NJCPA Board of Trustees

2019/20 Officers

President: Kyle Sell, CPA

Kyle Sell, CPA, partner, Deloitte & Touche LLP, Parsippany, joined the NJCPA in 2004. He has previously been president of the NJCPA Scholarship Fund and a Board of Trustees liaison for the NJ-CPA-PAC and Student Programs & Scholarships Committee, as well as a member of the Professional Conduct Committee. At Deloitte, Kyle is an audit partner, with more than 20 years serving primarily life science, process and industrial companies.

Kyle earned his B.A. in economics and business at Lafayette College and his MBA in finance from Columbia University.

President-Elect: Alan Sobel, CPA

Alan D. Sobel, CPA, CGMA, managing member of SobelCo., joined the NJCPA in 1987. He is a past chairman of the NJCPA Audit Committee, was a former vice president and trustee of the NJCPA, and was a past president of its Essex Chapter, along with serving on other various committees, such as the State Taxation Task Force, the Scholarship Fund, the Retirement Savings Plan Committee, the Cannabis Interest Group and the Finance Committee. At Sobel, Alan is responsible for facilitating the strategic direction and the day-to-day management of the firm.

Alan earned his B.S. in accounting from Bentley University and his MS in Taxation from Fairleigh Dickinson.

Secretary: Edward O'Connell, CPA

Edward O’Connell, CPA, CGMA, CFF, CFE, partner, WithumSmith+Brown, East Brunswick, joined the NJCPA in 1997. He is a member of the NJCPA Accounting & Auditing Standards Interest Group, Professional Conduct Committee and Cannabis Advisory Group. He previously served as a Board of Trustees liaison for the Monmouth/Ocean Chapter, was a leader of the Securities and Exchange Commission Work Group and was a member of the former Sports and Entertainment Committee. He has over 20 years of accounting and auditing experience and is a CPA in New Jersey and New York.

Ed earned his B.S. from Rider University. He resides in Old Bridge.

Treasurer: Carol Donatiello Iocca, CPA

Carol Donatiello Iocca, CPA, CGMA, principal, WilkinGuttenplan, has been a member of the NJCPA since 1981. She has served on a number of NJCPA committees and interest groups, including the NJCPA Peer Review Executive Committee and has been a past chair of the Accounting and Auditing Interest Group. She is a 2018 recipient of the Volunteer Award and was a 2012 “Women of Note” winner. At WilkinGuttenplan, she oversees the firm’s quality control and works with closely-held businesses in a wide variety of industries, such as manufacturing, retail, healthcare, real estate and construction, as well as with SEC engagements and not for profits clients.

She graduated with a BBS from Pace University.

Immediate Past President: Sarah Krom, CPA

Sarah Krom, CPA, managing partner, SKC & Co., CPAs, LLC, Boonton Township, joined the NJCPA in 2003. She is a member of the Strategic Planning Committee. Previously, she was a Board of Trustees liaison for the Bergen and Morris/Sussex chapters and former chair of the Young CPAs Council, which is now called the Emerging Leaders Council. In 2011, she was selected by NJCPA as one of the “30 most influential CPAs under 30,” and in both 2012 and 2016 she was recognized as an NJCPA “Woman of Note.” She is also a member of the American Institute of CPAs.

Krom, an honors graduate of The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, holds a B.S in accounting. She and her family reside in Jefferson.

CEO & Executive Director: Ralph Albert Thomas, CPA (DC), CGMA

Ralph Albert Thomas, CPA (DC), CGMA, CEO and executive director, NJCPA, joined the NJCPA in 1999. He was appointed to AICPA’s National Commission on Diversity and Inclusion and the AICPA Foundation Board. Ralph is a former national and chapter president of the National Association of Black Accountants, was chair of the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy’s State Society Relations Committee and is a member of the accounting advisory boards of Lehigh, Rutgers, Seton Hall, Montclair State, Felician, and Thomas Edison universities and Middlesex County College. In January 2018, he was invited by Senate President Steve Sweeney to join its bipartisan Economic and Fiscal Policy Working Group. Additionally, Ralph was selected for the last seven years by Accounting Today as one ofthe “Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting.” He is also the treasurer of Opportunity NJ.

Ralph earned a B.S. in business and economics as well as an M.B.A. from Lehigh University. He resides in South Brunswick, New Jersey, with his family.