About
Welcome to Around the Globe - a round-up of the latest member news and activity happening throughout the LEA Global community.
Going forward, this publication will feature brief snippets of referral activity, hiring and promotions, awards, growth updates, and more!
Notable People
- Deborah Bowan, Principal and COO/CFO at Brown Plus (USA), was named a 2025 Women of Influence award honoree by Central Penn Business Journal (CPBJ).
- Brown Plus (USA) welcomed Brian Palmer as a tax manager to its Lancaster, PA office. Palmer brings ten years of experience and specializes in providing tailored tax strategies for clients across a wide range of industries, including manufacturing and distribution, construction, real estate, and more.
- Skinner Clouse Group (USA) added Upen Rijal to its Business Advisors team as the Tech Strategy Consultant & Information Systems Manager. Rijal brings a strong background in IT, a deep understanding of business strategy, and a passion for strategic innovation to the firm.
- AKM Global (India) welcomed Tenga Waratani as its South India Head - Japan Desk. With over 12 years of experience in business and client development, Waratani brings a deep understanding of the unique business needs of Japanese companies operating across India and the US. His expertise lies in bridging cultural and regulatory landscapes, delivering solutions that are both compliance-focused and culturally attuned.
- Prosperity Advisers (Australia) appointed Jeff Chittock as Director of Outsourcing Services. With over 20 years of international experience as a dual-qualified accountant and lawyer, Chittock will lead the continued growth of Prosperity's outsourcing division — helping businesses streamline operations and access strategic, high-value support across payroll, finance, transactions, and employee benefits.
- RBK Chartered Accountants (Ireland) welcomed Sobhana Rao as its Transfer Pricing Director. Rao brings over 12 years of experience and specializes in transfer pricing advisory and compliance, supporting clients with end-to-end TP solutions including planning, policy design and modelling, value chain analysis, documentation, and audit defence.
Firm Highlights
- RBK Chartered Accountants (Ireland) has merged with MCP Accountants and OMC O’Malley & Company, both long-established accountancy practices based in Castlebar, with effect from May 2025. The combined entities will have revenue in excess of €26 million, a team of 19 partners with over 270 professionals and support staff across 4 offices, consolidating RBK’s position as a leading national accountancy and advisory firm. The merger will establish a new RBK office in Castlebar.
- Brown Plus (USA) received the 2025 Marketing Achievement Award for ‘Integrated Branding Programs – Firm Revenue Below $40M’ from the Association for Accounting Marketing (AAM) for its name change and branding refresh, which went into effect on January 1, 2024.
- Anders (USA) has been recognized as a Top Workplace by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch for the 12th straight year.
- AKM Global (India) was certified as a Great Place to Work for the second year in a row by the Great Place To Work®. This certification is among the most prestigious achievements for any organization globally. For an organization to get certified, companies must undergo a thorough assessment of their work culture, and 70% or more of their employee respondents should rate it as a great workplace by Great Place To Work.
- The Primexis (France) running team took part in the 18th edition of the Les Foulées de l'Immobilier - helping raise €17,000 for Habitat et Humanisme Île-de-France as they combine athletics with community support.
- Bennett Thrasher (USA) made a significant investment in NABA INC., supporting their mission to empower the next generation of diverse business leaders. This partnership reflects a shared commitment to expanding opportunities in accounting, finance, and business for students from underrepresented backgrounds.
Sponsor Updates
- Trullion launched Trulli - an AI agent, purpose-built for accounting and finance workflows. Trulli is a vertical AI agent developed specifically for high-stakes financial environments. It combines real reasoning, workflow execution, and deep integration with financial data, and is designed to meet the precision, transparency, and accountability that finance teams demand.
- Suralink announced the release of its Workpaper Suite, an Excel add-in that natively integrates with engagement workpapers and its Request List Management solution. By automating data matching, support document linkage, and streamlining client collaboration, Workpaper Suite enhances engagement efficiency from initial PBC requests to workpaper preparation and review.
- LeaseCrunch and Strongbox have rebranded as Crunchafi, blending their legacy of "crunching" numbers with a forward-thinking focus on accounting and financial intelligence. Both products - lease accounting and data extraction - are now united under the Crunchafi name.
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