CPA Risk Chat

This month, we spoke with Cindy S. Johnson, of Bober Markey Fedorovich. Cindy’s career has taken her from paraprofessional to her firm’s first woman partner, to executive committee membership in the firm’s leadership. Cindy has served in numerous leadership roles on professional boards and community organizations. She is a past member of the AICPA Professional Liability Insurance Plans Committee, and the current chair of the AICPA Life Insurance and Disability Plans Committee. We talk to Cindy about managing change during the pandemic, today’s recruiting challenges, and her own personal work/life balance. Our interview is conducted by Mark Thomas, Senior Vice President at Aon for the AICPA Member Insurance Programs.

Bridgett Gagné is founder and managing partner of Gagné Associates CPAs, PLLC. Her firm specializes in helping female founders and non-profits navigate their organization’s financial management. Bridgett is also co-founder of “Not Your Average Bean Counter,” a bootcamp that develops well-trained bookkeepers. We talk to Bridgett about her professional journey from the corporate world to starting her own business and her perspective on how technology has impacted client relations, the importance of community in the profession, and how vision, mission, and purpose can be key to sustaining a business. Our interview is conducted by Al Fennel, Vice President of the AICPA Professional Liability Programs at Aon.

This month our spotlight is on the first woman to sit on the board of Rubin Brown in 60 years, and the first woman chair of the AICPA’s Professional & Personal Liability Insurance Programs Committee, Felicia Malter, CPA, CGMA. Felicia is partner-In-Charge of Rubin Brown's Assurance Services Group, responsible for the firm’s audit and consulting services to the professional services, manufacturing, and distribution industries. Our interview is conducted by Amy Massaro, Vice President & Risk Advisor for the AICPA Member Insurance Programs.

Kimberly Ellison-Taylor, CPA, CGMA. Ms. Ellison-Taylor served as the chairman of the AICPA’s Board of Directors. She has a long history of volunteering for the profession: She has served on the AICPA Business and Industry Executive Committee, the AICPA Board of Directors, the Benevolent Fund, and as a Council representative. She is a past Chair of the Maryland Association of CPAs, and has served on many of its committees. Ms. Ellison-Taylor is currently the Global Accounting Strategy Director for the Financial and Professional Services Industries for Oracle America, a leader in cloud solutions and enterprise technology. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland, her MBA from Loyola University, and holds a Master's of Science in Information Technology from Carnegie Mellon University. Our interview is conducted by Candace Coach, Account Representative for the AICPA Member Insurance Programs.