BUFFALO, NY – Patricia A. Johnson, MBA, CPA, CFE, assistant professor of accounting at Canisius University, will be honored as the Outstanding Accountant in Western New York at the 57th annual Canisius University Accounting Society Banquet on Thursday, April 25 at Salvatore’s Italian Gardens. Cocktails are at 5:30 p.m., dinner will be served at 6:30 p.m.
The Canisius University Accounting Society will also recognize James S. Segarra ’88, managing partner, Tronconi Segarra & Associates, during the organization’s annual dinner. Segarra will receive the Dr. Joseph R. Coppola ’40 Award, which recognizes the exceptional achievements of a Canisius University accounting alumnus.
Richard Caturano, chairman of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, will serve as keynote speaker.
Johnson has taught at Canisius for 19 years where she specializes in financial accounting. She was instrumental in developing and registering the Masters of Science in Forensic Accounting program with the New York State Education Department and currently serves as its program coordinator. Previously Johnson worked in a variety of industries, including construction, not-for-profit organizations and public accounting. She is also a certified fraud examiner and has presented on fraud topics at a number of conferences.
At Canisius, Johnson serves on the Forensic Program and Retention Committees of the Council on Accountancy as well as the Strategic Planning Committee for the college’s Wehle School of Business. She is faculty moderator of the Accounting Society, and works with student leaders to provide professional and social activities for accounting majors.
Active in the local community, Johnson served on the Audit Committee of the Buffalo Board of Education for several years and is currently the chair. She is in her second year as a board member of the New York Council on Nonprofits (NYCON) and has served on other boards including the Tonawanda Council on the Arts.
A 1988 magna cum laude graduate of Canisius University, Segarra is the managing partner of Tronconi & Associates, the second largest independent CPA firm in Western New York. He specializes in providing executive management consulting services within the firm’s accounting and auditing department. He also oversees all aspects of the firm’s administrative, human resources and marketing initiatives.
Segarra previously held various positions at PriceWaterHouseCoopers in the financial services industry practice. He was instrumental in the development and execution of a growth strategy that enabled the firm to nearly triple in size, both organically and through acquisition. Under Segarra’s leadership the firm was recognized with several awards including a national finalist award for Best Overall Company Under 100 Employees from the American Business Awards. In addition, Segarra is a 2005 recipient of Buffalo’s Business First “40 Under Forty” award.
Segarra serves on the boards of various community and civic organizations. He is a member of the Canisius University Council on Accountancy, a member of the Board of Directors for the Buffalo Renaissance Foundation, and serves on the Finance and Audit committees of Kaleida Health. Segarra previously served on the boards or executive committees of the WNY/PA Multiple Sclerosis Society, the Buffalo Niagara Partnership, Goodwill Industries of Western New York and Artpark & Company.
Tickets for the event are limited. For more information, call the Canisius University Department of Accounting at (716) 888-2870.
Canisius University is one of 28 Jesuit universities in the nation and the premier private university in Western New York.
