The Mercadien Group is pleased to announce several executive promotions within the firm.  Mr. Digesh Patel, CPA, MBA, RMA, CGMA, PSA, a director in the firm’s Government Services Group, has been promoted to managing director of The Mercadien Group and principal in Mercadien, P.C., CPAs.  A resident of Bordentown Township, NJ, Mr. Patel has been employed with Mercadien since completing his college internship with the firm in 2006.

 Ms. Lovepreet Buttar, CPA, MBA, CGMA, PSA, a manager in the Nonprofit & Human Services Group, has been promoted to the level of director; and two associates were promoted to managers from supervisor levels:  Mr. Matthew Fins, CRCM, CAMS, a member of the Financial Institutions Services Group; and Mr. Matthew Smierciak, CPA, a member of the Compliance Oversight Services Group. An additional 20 professionals in various practice areas of the firm were also promoted.

Mr. Conrad L. Druker, CPA, CGMA, the managing principal of Mercadien, stated, “These promotions reflect our associates’ contributions to the service of our clients, our focus on our associates’ professional development, and our resultant ongoing business growth.” Mercadien just marked its 55^th anniversary and employs approximately 150 people.

Profiles of those promoted: 

Mr. Patel oversees engagements with federal, state, county and municipal government entities and nonprofit organizations. He advises those clients on audit, internal control, budgetary, financial, and compliance issues unique to their sector. An expert in all aspects of financial auditing, Digesh also performs compliance audits, compilations, bond-related consulting and compliance, and consolidation studies.  Mr. Patel is a Certified Public Accountant, Registered Municipal Accountant, Chartered Global Management Accountant and licensed Public School Accountant.  He is a member of the American Institute and New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants. He also is a member of the NJ Association of Counties; the Association of Government Accountants’ Trenton, NJ chapter, from which he received a Special Achievement Award in 2012; and the Central Jersey chapter of the Institute of Internal Auditors, where he serves on the board and as assistant treasurer, as well as the NJ Association of Environmental Authorities. Mr. Patel serves on the boards of two community organizations: CASA of Mercer and Burlington Counties, where he chairs the finance committee, and the Mercadien Foundation. He earned his BS degree in Accounting and MBA from Rider University.

Lovepreet Buttar, a Certified Public Accountant, Chartered Global Management Accountant, and licensed Public School Accountant, is responsible for planning and overseeing engagements for nonprofit clients, including associations, private schools and foundations, and health and human services organizations. Ms. Buttar is experienced in and supervises both financial statement and compliance audits, as well as reviews and compilations. Her specialties include disclosure and reporting requirements, and she is proficient in tax-exemption determination and maintenance for entities.  Highly regarded in the areas of internal control structures, audit program design, and implementation, she has led various internal and external training programs related to nonprofit accounting developments and tax issues. Ms. Buttar serves on the board and executive committee of the West Windsor Arts Council and on the finance committee of the Princeton Area Community Foundation. She earned her BS degree in Accounting and Finance and her MBA from Rutgers University. A resident of Burlington, NJ, Ms. Buttar joined Mercadien, following her internship, in 2010.

Matthew Fins is a Certified Regulatory Compliance Manager and Anti-Money Laundering Specialist and manages engagements with financial institution clients. He is responsible for performing internal audits; regulatory compliance reviews, including mortgage lending compliance; agreed-upon procedures; and internal control testing procedures, mainly for regional banks and U.S. branches of foreign institutions. Mr. Fins is a member of the national and NY/NJ chapter of the Financial Managers Society and has been employed with Mercadien since 2011. He earned his BS degree in Accounting from William Paterson University and resides in Manalapan, NJ.

Matthew Smierciak manages compliance engagements primarily for government entity clients. He is responsible for planning and performing financial statement and compliance audits, agreed-upon procedures, internal control testing services, and payment inspections and monitoring for various state and local authorities, state agencies, and municipalities. A Certified Public Accountant skilled at utilizing the latest audit practice techniques and software, Mr. Smierciak graduated from Rowan University with a BS degree in Accounting. He joined Mercadien in 2011 and resides in Marlton, NJ.

The Mercadien Group is a family of entities that provides a full spectrum of accounting and advisory services; including traditional audit and financial reporting, tax compliance and planning, compliance oversight, risk assessment, litigation support, management and board consulting; as well as technology and wealth management solutions. Founded in 1963, the firm serves privately-owned companies of nearly every type and industry, as well as financial institutions, nonprofit organizations, government entities, and wealthy individuals and families. Mercadien provides forward-thinking, relationship-driven financial and strategic services that maximize wealth and profitability, minimize taxes and risk, evaluate systems and processes, and increase efficiencies for its many diverse and sophisticated clients.