MIAMI (January 17, 2019) – Nationally recognized public accounting and advisory firm, MBAF, is pleased to announce that Jesus Socorro, CPA, Managing Principal of the firm’s Risk & Transaction Advisory practice, has been elected Vice Chair of the Florida Board of Accountancy and appointed to its Legislative Affairs Committee and Chair of its Rules Committee.
Socorro is replacing Tracy Keegan, President of BankFlorida, who was elected Chair of the Board of Accountancy. He has served as a member of the Board of Accountancy since his appointment by Governor Rick Scott in December 2016. He has served as a member of its Probable Cause Panel and Chair of its Budget Task Force, as well as a member of the Ethics Committee of the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA).
The Florida Board of Accountancy consists of nine members responsible for the evaluation and oversight of CPA examination and licensure qualifications and for hearing and ruling on disciplinary cases brought against CPA licensees. Seven members are CPAs and two are consumer members. The board meets approximately 10 times a year at various locations throughout the state, and the meetings are open to the public.
“Having Jesus, one of our leaders at MBAF, not only be appointed to the Florida Board of Accountancy but serve as Vice Chair of the Board showcases the tremendous talent we have within the firm,” said Tony Argiz, MBAF’s Chairman and CEO. “Jesus’ commitment to the accounting profession paired with his high depth of experience, community involvement and leadership strength make him an inspiring example to our employees. We know Jesus will apply his experience with the Board to advance the industry and help develop current, prospective and future members of our profession.”
Socorro is the leader of the MBAF Risk & Transaction Advisory practice, where he and his team serve clients ranging from private equity backed emerging growth companies to Fortune 500 in a variety of advisory capacities around the world, including: SOX 404 compliance; preparation for IPOs or other liquidity events; technical accounting consultations (including new revenue and lease standard implementation); IT Risk and Security; Enterprise Risk Management; and M&A transaction advisory and due diligence, including transaction integration and quality of earnings reporting. He has significant SEC and PCAOB experience and extensive global, cross-functional leadership experience managing audits, advisory projects and capital markets transactions, as well as dealing with board-level governance matters. His industry experience is wide-ranging and includes real estate, biopharmaceuticals and professional sports teams.
Socorro is on the Board of Directors of Veru Inc., a NASDAQ-traded biopharmaceutical company focused on urology and oncology, where he serves as the Chair of the Audit Committee and a member of its Compensation Committee, and he is on the Advisory Board of the Florida Chapter of the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD). He is actively involved in the South Florida community, currently serving on Palmer Trinity School’s Board of Trustees and the University of Miami Citizens Board. He is a former President of both the Downtown Miami Chapter of the Florida Institute of CPA’s and the Cuban-American CPA Association.
A CPA licensed in New York, Florida and Colorado, Socorro holds an M.B.A. from Northwestern University’s J.L. Kellogg School of Management, an undergraduate degree in accounting from Florida International University, and he has completed executive education at Harvard Business School.