Business and Industry Professionals Forum (E2011724)

Ken Bagner, CPA, MST is a Member of Sobel & Co., LLC. He is in charge of Employee Benefit Plan Audits at the Firm. His career with Sobel began in 1999 and over the years he has served diverse niches including commercial real estate, waste management, manufacturing, wholesale, not-for-profit organizations, and employee benefit plans. Clients value both his technical abilities and his “hand-on” approach to addressing the unique aspects of each client’s business as well as his ability to combine an expertise in both accounting and tax to provide them with the business advice they need. In his spare time, Mr. Bagner served as an adjunct professor at Rutgers University where he taught both taxation for the undergraduate level and the Certified Financial Planners Program. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants (NJSCPA). Currently, Mr. Bagner serves on the Board Trustee for the NJSCPA Scholarship Fund. He is a past member of the NJSCPA Board of Directors serving a 2-year term (2008-2010). Mr. Bagner is a 1999 graduate of Montclair State University where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Accounting. In 2003 he graduated Summa Cum Laude from Rutgers University where he earned his Masters in Taxation. He is a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma, the highest honor society for collegiate schools of business.

Caren C. Jesseman, CPA, MBA, is the owner and president of CFO Solution, LLC which provides outsourced interim, fractional and project-based CFO services to small and midsized organizations. She has assisted many clients with applications, compliance and reporting for Covid relief funds, including PPP Loans. She can be reached at cjesseman@cfosolutionllc.com, 609-577-7011.

Shrini Rao works as a Vice President and Sr. Relationship Manager at M&T Bank’s Business Banking team in New Jersey. Shrini is passionate about achieving financial success for his clients and invests a lot of time in learning about their needs and goals. He provides comprehensive business banking services to his clients in areas of business growth, expansion and transition. Shrini has over 15 years of banking and financial services industry experience and his education spans over two continents which includes a Bachelor’s degree of Science in Mathematics from University of Bombay, India and an MBA with Finance major from NYU Stern, New York.