Accounting Advisory Council

The Accounting Advisory Council (AAC) was formed in 1993. Among the objectives of the AAC is the development of active linkages with stakeholders in the profession who are able to provide:  

• Guidance on the management of curricular change
• Identification of marketplace trends
• Awareness of evolving professional and societal needs

Formal meetings in the fall and spring provide excellent opportunities for stakeholder dialogue. Department faculty and students interact with AAC members, Rider's College of Business Administration Dean and members of the Rider community. A balance is attempted at these meetings to enable adequate discourse among the participants.

Curricular change has been an ongoing topic of consideration for the AAC. Most notable in its early stages was guidance provided by council members on the planning and implementation of the Master of Accountancy program. The council has been instrumental in an ongoing basis in guiding the infusion of skill development, experiential learning and global perspectives in the curriculum at both the undergraduate and graduate levels.

One perceived strength in developing such a mechanism is its inherent capability to tap into the expertise of accounting professional in real time. The active dialogue created through the AAC enables the department to identify and address emerging needs in a timely fashion, often before such issues even find their way into the textbooks. Activities of the AAC can also assist students in identifying skill set and certification expectations for the variety of career paths they may seek to pursue. The composition of the Council is designed to reflect the wide range of career paths available to Rider graduates, including public accounting/professional services, and corporate and governmental accounting.

Current AAC members:

Name	Title	Company
Michael W. Burak	Tax	PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP
Howard Cohen	Officer in Charge of Edison Office	Amper, Politziner & Mattia
Stephen J. Cosgrove	Vice president, corporate controller	Johnson & Johnson
Thomas Cunningham	Senior director of Corporate Accounting	Merck, Inc.
John Feeney	Partner	Grant Thornton
Alvin Fenichel	Senior Vice President and Controller	AXA Financial, Inc.
Jules C. Frankel	Partner	Wilkin and Guttenplan, P.C.
Lawrence Frankel	Partner	Frankel and Topche, P.C.
Susan M. Koski-Grafer	Senior Associate Chief Accountant	Office of the Chief Accountant; U.S. SEC
Sharon Lamont	Partner	Sharon Lamont and Associates, CPAs
Lawrence Mawn	Partner	Deloitte & Touche, LLP
Thomas McCabe	Vice President and Fiduciary Investment Officer	Merrill Lynch Bank and Trust Co. FSB
Donald Millstein	President and CEO	E-Mon LLC
David Mulder		Mayne Pharma (USA) Inc.
Clair M. Raubenstine		PHH Corporation
Sherise D. Ritter	Principal	The Mercadien Group
Robert Schimek	Senior Vice President and CFO, Domestic Brokerage Group	AIG
Carl F. Shultz	President	CFS Consulting, LTD
John R. Tracy	Senior Finance Director	Motorola, Inc.
Timothy M. Tracy	Partner	Ernst & Young LLP
Frederick Wojtowicz	Vice President of Tax	Covance, Inc.
Paul E. Zikmund	Principal, Litigation Support Services	Goldenberg Rosenthal, LLP
Jeffrey Ziment	President	Ziment Financial Advisors, Inc.