Real Estate/Construction Contractors Conference Webcast Part 2 (Construction Contractors Track)

Steven Lemke is an Audit Principal at Grassi and brings over fifteen years of accounting experience to the firm. Steve has experience in preparing financial reports and performing audit, attest and tax work for clients within the construction, professional services and real estate industries. Prior to joining Grassi, Steven was a manager at a private accounting firm where he led and managed a team of professionals who provided assurance and tax services for a diverse group of clients. Steven trains and mentors staff at Grassi and assists with niche development. Steven is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA) and Construction Financial Management Association (CFMA). Steven received his Master of Accounting Degree from St. Joseph’s College.

Aaron is a Partner at Grassi and brings over 13 years of accounting experience to the firm. Aaron works with clients primarily within the Construction and Architecture & Engineering industries, and utilizes his attestation skills and general accounting knowledge to help clients realize their financial goals and business objectives. Aaron also provides clients with financial reporting, compilations, regulations and best practice updates that could impact client operations, and corporate and individual income tax preparation and planning. Since starting his career, Aaron has specialized in assisting clients in the construction and governmental contracting industry and performs audits in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR). Aaron supports the Construction and A&E industries with frequent participation in association conferences, meetings and networking events. He has shared his experience and knowledge as a speaker for the American Council of Engineering Companies, New York State Society of CPAs Real Estate & Construction Conference, and other professional organizations. Aaron is active within Grassi as well, teaching numerous training sessions and serving as a mentor to audit staff members. Aaron began his career at another regional accounting firm where he gained experience in corporate tax returns, bank reconciliations, QuickBooks and other accounting technology. He joined Grassi as an associate and quickly moved up the ranks to Partner. Aaron is a New York State Certified Public Accountant (CPA), a Certified Construction Industry Financial Professional (CCIFP) and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA). Aaron earned his B.S. in Accounting from Grove City College in Pennsylvania.

Joe counsels clients on a wide range of state and local taxation issues and represents taxpayers in disputes with the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance as well as the New York City Department of Finance. As the Sales & Use Tax Practice Leader, Joe’s practice focuses on sales and use tax issues, especially in the technology (software as a service, cloud computing, digital products, etc.), fine arts and construction industries. Joe is the primary author of our firm’s sales tax blog, All About Sales Tax. Joe is a contributing editor (New York Chapter) of the American Bar Association's Sales and Use Tax Deskbook. Joe also counsels clients regarding personal income tax planning and residency issues. He co-authored, with Mark S. Klein, the 2019 Guidebook to New York Taxes, a reference source of information on this topic and he writes a column for Tax Notes State called “The Endres Assessment." He also advises clients with respect to various federal and state tax incentive-based programs such as the federal renewable energy investment and production tax credits, New York State's Start-Up NY Program, the Excelsior Program, the former Empire Zone Program, the Brownfield Tax Credit Program and the Historical Building Rehabilitation Tax Credit Program. As the Abandoned Property Audits Practice Leader, Joe counsels clients in this area of law and has represented large corporations in complex compliance matters such as multistate abandoned property audits and voluntary disclosures.