Knowledge and Insights

Mercadien is pleased to announce several promotions within the firm’s corporate leadership team.  Three professionals were promoted to the level of Director: Ms. Melissa Correa, CRCM, a member of the Financial Institutions Services Group and resident of Oklahoma City, OK; Mr. Matthew Daly, CPA, a member of both the Government Services and Audit and Assurance Services Groups and resident of Doylestown, PA; and Mr. Matthew Smierciak, CPA, a member of the Compliance Oversight Services Group and resident of Marlton, NJ.

Two associates were promoted to Manager:  Mr. Jack Hammell, CPA, CGFM, a member of both the Government Services and Audit and Assurance Services Groups and resident of Hillsborough, NJ; and Mr. Dominic Hulick, CAMS, a member of the Financial Institutions Services Group and resident of Hamilton, NJ.

An additional 20 professionals in various practice areas of the firm also were promoted.  Mr. Myron Gellman, Chief Executive Officer of Mercadien, stated, “We proudly congratulate all of our colleagues on their advancements and thank them for their many years of outstanding service to the firm.  Their promotions were made in recognition of their skills, dedication and tremendous contributions to Mercadien, our clients and our community. As we continue to grow, these promotions support Mercadien’s strategic focus on serving as a forward-thinking firm of the future as well as the consistent development of our people.” Mercadien employs approximately 150 individuals and provides a full spectrum of advisory, tax, accounting and wealth management services.

Profiles of the executives promoted follow: 

Ms. Melissa Correa, CRCM, a member of the firm’s Financial Institutions Services Group, is responsible for the completion of audit testing procedures for various financial institutions and performing audits and agreed-upon procedures for many regional banks and U.S. branches of foreign institutions.

Working with financial institutions (banks and credit unions) for over ten years, in both a consulting capacity and on engagements, Melissa has expertise in numerous areas, including commercial, residential and consumer loan portfolio review, allowance for loan and lease losses, asset/liability management, regulatory compliance, and Bank Secrecy and USA Patriot Acts.

Mr. Matthew Daly, CPA, a member of both the firm’s Government and Audit and Assurance Services Group, oversees staff, plans and performs audits and agreed-upon procedures for state and local authorities, state agencies and municipalities. Mr. Daly is also responsible for the evaluation of bond compliance and the completion of audit testing procedures for government client engagements.

Mr. Daly has experience assessing the effectiveness of clients’ internal controls, as well as with financial reporting, disclosure and compliance issues of entities subject to Uniform Guidance, OMB 15-08, Government Auditing Standards, and state, local and municipal reporting requirements. Matthew is also an active member of the firm’s Associate Advisory Committee.

Mr. Matthew Smierciak, CPA, a member of the firm’s Compliance Oversight Group, is responsible for planning and performing agreed-upon procedures, performance audits and various consulting engagements for state and local authorities, state agencies and municipalities, nonprofit organizations and commercial entities. In addition, he provides compliance consulting services to agencies that offer behavioral health and intellectual disability services and presents trainings on various topics including documentation, fee-for-service, billing and business processes and other areas relating to compliance.

Mr. Smierciak is an integral member of the team’s leadership working on the contract that Mercadien, P.C. has with the New Jersey Division of Medical Assistance & Health Services (NJDMAHS) and the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services to monitor compliance with the Partial Care Program. Additionally, Matthew works with the New Jersey Department of Human Services, NJDMAHS and the Division of Developmental Disabilities to ensure compliance with the Home and Community-Based Services Waiver Programs throughout New Jersey.  Matthew also has experience performing financial statement audits and tests of internal controls for various government entities and nonprofits, utilizing the latest practice techniques and software.

In his role as director at Mercadien, Mr. Smierciak oversees the compliance oversight team, where he manages scheduling, supervises engagements, coordinates staff trainings, and conducts annual performance reviews. Outside of Mercadien, Matthew is regarded as a Medicaid expert and enjoys educating others by presenting at various industry conferences and events. He frequently authors articles for Mercadien’s newsletter, Compliance Check, on hot topics relating to compliance.

Mr. Jack Hammell, CPA, CGFM, a member of both the firm’s Government and Audit and Assurance Services Groups, is responsible for overseeing staff on various engagements and ensuring they are operating at the highest levels of productivity, as well as testing systems of internal controls and performing analytical reviews, and preparing audit and financial statements of state, local and municipal government entities.

Mr. Dominic Hulick, CAMS, is a member of the firm’s Financial Institutions Services Group, whose primary focus is on providing internal control and regulatory compliance audits/reviews for community and commercial bank clients.

Mr. Hulick conducts validations of the BSA/AML monitoring software to ensure data is appropriately interfacing from core to system, performing restructuring assessments of BSA departments through staffing analyses. He also conducts alert optimizations, and implementation/enhancement of customer risk rating models. He is experienced with the documentation of BSA department procedures to identify gaps and limitations while enhancing the process and reporting for monitoring of suspicious transactions and preparation of suspicious activity reports.

Mercadien provides a full spectrum of advisory and accounting services, including traditional audit and financial reporting, tax compliance and planning, compliance oversight, risk assessment, litigation support, management and board consulting, mergers and acquisitions advisory, outsourced accounting and CFO services, strategic and succession planning; as well as wealth management solutions. Founded in Princeton in 1963, the firm serves privately-owned companies of nearly every type and industry, as well as financial institutions, nonprofit and human service 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 improve processes, and increase efficiencies for its many diverse and valued clients.