Brian Francese is a principal with Baker Tilly’s New York assurance practice and a leader with the firm’s e-commerce and large retail industry practice. He brings more than 18 years of public accounting experience with a specific focus serving private equity and family office backed domestic and multinational companies as well as publicly traded companies. Brian’s clients have come to rely on his practical business guidance and assistance in meeting their objectives while considering him a valued architect.
With Brian’s experiences he can bring a practical audit approach to all his clients. His extensive national office experience, as outlined below, results in audit approaches that are concise, efficient and do not exceed that of which is required by the underlying audit standards. Further, when coupled with Brian’s vast industry knowledge, Brian’s audit approaches focus on entity specific risks that truly matter to those entities stakeholders and ownership (e.g., family-owned vs. private equity owned vs. family office owned vs. publicly traded).
- Execute financial statement (U.S. GAAP and IFRS) audits. Primary clients range from domestic to multinational private equity owned, family office owned, family-owned or foreign owned entities in a variety of industries, including but not limited to, retail, consumer products, e-commerce, manufacturing, technology, client service, insurance and pharmaceutical
- Assess clients’ interpretation and implementation of numerous technical accounting pronouncements and accounting for significant transactions, for example, business combinations, intangibles – goodwill and other – impairment testing, debt – debt refinancing and modification versus extinguishment accounting, leasing, stock compensation, retirement benefits – defined benefits and income taxes
- Prior to joining Baker Tilly, Brian started his career with an international accounting firm, where two of his years were spent, as a senior manager, within that firm’s national office where his main focuses were as follows:
• Interpreted AICPA auditing standards while developing the firm’s nonpublic company audit methodology which is now utilized by the firm both in the U.S. and globally when executing audits under AICPA auditing standards
• Assisted engagement teams, nationally, with complex auditing related questions from a consultation perspective, with a focus in the areas of revenue and inventory
• Reviewed audit documentation nationally to ensure audit engagement teams were performing their audits in accordance with the underlying auditing standards but more importantly that they were not exceeding the requirements of the underlying auditing standards. Brian’s focus was to ensure clients were not facing excessive audit requests resulting in unnecessary disruption to their accounting/finance department
• Wrote firmwide audit course content within the areas in which Brian specialized, such as inventory and business combinations/valuations
- American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
- Certified Public Accountant, State of New York
- Certified Public Accountant, State of Connecticut
- Certified Public Accountant, State of New Hampshire
- Notable Leaders in Accounting, Consulting & Law, Crain’s New York Business, 2024
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