Nick Palmer

As Partner and Director of Audit, Nick holds a Bachelor of Arts in History from University of California, Santa Cruz and a Certificate of Accountancy from San Diego State University College of Extended Studies. He uses his writing and research skills for proposals, technical memoranda, marketing materials and drafting financial statement disclosures. Nick is an… Read More

Joseph Messer

As Senior Tax Manager, Joe holds a Business Degree from Chico State with an accounting specialization and a  Master’s in Taxation from CSU, Northridge. He specializes in compliance and tax planning for pass-through entities and multi-state transactions in the manufacturing and real estate industries.  Joe enjoys the technical aspects of taxation and works proactively to… Read More

Kim Ufford

As Audit Shareholder, Kim has 40 years of experience in the field, specializing in auditing, business valuation, expert witness and forensic accounting. He is an experienced business appraiser and holds the Accredited Business Valuation designation from the AICPA. Kim works mostly with financial reporting technical issues and business valuation questions. He serves on the Audit… Read More

Josh van de Vrugt

As a Senior Audit Manager, Josh never shies away from an opportunity to provide clients with advice, guidance or the research needed to assist in alleviating whatever issue they’re facing.  He received a Bachelor of Science in Management Science from UC San Diego and a Master of Science in Accountancy from San Diego State University…. Read More

Steve Root

As Audit Partner, Steve also has a specialty in Forensic Accounting.  He enjoys the opportunity to consult with clients to solve some of their more complicated issues, including the extensive changes and complexities in the world of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.  Steve recently partnered with two other LevitZacks’ team members to form the firm’s first… Read More

Mary Bren C. Borja

A Senior Tax Manager, Bren received a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy from the Colegio de San Juan de Letran in the Philippines, and her Master of Science in Taxation from DePaul University, Chicago. She enjoys working on business entities both in the service/product industries, including manufacturers, contractors and nonprofits. Bren likes the challenges and… Read More

Monique Bourgeois Arias

As Tax Manager and Assistant Tax Director, Monique offers tax compliance and accounting services to the Trusts and Estates’ practice. She excels at attention to detail, quickly responds to client requests and keeps them on track with budgets. She enjoys giving back by serving on the LevitZacks’ community outreach committee, LevitZacks Loves San Diego, which… Read More

Cristanne M. Leitner

As Partner and Senior Vice President, Cristanne has more than 35 years of experience in all aspects of tax and accounting.  Cristanne works on trust, estate and gifts, flow through entities, real estate, law and medical practices and retail businesses. She is constantly looking for ways to reduce clients’ tax liability through proper planning, assisting… Read More

Daniel I. Lavis

As Tax Shareholder, Dan’s areas of proficiency include entity selection, acquisitions and dispositions of businesses, tax deferred exchanges, and tax accounting issues involving depreciation, utilization of the cash method, inventory, installment sales, and long-term contracts. His career experience spans government contractors, construction contractors, manufacturers, real estate, S corporations, acquisitions and dispositions, partnerships, multistate taxation and… Read More

Michael C. Friedman

As Tax Department Partner, Mike primarily works on tax planning for pass-through entities, closely held corporations and groups of entities with a common set of owners. His skills encompass merger and acquisition consulting, income tax planning, estate/trust/gift tax planning along with tax compliance.  Mike helps clients with proactive planning that matches tax considerations with their… Read More