RSM US - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- DIRECTOR, ACCOUNTING SERVICES
Bruce has extensive experience in all aspects of individual, corporation, S corporation, partnership, and nonprofit tax compliance and planning. Bruce joined the firm in 1983 and served for almost a decade as the Director-in-Charge of Tax Services. He now focuses on client service and mentoring staff.
Bruce has represented clients in tax disputes before the IRS through the appellate division and before state and local governments on income and sales tax issues.
Cherish joined LaPorte in 2018 where she provides tax planning, advisory, and compliance services to a variety of clients, with a focus on estate, gift, and succession planning, and on state and local, and family business tax planning. With her extensive experience, Cherish delivers advisory services to family offices on tax issues both pre- and post-transaction and consults on compliance and personal wealth issues. She represents clients in proceedings before federal, state, and local jurisdictions. Cherish is an adjunct professor at LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center where she teaches Income Tax I.
Cherish began her professional career representing the Internal Revenue Service before the US Tax Court on procedural and tax controversy issues and contributing to the drafting of regulations dealing with tax collection issues. She later worked for a large regional law firm, where she negotiated settlements and abatement of tax obligations at the federal, state, and local levels for taxpayers. Cherish's legal practice also consisted of counseling and representing clients on trust and estate planning and administration (successions); federal, state, and international taxation; and entity governance issues.
As a member of the LaPorte Transaction Advisory Services team, Cherish helps partnerships, S Corporations and closely held businesses with options on structuring transactions and operations. She also guides her clients on sales and use tax issues.
Job Titles:
- Leader
- CHAE
- Member of LaPorte 's Transaction Advisory Services Group
Cheryl takes a hands-on approach to client engagements working closely with her clients and the engagement team from the initial planning stage through the final review. She began her professional career in 1986, and Cheryl's decades of experience allow her to bring an informed perspective to her clients' business operations. Her SEC focus and technical knowledge enable her to serve SEC registrants through accounting and auditing services, preparation of initial public offerings, and performing quarterly SEC reviews.
Cheryl is a leader in the LaPorte Energy Industry Group. In addition to audit services, she assists with complex accounting calculations, such as asset retirement obligations; depreciation, depletion, and amortization (DD&A); and business combinations. Cheryl uses her deep energy industry experience to guide her clients through the implementation of new accounting pronouncements such as Revenue Recognition and Lease Accounting.
Job Titles:
- DIRECTOR, AUDIT and ASSURANCE SERVICES
- Founding Member of LaPorte 's Public Sector Industry Group
Dawn began her professional career with LaPorte in 2000. In addition to performing and reviewing financial and compliance audits for her clients, she provides consulting services related to operational reviews, board governance, implementation of new standards, and industry benchmarking. Dawn serves entities primarily in the nonprofit, public sector, and financial services industries, and she has extensive training in these industries. Dawn serves a number of the firm's most high-profile clients, including the Louisiana Stadium and Exposition District, Audubon Nature Institute, Greater New Orleans Foundation, and South Louisiana Bank, among others.
Dawn manages and is involved in all aspects of her financial services client engagements, from planning to concurring reviews for SEC-registered entities, mortgage lenders, and community-based financial institutions. She is a member of the Financial Services Industry Group.
As a founding member of LaPorte's Public Sector Industry Group, Dawn maintains ongoing training in governmental accounting and compliance auditing. She provides a variety of consulting services for her governmental clients.
Job Titles:
- CCIFP
- Member of the LaPorte Construction Industry Group
- Member of the LaPorte Nonprofit Industry Group
Doug is a member of the LaPorte Construction Industry Group and is certified as a construction industry financial professional (CCIFP). He is well versed in the accounting principles that are unique to the industry. Doug is on the forefront of understanding any changes affecting the industry and receives ongoing educational training. His primary focus is on serving mid-market specialty trade, pipeline, and other contractors. Because he understands the unique issues and risks relating to large construction jobs, Doug's clients include some of the largest specialty trade contractors in Texas. He also provides audit and assurance services to several multifamily real estate developers and management companies.
Doug is a member of the LaPorte Nonprofit Industry Group and has decades of experience serving nonprofit organizations, including private foundations and other supporting organizations. He also brings an enhanced understanding of the financial and governance aspects of nonprofits, based on serving on numerous nonprofit boards over the years.
Eric began his professional career at LaPorte in 1990. He has decades of public accounting experience providing accounting and auditing services to financial institutions, manufacturing firms, energy service companies, governmental entities, healthcare and other nonprofit organizations, and mid-sized, family-owned businesses. Eric served as a faculty member for the Delgado Community College 10,000 Small Business Program, which is funded by Goldman Sachs, and serves as an adjunct professor for the University of New Orleans in its Healthcare Management program. Eric was elected President and CEO by the shareholders of the firm and assumed his duties in that role effective December 2021. Prior to this, Eric's various firm leadership roles included Executive Committee member, Healthcare Industry Group Co-Leader, Chairman of the firm's Compensation Committee, and former leader of the Financial Services Industry Group.
Job Titles:
- Director, Audit and Assurance Services
Job Titles:
- DIRECTOR, AUDIT and ASSURANCE SERVICES
During Frank's professional career, he has performed audits, reviews, and compilations for a variety of industries including construction, oil and gas, broker-dealers, real estate, and manufacturing and distribution. Additionally, Frank has deep experience with SEC-reporting requirements and regulations, having assisted with over 500 SEC filings, including annual and interim reports as well as registration statements.
He is co-leader of the firm's Energy Industry Group and also a member of the firm's Construction, Real Estate, and Financial Services Industry Groups. He began his professional career in 2005 and joined LaPorte in 2014.
Job Titles:
- DIRECTOR, CONSULTING SERVICES
Gilbert began his professional career in 1978. Since then, he has advised over 600 clients, assisted clients in completing approximately 118 transfer of ownership transactions, testified in an estimated 200 litigation matters, and issued hundreds of valuations and fairness opinions. Gilbert consults on matters involving potential shareholder, financing, and other issues for which clients seek an advisor with proven experience defending the underlying economics, the proposed transaction structure, or other attributes. He has provided transaction advisory services to clients in multiple industries, including construction, energy, healthcare, and nonprofit.
Job Titles:
- Co - Leader of the LaPorte Healthcare Industry Group
- DIRECTOR, AUDIT and ASSURANCE SERVICES
Greg began his career at LaPorte and has served with the firm ever since. Highly valued by his clients for his attentive service, Greg chiefly focuses on healthcare and nonprofit entities, which also include foundations, governmental entities, and educational institutions. He has served some of the firm's largest and most complex clients and has worked across a variety of other industries, such as banking, construction, funds management, manufacturing, gaming, and transportation.
Over the years, Greg has established a strong practice, focusing on financial reporting and assurance services. In addition to compliance services, he has provided acquisition accounting, corporate coaching, evaluation of internal controls, and policies and procedures manual development services to his clients.
Greg is a co-leader of the LaPorte Healthcare Industry Group, serving some of the firm's largest and most complex healthcare clients. With decades of experience, he has served healthcare systems, hospital service districts, continuing care retirement centers, and healthcare trade associations.
Gretchen has provided tax and consulting services to high-income individuals, closely held businesses, energy companies, and professional service firms since beginning her public accounting career in 1997. Her practice focus is on tax compliance and planning for individuals, S-corporations, partnerships, and LLCs. Gretchen also has experience in the areas of estate tax and trusts.
Prior to her work in public accounting, Gretchen worked for over nine years at the Internal Revenue Service, first as a tax auditor and then as a revenue agent. The experience she gained while working for the IRS benefits Gretchen's clients who have received IRS audit and tax notices.
Gretchen joined LaPorte in 2016, bringing with her nearly two decades of private industry and accounting firm experience. She provides tax services for corporations, partnerships, and S corporations, including tax planning and reporting for complex sales transactions, multistate activities, and tiered partnership structures. Gretchen assists her clients in staying current with evolving tax regulations and guidance and provides timely insights, flow-through entity tax planning, and reviews of accounting method options. She began her professional career in 1998.
Cliff has over 25 years of experience in the technology field and has worked for LaPorte for 20 of those years. As the CTO, he manages the firm's network systems, IT contracts, and local support systems. He has also implemented, supported, and managed accounting systems for other firms, both as a consultant and as a manager.
Job Titles:
- Adjunct Professor of Taxation at a. B. Freeman School of Business
- CFE, CFF
Holly, a shareholder in the firm, has extensive experience performing consulting work in the areas of taxation for individuals, corporations and other entities, as well as financial planning, estate planning, and business succession planning. Her litigation experience includes testimony and forensic accounting services in accounting, financial, economic and business issues.
Holly is an Adjunct Professor of Taxation at A. B. Freeman School of Business at Tulane University where she has taught since 1999, and she also frequently speaks on taxation and forensic accounting issues.
Job Titles:
- Chamber of Commerce, Board Chair Emeritus
- Chamber of Commerce, Chairman 's Award for Distinguished Service
- Chamber of Commerce, Former Chair
Job Titles:
- DIRECTOR, AUDIT and ASSURANCE SERVICES
Jaclyn's experience includes providing external auditing, review services, accounting, and business consulting services to clients. She manages and is involved in all aspects of engagements, from planning to review. Jaclyn has substantial experience with complex investment portfolios for both nonprofit and for-profit companies.
She has extensive knowledge in reporting under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley. Jaclyn has performed operations reviews over various cycles of the financial reporting process and assisted clients with incorporating best practices and internal controls into their processes and procedures. She is a leader in our Risk Advisory Group.
Prior to joining LaPorte, Jaclyn worked with a regional firm headquartered in Baton Rouge in the areas of internal and external audits, internal controls and regulatory compliance, special projects, and consulting services.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Treasurer
- Board Member of the Year
Job Titles:
- CSEP
- Leader of LaPorte 's Estate Planning Services Group
- Member of the Transaction Advisory Services Group
Jennifer has extensive experience in all aspects of individual, corporation, S corporation, partnership, estate, gift, succession, and trust tax compliance and planning. She concentrates most of her efforts in the gift, estate, and trust planning arena and focuses principally on serving closely held businesses, high net worth individuals, and family groups. In serving high net worth individuals and closely held businesses for decades, Jennifer has worked with generations of families to ensure the success of the family business as well as the transfer of family wealth through various strategies including gifting.
Jennifer frequently speaks on taxation issues for professional, civic, and business organizations, as well as conducting continuing professional educations programs for other accountants. She began her professional career in 1984.
Jennifer is the leader of LaPorte's Estate Planning Services Group. Teaming with other estate planning professionals including attorneys, insurance agents, trust officers, and financial planners Jennifer takes a holistic approach to ensure that financial and non-financial goals are met. These goals might include meeting liquidity needs to provide for loved ones, unexpected medical expenses, future educational costs, legal expenses, and taxes. Additionally, she advises clients on documentation needed to support a smooth transition and avoid ambiguity so that their end goals are met.
Job Titles:
- CGFM
- DIRECTOR, AUDIT and ASSURANCE SERVICES
John has focused on serving nonprofit and public sector clients throughout his career and possesses a thorough knowledge of federal and state programs. He also has a significant educational practice. John has been performing charter school audits since the inception of the charter school movement in Louisiana. In fact, he oversees most of LaPorte's charter school engagements as well as several parish school board engagements. John's client services include planning and coordinating audits, addressing bond issues, designing and testing compliance of internal controls, conducting audits according to Government Auditing Standards, and reporting related to numerous Uniform Guidance single audits each year for his governmental and nonprofit clients. John began his professional career in 1992 and joined LaPorte several years later.
Job Titles:
- CCIFP, MBA / Director, Audit and Assurance Services
Job Titles:
- Director, Audit and Assurance Services
Job Titles:
- Director, Audit and Assurance Services
Job Titles:
- Association CFO Conference, "Implementation of ASU 1601
Job Titles:
- Board Member and Former Chair
Job Titles:
- Director, Audit and Assurance Services
Job Titles:
- Director, Audit and Assurance Services
Job Titles:
- Director, Audit and Assurance Services
Job Titles:
- Director, Accounting Services
Job Titles:
- Director, Audit and Assurance Services
Job Titles:
- Director, Audit and Assurance Services
Job Titles:
- Director, Accounting Services
Job Titles:
- Director, Audit and Assurance Services