Aspromonti brings more than 35 years of accounting and assurance experience
Mazzenga chaired the annual CBIZ Workplace Challenge, the firm’s largest event on Long Island
Carolyn Mazzenga, CBIZ’s longtime Long Island leader, will retire April 30, the national professional services advisor said Monday. Taking the reins, James Aspromonti assumed the role of office managing director for the firm’s Melville and Riverhead locations on Feb. 1.
With more than 35 years of experience, Aspromonti is a managing director and shareholder in the firm’s Assurance Services group. He has leadership experience in the CBIZ Consumer Products and Food & Beverage industry groups. He has been responsible for directing the accounting and auditing activities of CBIZ professionals serving these industries.
His expertise includes helping clients improve their accounting efficiencies. He also serves internally as a mentor for staff.
“I am honored to step into the role of office managing director and look forward to continuing our tradition of client service excellence,” Aspromonti said in a news release about his appointment.
“It is a true privilege to follow in Carolyn’s footsteps – her leadership and dedication have set a remarkable standard for our team and the Long Island business community,” he added.” I look forward to developing our next generation of professionals and fostering a collaborative and innovative team environment at CBIZ.”
Active in the Long Island business community for many years, Mazzenga has received multiple professional and community awards.
Mazzenga chaired the annual CBIZ Workplace Challenge, the firm’s largest event on Long Island, raising more than $1.4 million for local nonprofits since 2006. She helped launch the firm’s Women’s Leadership Development Program and contributed to its national Diversity, Equity & Inclusion initiative. She has also been quoted in publications on work-life balance, flexible scheduling, and women’s initiatives.
“It has been a privilege to serve our clients and community alongside such a talented and dedicated team,” Mazzenga said in the news release.
“I am proud of the growth and impact we have achieved together, from strengthening our presence in the business community to supporting important causes across Long Island,” Mazzenga said. “I have every confidence in Jim’s leadership and look forward to seeing CBIZ continue its legacy of excellence, innovation, and community commitment.”
Rising rates and real estate risks have pressured regional banks
Fed rate cuts could renew investor interest in community lenders
CPAs play a key role in connecting businesses with flexible financing
Case studies show local banks winning clients from larger institutions
Collaboration helps businesses secure favorable terms and reduce risk
While worrisome economic forecasts sow doubts among investors and the Federal Reserve steps in to reverse its course of hiking interest rates, banks draw upon accounting firms for their expertise in advising clients. It’s a relationship that leverages valuable information about clients’ finances to help steer them toward optimal solutions for their businesses. However, regional bank leaders suggest that when seeking financing from a bank, size matters.
During periods of high interest rates, big banks tend to draw a larger share of investment than smaller local banks. “Community and regional banks have been harder hit by the rising rate environment keeping investors on the sidelines,” says John Buran, CEO of Flushing Bank. “In addition, concerns over commercial real estate exposure in community and regional banks have caused investors to be wary of the category, keeping those banks undervalued.”
Data shows that in the near term, larger banks may be better-equipped to handle the current economic climate. According to a recent Deloitte outlook, regional banks are “possibly facing the brunt of potential loan losses” from concentrated exposure to the distressed commercial real estate sector. Compared to banks with assets of more than $250 billion, mid-size and regional banks (with assets between $10 billion to $100 billion) have almost four times the amount of commercial real estate loans as a percentage of risk-based capital.
Fortunately, the tide is turning for regional banks, and a wave of investment capital could be on the horizon, especially if the Federal Reserve continues to lower rates. “The reduced rates by the Fed makes improved earnings more likely,” Buran says, “making renewed investment in the community and regional banking space attractive.”
Even though analysts have expressed concerns over midsize and regional banks’ balance sheets, Buran touts the advantages of working with local banks that are often glossed-over by industry reports. “Community banks tend to have a more streamlined credit approval process that allows them to be more timely in their responses to customers,” he notes. “They tend also to be more flexible with terms, rates, and conditions in their offers to respond to customer needs.”
Besides offering banks access to clients, CPAs help facilitate transactions by communicating the strategic benefits of working with regional banks.
“Accounting and advisory firms work with us to explain the advantages of various options to the client,” says Buran. “We engage with the professional firms to provide their clients with various rate options such as floating or fixed rates. We also offer swaps that help customers lock into rates long term with no volatility.”
This engagement with accountants has already faciltated Flushing Bank to peel away a client from a larger bank. “We recently were referred by a CPA firm to a client who is a specialty flooring contractor that needed to replace their current bank,” Buran says. “Their bank was recently taken over by a much larger financial institution and the contracting company felt they were no longer serviced appropriately. We were able to take over the full relationship by providing cash management, deposit accounts and an owner-occupied mortgage.”
For businesses that are expanding significantly, eyeing a merger or an acquisition or considering any other major transactions, accounting firms can offer crucial help in organizing financial strategies that are most beneficial to clients, given their comprehensive understanding of the client’s own business and the banking products offered during times of fluctuating interest.
“During periods of rate volatility, we actively engage with banks through both group meetings and individual one-on-one interactions,” says James Aspromonti, managing director at CBIZ in Melville. “These discussions provide an open forum to exchange real-time insights on market trends, lending practices and credit risk perspectives. This collaborative engagement ensures that we can better advise our clients and keep them informed about current market dynamics and the outlook from key banking partners.”
Putting this collaboration into practice has facilitated owners to minimize risk exposure and choose financing agreements that promote optimal flexibility. “We recently assisted a small business client who was considering the acquisition of another company,” Aspromonti explains. “Our role involved working closely with the client, the target company and their bank to determine the optimal amount and structure for the necessary financing. This collaboration was instrumental in evaluating different financing options, negotiating favorable terms, and ensuring that the agreements were both practical and aligned with the client’s long-term goals.”
The outcome was successful for all involved, Aspromonti says. “By coordinating efforts among all parties, we helped our client make a well-informed decision and secured a payment structure that supported their growth while managing financial risk.”
Recalling a time when banking flexibility afforded a client the help they needed, Buran describes a situation wherein a borrower who owned a shopping center underwent significant struggles during the pandemic, losing several tenants and extending temporary assistance to those that remained. The borrower and their CPA firm outlined a plan that included leasing and capital improvements in an effort to re-tenant the center.
“The cash flow projections demonstrated the recovery of past rents, the viability of the owners’ leasing plans and a return to stabilized cash flow,” Buran says. “Based upon the analysis, the bank was comfortable executing an action plan that enabled the borrower to execute their plan over a three-year period. Today the center is 100% occupied with tenants paying as agreed.”
The impact of the bank’s adaptability is still apparent. “The borrower continues to be successful in making loan payments as per their agreement with the bank.”