2009-2010 ASCPA Board of Directors
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Secretary/Treasurer | |
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Immediate Past Chair | |
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Director 2008-2010 | |
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Director 2008-2010 | |
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Director 2008-2010 | |
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Director 2008-2010 | |
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Director 2008-2010 | |
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Director 2008-2010 | |
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Director 2009-2011 | |
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Director 2009-2011 | |
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Director 2009-2011 | |
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Director 2009-2011 |
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Director 2009-2011 | |
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Director 2009-2011 | |
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AICPA Council Member | |
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AICPA Council Member | |
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Board Biographies
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Julie S. Klewer, CPA, MBA, is a partner with Ludwig Klewer & Co. PLLC in Tucson. She began her career with Coopers & Lybrand and has worked in both national and local public accounting firms. Her practice areas include a focus on assurance services with specific concentrations in nonprofit, construction contractors and religious organizations. She has taught undergraduate courses in marketing and business administration at the University of Arizona. Klewer is also active in the community and served as chair of the 2006 Tucson Heart Ball benefiting the American Heart Association.
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Melinda Xanthos—Secretary Treasurer Melinda Xanthos, CPA, is an audit partner in the Phoenix office of KPMG. Xanthos serves private and public, local and international clients. Over the course of her career, she has concentrated on retail, manufacturing and technology based clients. In addition to audit services, she has experience with acquisitions, dispositions, financing transactions and SEC matters. Xanthos recently served as the engagement partner for the carve-out and initial public offering of an international semiconductor company. While in KPMG’s Orange County office, she served as the engagement manager for Taco Bell for several years.
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Rick Goldenson— Immediate Past Chair Goldenson is the managing partner of the Clifton Gunderson Arizona Client Service Center, which includes offices in Phoenix and Tucson. He was the chair–elect for the Society’s board of directors this past year and previously served as the secretary/treasurer. Goldenson has more than 25 years of experience providing accounting, auditing, tax and consulting services to clients in a variety of industries in addition to working on several peer reviews. He is currently a member of the Clifton Gunderson Partnership Board of Directors. RETURN TO TOP |
Mark Anderson—Director 2008-2010
Mark M. Anderson, CPA, is vice president and chief financial officer of Delta Dental of Arizona. Previously, Anderson worked with Schaller Anderson, United Health Group and Mayer Hoffman McCann. He is a member of the AICPA and the Arizona Management Society, and his community service includes work with the Boy Scouts of America.

Matt Holdsworth, CPA, is a native Arizonan from Flagstaff. He graduated Magna Cum Laude from Northern Arizona University in accountancy and minored in computer information systems. Matt is currently a partner with Holdsworth & Larson CPAs, where he provides tax, business and technology consulting. He recently served as president of the North Central Chapter of the ASCPA, and has served as treasurer for Prescott Area Habitat for Humanity.

Matt Holdsworth—Director 2008-2010
Marc Fleischman—Director 2008-2010 As one of Beach, Fleischman & Co.’s founding shareholders, Marc Fleischman, CPA, ABV, has been with the firm since its inception in 1990. Prior to that, Fleischman was a partner with Laventhol & Horwath and Beach, Fleischman & Ubbing. He provides expert witness testimony in the areas of business valuation, damage calculation and domestic relations matters. He has taught family law continuing legal education programs for the State Bar of Arizona and Pima County Bar Association. He has served on several boards of directors, including Las Familias, Pima College Foundation and Tucson Jewish Community Center.
Perseus B. Munshi, CPA, is the faculty director of the W.P. Carey School of Accountancy Masters Programs and a senior lecturer. He has more than 15 years experience in the public accounting profession, with Big Four, regional and local firms, where his areas of specialty were auditing and strategic management consulting. His primary areas of expertise and teaching interests are in auditing, accounting information systems, internal controls (including Sarbanes-Oxley), Financial Accounting, and Nonprofit Accounting. Munshi served as a trustee on the ASCPA Foundation for three years.
Persy Munshi—Director 2008-2010
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Greg Nelson—Director 2008-2010 Greg Nelson, CPA, has more than 20 years of experience in both public and private firms, from start-ups to turnarounds to Fortune 100 companies. He is currently vice president and CFO for WorldatWork, where he is responsible for the financial and operational areas of the organization. Nelson also served as CFO for Excell Global Services, Inc. and has held financial positions within Alcoa, HealthAmerica Corporation and Deloitte & Touche. He is a member of the AICPA, and a Western Area director for Financial Executives International. RETURN TO TOP |
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Bryan A. Zall, CPA, is an audit partner in the Desert Southwest practice of McGladrey & Pullen, LLP. He is also a managing director in RSM McGladrey Inc., a separate practice that provides tax and consulting services. Zall’s professional experience includes more than 25 years of financial consulting, business planning, financial statement preparation and auditing. He is a member of the AICPA, the Association for Corporate Growth, Arizona Business Leadership and Financial Executives International. He is a past board member of the Phoenix Sister Cities Commission and the Arizona Association of Industries. |
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Karen Abraham—Director 2009-2011
Karen Abraham, is senior vice president of finance and administration and senior BlueCard executive at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Arizona, is responsible for the company's financial reporting, cost accounting and budgeting, financial operations, financial systems, purchasing, fleet department and support operations including distribution and duplication services, optical data capture, and records management. In addition, she is responsible for corporate facilities and inter-plan program support. She has served in various capacities at BCBSAZ since 1983.
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Robert Gardiner—Director 2009-2011
Robert J. Gardiner, CPA, CFP, MBA, is Senior Vice President and Senior Credit Officer with Northern Trust, NA for its Southwest region. Robert has responsibility for the Bank’s credit function and oversees its billion dollar plus loan portfolio. Northern Trust is a 120-year old financial institution headquartered in Chicago, Illinois and has had Arizona operations since 1974. Robert began his career as a Tax Accountant with a major Phoenix-based commercial finance company for six years before entering Banking in 1986, then working with various financial institutions primarily in commercial lending and management before joining Northern Trust in 1999. Robert is a board member of the Desert Mission Neighborhood Renewal (past chair), LISC of Phoenix, Phoenix Community Alliance and a member of the Risk Management Association and Arizona Business Leadership.
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Tracy Mock—Director 2009-2011
Tracy Mock, CPA, MBA has over 25 years of accounting, finance and corporate management experience. Currently, she is Director of Finance for Medtronic Microelectronics Center in Tempe, a medical device manufacturing / technology division. Before joining Medtronic, she was Vice President of Corporate Strategy & Restructure for ON Semiconductor executing a major cost restructuring, cash liquidity initiatives and a corporate-wide strategy re-design. Prior to that role, she held several Finance Director positions managing large global finance organizations for both ON Semiconductor and Motorola. This financial oversight was focused in semiconductor manufacturing, business operations, technology development and factory start-ups.
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Armando Roman—Director 2009-2011
Armando Roman founded Roman & Company CPAs, PC, a boutique public accounting firm that he managed for 14 years. In 2007, Roman merged his firm into Johnson, Harris & Goff, PLLC of Scottsdale, where he is currently a partner. His practice focuses on high net worth individuals, closely held businesses, Hispanic-owned businesses and Native American tribes. Roman received his undergraduate degree from the University of Arizona and MBA from Drexel University. He also is a partner with Axiom Advisory Services, is a Personal Financial Specialist holds insurance licenses as well as series 7 and series 66 securities licenses. Roman is a frequent author for various newspapers and business columns including La Opinion (the nation’s largest Spanish language daily newspaper) and speaks fluent Spanish.
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Melissa Spangler—Director 2009-2011 Melissa is an audit manager in the firm of Heinfeld, Meech & Co., P.C. Melissa received her Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from the University of Arizona and joined Heinfeld, Meech & Co., P.C. shortly thereafter. Since joining the firm, she has supervised more than 150 audits for school districts, grant schools, charter schools, and nonprofit organizations. In addition to financial audit services, Melissa has provided numerous consulting services including cost studies, the implementation of the new reporting standards, and policy and procedural reviews. Melissa has spoken professionally on various issues at conferences sponsored by the firm and the Arizona Association of School Business Officials (AASBO) and is a member of several professional organizations including the AICPA, ASCPA and AWCSPA. She recently served as president of the Southern Chapter of the ASCPA.
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Brian Swartz—Director 2009-2011
Brian L. Swartz has been Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer since March 2009 at Apollo Group. Mr. Swartz was Chief Accounting Officer from February 2007 to March 2009 and Senior Vice President, Finance since June 2007. He was Vice President, Corporate Controller and Chief Accounting Officer from February 2007 to June 2007. Prior to joining Apollo Group, Mr. Swartz was with EaglePicher Incorporated as its Vice-President and Corporate Controller. Mr. Swartz began his career at Arthur Andersen LLP. He graduated magna cum laude from the University of Arizona with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and was a member of the Warren Berger Entrepreneurship Program. Mr. Swartz is a Certified Public Accountant. |
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George Cohen—AICPA Council Member George Cohen, CPA, is Senior Director with RSM McGladrey Inc. He has more than 30 years of experience providing accounting, business and tax services in various industries and professions with a specialty in healthcare. Formerly co-owner and partner with Schwartz Cohen and Company, Cohen is well known in the Valley for his work within the healthcare community. He was recently the Treasurer and on the Board of Trustees of the Phoenix Art Museum. He is also President, past Treasurer and current Board Member of Actors Theatre of Phoenix. Cohen has served as Phoenix Arts Commission Commissioner and is recipient of the Arts Advocate of the Year Award from Business Volunteers for the Arts. He has served as the chair of the Jewish Commission on Continuity and serves on the Executive Committee of the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix, where he has been a Board Member since 1992. Previously, Cohen has served as president and board member of the Council for Jews with Special Needs and the Tri-City Jewish Community Center and Jewish Federation of greater Phoenix. In 2009 Cohen was awarded the ASCPA Community Service Award, and the H & R Bloch National Outstanding community Service Award. |
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Layne Simmons—AICPA Council Member Layne Simmons, CPA, is a manager and co-owner of Jaffa Simmons, PLLC. He was the Society’s chair this past year and previously served as chair-elect and secretary/treasurer on the Society’s Board of Directors. Simmons is a former chair of the Society’s Tax Legislation Committee. He is a former president of the Arizona Chapter of Tax Executives Institute and is also a former member of the Board of Directors of the Arizona Tax Research Association. Previously, Simmons was the vice president of tax at Waste Services, Inc. He also served as the executive director of tax at Viad Corp. and, prior to his association with Viad, he was with the Phoenix office of Deloitte & Touche. |











