LVBW promotes three employees to partnership positions

Mindy Elniski, CPA, has been promoted to Partner. Elniski, formerly a Senior Manager, focuses on financial audits, reviews, compilations, and provides outsourced CFO and consulting services.  Elniski holds a BS in Finance and an MBA in Public Accounting from Canisius College. She is a member of the Board of Directors of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA) Buffalo Chapter, and committee chair for the Career Opportunities in the Accounting Profession (COAP) program; working to promote diversity in the accounting professions. Elniski is a Leadership Buffalo 2015 graduate and has volunteered her time with various nonprofits including Westminster Economic Development Initiative, Compeer of Greater Buffalo, and the National MS Society Upstate NY Chapter. Elniski has been with the firm since 2010 and is a resident of East Amherst.

1. What are your interests outside of the office?
   • Normally I love traveling, camping, road tripping, hunting, fishing, and spending time with my family members who live other states. Lately though, I’ve enjoyed bike rides with my husband and son in the bike trailer, and dreaming about where we’ll travel to next!
2. Which genre of movies or shows are your favorite?
   • My favorite movie ever is Forrest Gump, and my favorite TV shows are Breaking Bad and The Office.
3. What is one stand out memory you have had in your career?
   • One of my favorite career memories is the time there was a blind folded peanut butter taste test. On a travel job out of town, one of the BDO auditors swore that he would be able to tell his favorite brand of peanut butter apart from others. We had three or four different types that he taste tested, and he picked the wrong brand! Proof that who you work with means a lot, and can really make work fun.
4. If you had to give advice to your younger self, what would it be?
   • Get comfortable with public speaking and continue to do it regularly!
5. What is the farthest you have ever been from home?
   • Although I’ve been further places if we’re talking mileage, I spent 4 weeks in Mexico City. My duties there were to feed and bathe disabled orphans who were no longer wanted or able to be cared for by their families. I learned to do laundry by hand, and became friendly with the local families. It was a time that I was furthest outside of my comfort zone, and that experience taught me to appreciate, reflect, and rethink what is important in life.

Brian Moran, CPA, has also been promoted to Partner. Moran, who joined the firm in 2008 after gaining experience in the mortgage industry, works with a variety of clients in different industries including construction, manufacturing, not-for-profit, real estate and mortgage companies. He assists clients with tax planning and compliance for partnerships, corporations and individuals, and multi-state and international tax strategies. He holds a BS from the University of Buffalo and a MSA and MBA in Public Accounting from Canisius College. Moran is a resident of North Tonawanda.

1. What are your interests outside of the office?
   • Bowling and Tae-Kwon-Do
2. Which genre of movies or shows are your favorite?
   • Action/Romantic Comedies
3. What is one stand out memory you have had in your career?
   • What stands out for me is that each client relationship starts out differently. Working with a client in the first and second year helps build a stronger relationship down the road.
4. If you had to give advice to your younger self, what would it be?
   • When I transferred from Alfred University after my freshman year to UB, I should have started over and taken the 5-year business path would have led to my MBA.  It cost me more time and money to do things the way I did.
5. What is the farthest you have ever been from home?
   • Las Vegas

Kara Whitmore, CPA, also promoted to Partner, has been with the firm since 2009, initially as a staff accountant. She assists clients with financial audit, review, compilations services, employee benefit plan audits, and tax consulting. Whitmore holds a BS and an MBA from Niagara University. She is an active member of Leadership Buffalo and NYSSCPA and lives in Tonawanda.  She also currently serves on the Board of Directors for Community Services for Every1.

1. What are your interests outside of the office?
   • Spending time with my 1 year old Blayke, traveling, and anything outdoors.
2. Which genre of movies or shows are your favorite?
   • Comedy or Crime
3. What is one stand out memory you have had in your career?
   • Counting inventory at an oil refinery at 5am before the sun is up, wearing an oversized flame resistant suit, hardhat, glasses and gloves and walking straight into a pipe from an under construction tank.  The story is still recalled every year end.
4. If you had to give advice to your younger self, what would it be?
   • Have the courage to live a life true to yourself, not the life others expect of you.
5. What is the farthest you have ever been from home?
   • Amsterdam

Additionally, Sean Bird, CPA, has been promoted to Supervising Senior, and Justin Flynn, CPA, to Senior Associate.

With a focus on helping their clients succeed, LVBW, LLP, Accountants and Consultants, has been serving Western New York for more than 20 years. The firm works with middle-market companies and closely held family businesses. In addition to the full spectrum of traditional tax, accounting and assurance work, LVBW provides non-traditional support including outsourced CFO and accounting services.  The firm also offers clients an extensive portfolio of specialty services including: business valuations; and exit, transition and succession planning.