Reporting Manager, she currently serves as Corporate Assistant Controller of External Reporting. This role includes leadership and development of the External Reporting team and responsibility for ensuring the accuracy and timely completion of the company’s financial statements. Additionally, Ms. Richter serves as the liaison between Corporate Accounting, Corporate Legal, Corporate Tax, Business Development, and the Vertical Finance Teams on all aspects of the company’s acquisitions.

Ms. Richter holds Bachelor's Degree in Accounting and a Masters in Accountancy from Long Island University, C.W. Post, is a Certified Internal Auditor, Certified Fraud Examiner, and a Certified Public Accountant in New York State.

Joseph T. Scheriff is an Assurance Partner who has been with BDO his entire professional career and has more than 17 years of experience in accounting, audit and business advisory services.

He serves clients throughout the Long Island and New York Metro area, including both private and publicly held companies of diverse sizes in such varied industries as software, technology, life sciences, professional services and consulting, marketing, and manufacturing and distribution.

Mr. Scheriff has assisted clients with initial public offerings (IPOs), private placements, and international mergers and acquisitions. His experience also includes work on internal control audits and due diligence projects.

Mr. Scheriff holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from Hofstra University. In addition, he is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, as well as the New York State Society of CPAs.

Marc Valente is a partner in the New York regional offices of Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP. With over 12 years of accounting experience, he specializes in tax for commercial companies, including both public and private clients in the manufacturing, distribution, and consumer industries.

Mr. Valente manages tax compliance and consulting engagements on both federal and multistate tax issues, manages income tax provision preparation and review engagements to ensure adherence to ASC 740 and IFRS, as applicable, and provides technical tax consultations including, but not limited to, state and local tax planning, international tax expansion and structuring considerations, permanent establishment issues, subchapter K issues, individual tax planning, accounting methods, and IRS and state tax audit defenses.

Mr. Valente holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from Hofstra University. He is also a member of the American Institute of Public Accountants and the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Natalie Verbanac is an Assurance Services Partner in Marcum's New York City office. She has more than 19 years of experience providing assurance services, including audits of financial statements and internal controls, due diligence services to clients nationally and internationally in a wide range of industries, including life sciences and healthcare technology, retail and consumer products, manufacturing and distribution, and advertising in both the private and public sector.

Ms. Verbanac has extensive experience auditing SEC reporting companies with various complex equity and derivative transactions and has worked with companies undergoing private and public equity and debt offerings, as well as merger and acquisition transactions. In addition, she has performed audits on financial statements prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards.

Prior to joining Marcum, Ms. Verbanac worked in the Assurance Practice for an international public accounting and consulting firm focusing on audit and due diligence services of publicly and privately held companies and audits of employee benefit plans. In addition, she performed internal quality control inspections to ensure compliance with the audit process and was an instructor at the firm's National and Local Level Continuing Education Training Program. She was a member and local champion of the Women's Initiative Group and was involved in the firm's recruiting, mentoring and volunteer programs.

Ms. Verbanac holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting from Hofstra University. Additionally, she is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the New York State Society of CPAs.