Three partners elected to BDO USA's board of directors

BDO USA partners Maria Karalis, Karen Stone, and Ted Vaughan have been elected to three-year terms on the firm’s board of directors. Stone and Vaughan have been re-elected to second terms, while Karalis is a new addition to the board. The changes take effect November 1.

Maria Karalis will be replacing Joe Johnson, who completed the second of the maximum two terms allowed on the board. The addition of Karalis and re-election of Karen Stone means that women now hold four of BDO USA’s eleven board seats.

Headquartered in Chicago, BDO USA has over 6,000 professionals providing accounting and consulting services to clients across over 60 offices in the US. The fast-growing firm posted $1.41 billion in US revenues last year – a growth of 9.6% from 2016. The firm is part of the BDO International network, which has over 67,000 employees in 158 countries – making it the largest accounting and consulting network outside of the Big Four.

Karalis, who has been with BDO for nearly 25 years, is the managing partner for assurance services at the firm’s Stamford Connecticut office. She also leads the firm’s Cyprus, Greece, and UK country desks. Karalis has deep experience in the provision of audit and business advisory services to a wide range of industries, including life sciences, technology, retail, and manufacturing. She has particular expertise in the areas of IPOs, mergers and acquisitions, and SEC reporting. Karalis has a BS in Accounting and Finance from NYU.Karen Stone is the managing partner for tax services in the Atlantic region, and is based out of Charlotte, NC. Stone has over a quarter century of experience in public accounting, with deep expertise in income tax planning, compliance, and financial reporting. She has advised clients across industries, with a particular focus on real estate and healthcare. Stone also previously served as co-chair of BDO USA’s Women’s Inclusion Strategy Group.

Stone has been with BDO USA since 2005. Prior to her time with BDO, Stone worked at EY for eight years as a Tax Senior Manager. She holds an MPA in Accounting from Louisiana Tech University, and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, North Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants, and National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts.

Ted Vaughan is the managing partner for assurance services at BDO’s Dallas office. Like Stone, he boasts more than a quarter-century of public accounting experience. Vaughan is the national leader of the Retail and Consumer Products practice and is a member of the Natural Resources practice. He has extensive experience in the provision of assurance and consulting services to the above industries, with expertise in private offerings, IPOs, public debt offerings, and M&A. He holds a BBA in Accounting from the Rawls College of Business at Texas Tech University.

“I want to welcome Maria to the board and look forward to the valuable insight she will bring to the governance process,” commented BDO USA CEO Wayne Berson. “Karen and Ted have already made valuable contributions in their previous board service and we are pleased that they will continue to do so in the future. I’m proud to see that women now comprise nearly 40 percent of our board. This represents clear evidence of our firm’s commitment to inclusion by providing leadership paths for all professionals.”