Westchester/Rockland Chapters Tax Conference Webcast - Part 2

Greg is a licensed CPA. He provides tax advisory services, including tax planning/mitigation, transaction advisory services, structuring, and compliance. His business client base includes closely-held, multi-state businesses in various industries, many of which operate in all fifty states and overseas. Greg also assists these clients with respect to tax provision/ASC 740 compliance. Additionally, Greg provides tax compliance and planning services for high-net worth individuals, estates, and trusts

After graduation from college, Ms. Berk worked in the field of public accounting for various Certified Public Accounting firms. She then co-founded Berk & Berk, CPA PC, a Public Accounting and Tax Practice in New Jersey, with her father in 1988. After Mr. Berk passed away, Ms. Berk formed S E Berk CPA PC in New York in 1996. The Firm is engaged in various areas of Public Accounting, including Accounting Services, Management Consulting and Tax Preparation and Planning. Ms. Berk has over 38 years of experience with a significant concentration of clientele in the tri-state area and throughout the United States. Ms. Berk’s extensive accounting experience includes management consulting service, in-depth tax planning, tax preparation, audit representation and obtaining financing for client expansion. Clientele include various business entities, medium to high net worth individuals and other professionals. Business clientele include entities in the medical, real estate, retail, contractor, distribution, legal and engineering industries. Individual clientele include executives, doctors, lawyers, teachers, entertainers, musicians, creative artists and investors.

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.

Ash Ahluwalia is the head of Social Security planning at OneTeam Financial. With nearly thirty years of experience, he is one of the nation’s foremost experts on Social Security and oversees the development of claiming strategies to maximize retirement income benefits. Social Security is the largest retirement asset for many Americans, often amounting to $1 million or more of lifetime pension benefits from the federal government. However, being governed by more than 2700 rules, over 90% of filers leave money on the table. Ash has helped thousands of clients to customize the best strategy for their personal situation. Ash is the former president and founder of National Social Security Partners, LLC (NSSP). He has two certifications in Social Security planning, National Social Security AdvisorSM and Certified in Social Security Claiming Strategies (CSSCS). For all of his efforts, expertise and leadership in Social Security planning, he was recognized with the “National Social Security Advisor of the Year” award in 2016 from the National Social Security Association. After graduating from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Commerce degree, Ash obtained his Chartered Accounting degree (a Canadian CPA.) and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM designation. He then went on to obtain an MBA from Wharton Business School. Ash has been published in numerous newspapers and magazines for his expertise, including The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, U.S. News World Report, and Financial Planning magazine. He is also a highly-sought-after speaker at conferences, webinars and industry events for consumers as well as legal, accounting and other financial professionals. Originally from Toronto, Canada, Ash has lived in Madison, New Jersey for the past 25 years. He is married and has three grown children. He enjoys playing many sports, including ice hockey, golf and tennis, as well as traveling, health and fitness. He is also active in his wife’s charitable organization, Autism is Curable.

Christina McLoughlin Senior Manager, Family Office Tax Christina McLoughlin serves in the Firm’s Wealth Services division. She specializes in the taxation of high-net-worth individuals, partnerships, LLCs, estates and trusts. Clients served are primarily in the investment management industry. Professional Affiliations and Civic Involvement • American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
• Mental Health Advocacy ERG Champion, PKF O’Connor Davies
• Women’s Initiative Committee, PKF O’Connor Davies Accreditation
• Certified Public Accountant (New York) Education
• Iona University Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Accounting Contact Christina 914.298.2403 | cmcloughlin@pkfod.com

Kerry Smith, CPA, is a Senior Tax Manager at PKF O’Connor Davies in the Financial Services Group. Kerry specializes in the taxation of private equity, hedge funds and other financial service clients including high-net worth individuals. Kerry manages client engagements and provides expertise in the areas of tax compliance for investment entities, general partnerships, and international companies. In addition to tax compliance, Kerry is responsible for and oversees tax planning, structuring, and analysis on behalf of PKF O’Connor Davies investment partnership clientele. Aside from her professional role, Kerry is actively involved in PKFOD's Women's Initiative Committee as both their New York City advocate and chair of the Health and Wellness committee, as well as a regular instructor in the firm’s continuing professional education program. Professional Affiliations & Civic Involvement • New York Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA)
• Women’s Initiative Committee, Chair of Health and Wellness PKF O’Connor Davies Accreditations
• Certified Public Accountant (New York) Education
• Quinnipiac University, Bachelor of Science in Accounting
• University of Connecticut, Master’s in Accounting Contact Kerry 646.699.2831 ksmith@pkfod.com