Knowledge and Insights

Two Mercadien CPAs Are Awarded Prestigious Credentials

February 2018

Princeton, NJ & Philadelphia, PA – The Mercadien Group is pleased to announce that two of its executives have earned significant designations in the accounting field.

Mr. Digesh Patel, CPA, MBA, CGMA, PSA, a director in Mercadien’s Government Services Group, has earned the Registered Municipal Accountant (RMA) certification from the New Jersey State Board of Accountancy. This credential requires passing the rigorous RMA examination, demonstrating knowledge of the rules, regulations, standards and statutes that are relevant to the administration of public entities and the practice of governmental accounting and auditing.

Employed with Mercadien since his college internship in 2003, Mr. Patel oversees state, county and municipal government engagements and advises clients on audit, internal control, budgetary, financial, and compliance issues unique to this sector.

Patel is a member of the American Institute and New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants, as well as the Association of Government Accountants’ Trenton, NJ chapter, from which he received a Special Achievement Award in 2012. He is also a board member and finance committee chair of CASA for Children of Mercer and Burlington Counties, and a member of the advisory board of the Mercadien Foundation. A resident of Bordentown, NJ, Patel earned a BS degree in Accounting and MBA from Rider University.

Ms. Holly Sabo, CPA, MST, CGMA, a manager in the Individuals & Family Office and Tax Services Groups, has been awarded the Personal Financial Specialist (PFS) credential by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), joining an elite group of professionals who have demonstrated advanced knowledge of tax, estate, retirement, investment and insurance planning.

The PFS credential is awarded only to CPAs with extensive training and experience in financial planning and who meet arduous requirements, including completing at least 75 hours of personal financial planning education, demonstrating 3,000 hours of planning experience within the previous five-years, and passing a comprehensive exam covering 11 topic areas.

With Mercadien since 1993, Ms. Sabo provides tax and estate planning, as well as compliance and advisory services to individuals, families, private foundations, and closely-held businesses. She is a member of the American Institute and New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants and the Mercer County Estate Planning Council. She earned a BS degree in Accounting from the College of New Jersey and a Masters in Taxation (MST) from Philadelphia University, from which she received the Outstanding Student Award in 2010. Ms. Sabo serves as a board member and treasurer of the Learning Company and resides in Hamilton Township, NJ.

The Mercadien Group offers a full spectrum of accounting, advisory and tax services, including traditional auditing and financial reporting; federal, multi-state and international tax compliance and planning; compliance oversight; risk assessment; forensic and litigation support and family office services; management, board and technology consulting; and wealth management solutions.

Now celebrating 55 years of growth, Mercadien proudly provides these forward-thinking, relationship-driven financial and strategic services – designed to maximize profitability and wealth, minimize taxes and risk, and enhance systems and efficiencies – to privately-owned companies of nearly every type and industry, as well as to financial institutions, nonprofit organizations, government entities, and wealthy individuals and families. Learn more at Mercadien.com.