The Department of Accounting at Canisius University is proud to announce the 67th Annual Accounting Banquet on Thursday, April 25, 2024. The banquet will be held at Salvatore's Italian Gardens, 6461 Transit Road, Depew, NY, with cocktails starting at 5:30 p.m. followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m.
Tickets are limited, so please RSVP by Friday, April 12, 2024. If you have any questions, contact Kimberly Walkow at 716-888-2160 or email @email.
Awards
The New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants Awards
NYSSCPA Award of Honor
Elizabeth Hertz - Graduate Student Award
Collin Rice - Undergradaute Senior Award
John T. Kennedy Memorial Award
Matthew Robertson - Undergraduate Junior Award
Tala Abu-Ghazaleh International Award for Excellence in Graduate Accounting Programs
Nerissa Williams
Accounting Society Award for Excellence in Scholarship in the Undergraduate Accounting Program
Collin Rice
Accounting Society Award for Excellence in Scholarship in the Undergraduate Accounting Information Systems Program
Mattthew Buynacek
Danielle Gracz
Collin Rice
Dr. Joseph R. Coppola '40 Award
Myles M. Abbott '03, MBA '04, CPA
The Accountant of the Year Award
Patrick W. Finucane '83, MBA '86, Northern Colorado University
The Dr. Joseph R. Coppola '40 Award
Myles M. Abbott '03, MBA '04, CPA
Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP
Myles M. Abbott, a Buffalo native, graduated from Canisius University with a BS and MBA in Accounting. He was active in numerous extracurricular activities as a student which included serving as president of the Accounting Society during his senior year. Among his academic achievements while a student at Canisius, Myles was a recipient of the Bradley J. Shelp Memorial Award and the Talal Abu-Ghazaleh International Award for Excellence in the Graduate Accounting Programs.
Myles began his career with PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) in the Buffalo office before relocating to the Cleveland office to pursue further strategic career development opportunities with PwC. He was admitted to the partnership in 2018.
As a partner at PwC, Myles is responsible for developing and managing relationships, identifying service opportunities, and directing the delivery of those services to clients with domestic and global operations in the energy and utilities industry. He has served as the lead engagement partner on publicly traded and privately held audit and assurance engagements, and he has expertise in the areas of financial reporting, internal controls and process improvement, technical accounting, transactional offerings, and mergers and acquisitions.
Myles has served on the Canisius University Council of Accountancy since 2019 and previously served on the Alumni Association Board of Directors. He was inducted into the DiGamma Honor Society in 2020, he is a longstanding member of the Canisius University Leadership Society, and he was recognized in the inaugural Golden Griffins “40 Under 40” list by Canisius Magazine in 2017.
As an active member of his community, Myles serves on the Board of Directors for the Cleveland Zoological Society and he has been actively involved with other organizations in Northeast Ohio including the Cleveland Leadership Center, the Boys and Girls Club, United Way, and Hawken School.
Myles is married to Karen Abbott (née Pieczynski) who is also a 2003 Canisius graduate. They reside in Cleveland with their two sons, Henry and George. Myles enjoys fly fishing, golf, and traveling with his family.
The Accountant of the Year Award
Patrick W. Finucane '83, MBA '86 University of Northern Colorado, CNE
Chief Financial Officer, Glendale Realty Services Group and Development LLC
Patrick W. Finucane is the CFO at Glendale Realty Services Group and Glendale Development where he is a member of the Senior Leadership Team and responsible for the Accounting, Finance, IT, and Insurance for a $650MM Real Estate Investment Portfolio, located in WNY (Buffalo/Rochester) and North Carolina. Patrick began his business career after serving 7 years in the US Air Force as a Pararescueman following his graduation from Canisius College in 1983. He has been a CFO for the last 25 years having worked in the following industries with both public and private companies: Real Estate, Technology, Manufacturing, Bio-Technology and Hospitality.
Patrick was CFO for a number of well-known organizations, i.e., Harbour Group Investments (St. Louis, MO), Life Technologies (Thermo Fisher), Superior Lubricants & Snowbear Products, Snyder Corporation, MJ Peterson Corp., Ronco Communications, and Sinatra & Company Real Estate among others. He was also a member of a number of start-ups in the course of his career, e.g., US Solutions (Software), Snowbear (Manufacturing), Sunpark (Real Estate), and Logistics (Founders).
While at Canisius, he was a member of the Varsity Soccer team (1979-1982) and President of the Economics and Finance Club. He currently serves on the Council of Accountancy since 2011 and chairs the Student Development Committee as well as serving on the Board of Regents since 2019.
Patrick currently volunteers his time at his alma mater, Bishop Timon / St. Jude High School on the Athletic Committee and was a past Trustee from 2015-2019. He is a member of InfoTech WNY having served as President from 2016-2018 and Treasurer in 2011-2016. Over the course of his career, he has served on the Boards of Veteran One Stop Center of WNY and the Cantalician Center heading up the Finance and Audit Committees. He is also a current member of the American Legion/ VFW Milton J. Brounshidle Post 205 in Kenmore.
Patrick is married to the former Sharon Kantor, also a 1983 Canisius College graduate, for 37 years and they reside in Kenmore, NY. They have two daughters, both alumnae of Canisius College. Kelley ’13 BA and her husband, Tyler Molina ’13 BS & ‘16 MBA have a newborn daughter Reese; and Shannon ’16 BS & ’17 MBAA/ CPA, is recently married to Gabriel Cesar. Patrick spent 30 years coaching soccer at the High School and Travel Club levels for Bishop Timon, Ken-Ton and Kenmore Soccer Clubs. He enjoys home projects and looks forward to spending time with his grandchildren.