Certified Public Accountants Recognize Outstanding Connecticut Women Advancing Profession

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We’re all familiar with the saying, choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.  We may not have associated the phrase with accounting, however.  That’s where we’d be missing something, it turns out.

“I’m happy to say after 30 years I am continuously challenged and learning every day,” said Dana Silva, Chief Accounting Officer & Corporate Secretary at Ion Bank, who decided to enter the field because she excelled in math and enjoyed high school business courses. “What I like most is working with so many different people and clients. Every day is different,” adds Erica Czajkowski of Burlington, Audit Senior Manager at Deloitte and Touche. “Being an accountant allows you to learn from others and provide value each and every day.”

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Silva and Czajkowski are two of seven women in the profession being honored this week by the Connecticut Society of CPA’s (CTCPA), the second year that the organization has shined a spotlight on women – veterans in the field and relative newcomers – highlighting women making their mark in leadership and management in the accounting profession, in private firms, large corporations or non-profit organizations.

The virtual event will be held Wednesday, January 20, from 8:30 to 10:30 am with networking to start followed by a keynote address by global technology and finance leader Kimberly Ellison-Taylor, past chairman of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).

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The honorees represent a diverse group of Connecticut women, from a CFO who oversees the finances of a $42 million nonprofit to an accountant who went back to school to earn her CPA while her sons were in school; from a managing partner who manages leadership strategies for 1,100 accounting professionals to a CPA who delivered the valedictory address in graduate school.

The 2021 CTCPA Women Distinguished Service Awards will be presented to:

  • Susan Brosseau, CPA, Chief Financial Officer at Ädelbrook Behavioral and Developmental Services

  • Dana M. Silva, Chief Accounting Officer & Corporate Secretary at Ion Bank

  • Heather Ziegler, Stamford Managing Partner at Deloitte and Touche, LLP

The 2021 CTCPA Women to Watch Awards will be presented to:

  • Jenna M. Allegretto, CPA, Senior Manager, Assurance Services at Marcum LLP

  • Anne M. Comer, CPA, Director of Operations at CRC Group

  • Erica Czajkowski, Audit Senior Manager at Deloitte and Touche, LLP

  • Marissa R. LaBelle, JD, CPA, Staff Attorney at RSM US LLP

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Each honored woman has navigated her path to success by working hard and staying true to the ethics of the profession.   “To recognize women for their accomplishments at work, in their communities and at home is really a dream come true for me,” said CTCPA Executive Director Bonnie Stewart, who continues to elevate diversity and inclusion at the 113-year-old membership organization.

Susan Brosseau of Hebron was inspired to join the accounting field 35 years ago because she saw many opportunities to work with a variety of clients before determining which industry to specialize in, as well as the chance for swift advancement.

“I was able to get a broad base of business knowledge and I could be promoted relatively quickly to increasing levels of responsibility,” she explained.  She has spent most of her public accounting career serving large financial services and insurance clients, and is now Chief Financial Officer at Ädelbrook Behavioral and Developmental Services in Cromwell.  She emphasizes to newly-minted CPA’s that ethics and integrity are as important as technical expertise.

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Heather Ziegler, a New Canaan resident and Managing Partner for Deloitte and Touche in Stamford, initially chose accounting because she was good at math.  She now oversees 1,100 professionals and has leadership responsibility for the Deloitte strategy and broader practice delivery of client services, corporate citizenship and inclusion efforts across Fairfield and Westchester counties.

“Debits and credits made sense to me and I love crunching numbers. But what I love about being a CPA in the accounting profession is helping companies make informed decisions when it matters most, advising them as they navigate their most challenging transactions and working through their most important milestones,” Ziegler explained.

“I love that I chose a profession that requires life-long learning as it continues to evolve and change with the market landscape,” noted Jenna Allegretto, CPA, Senior Manager, Assurance Services at Marcum, who also serves as a Continuing Professional Education (CPE) instructor at Marcum and an adjunct faculty member for Fairfield University’s Master of Science in Accounting program.

“Accounting is much more than my day-to-day job. It is the passion I have found in a career, that makes going to work each day more of an opportunity, and less of an obligation. It is that joy and excitement for accounting I hope to inspire in others,” she adds.

Registration for the event is available at http://www.ctcpas.org/CTCPAWomen.