NJCPA Members Make “Top 100” List

On Sep 15, 2016

Four distinguished members of the Roseland-based New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants (NJCPA) were included in AccountingToday’s annual “Top 100 Most Influential People” list:

Ralph Albert Thomas, CGMA, CEO and executive director of the NJCPA, has led the 14,000-member organization for 17 years. AccountingToday cited Thomas as “one of a handful of changemakers the profession looks to; as a voice for diversity and inclusion in the profession, he is in a class by himself.”

The North Brunswick resident is a member of the AICPA Foundation Board; National Association of State Boards of Accountancy State Society Relations Committee; past national president and lifetime member of the National Association of Black Accountants; and serves on several university accounting advisory boards.

James C. Bourke Jr., CPA, CITP, CFF, CGMA, partner at WithumSmith+Brown in Red Bank, and a past president of the NJCPA, was recognized by AccountingToday. The publication had this to say: “While Bourke’s role leading technology efforts at a top accounting firm is thankfully becoming more common in the profession, his rare ability to guide others in building future-ready practices has only risen in demand — keeping him busy spreading the gospel of good tech.”

The Manasquan resident is a board member of the NJ Technology Council; past board member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants; past chair of the AICPA CITP Credential Committee; and past chair of the AICPA Tech+ Conference.

Catherine Engelbert, CPA, CEO of Deloitte, is responsible for 70,000 professionals in nearly 90 U.S. cities and India. AccountingToday said that “as the first woman to lead a Big Four firm, Engelbert isn’t just an inspiration for women (and men, too!) — she’s actively encouraging the next generations to join and stay with the profession, even as she leads her firm to new heights.”

Engelbert, a Berkeley Heights resident, is chair of the governing board of the Center for Audit Quality; a member of the Lehigh University Accounting Advisory Board; and a past member of the Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Council.

Edward Mendlowitz, CPA, partner at WithumSmith+Brown, has spent five decades in the accounting profession. AccountingToday said, “His popular articles, newsletters, books and checklists bring to the fore many issues of significance to the profession, from why accountants are leaving public accounting for industry, to what it means to really serve a client with integrity.”

The East Brunswick resident has authored 24 professional books; was admitted to practice before the U.S. Tax Court; and is trustee of the Accounting Club of America.

The NJCPA congratulates these well-accomplished accounting professionals.

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