Jennifer Lischak is a new summer accounting intern with Teal, Becker & Chiaramonte, CPAs, P.C. (TBC). Like many of the interns the Firm has hired over the last four decades, she is a local student working toward her Bachelor of Science in Accounting degree. However, Lischak is the first summer intern who has come to the Capital Region’s largest CPA firm through ReserveAid, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization that provides financial support to Reservists and National Guard members who are currently deployed in the Global War on Terror or who have recently returned from deployment.

The current University at Albany student’s past experience includes over 10 years of military experience with the US Marine Corps, working as a Spanish Linguist/Intelligence Analyst. Additionally, Lischak worked for Boeing as a Government Contractor in Washington, D.C. At TBC, she will be assisting with audits, reviews, and compilations of financial statements, as well as gaining experience with corporate tax preparation under the supervision of senior accountants.

The idea for TBC to hire a veteran came about through Bob Lazar, the director of business development at TBC. Lazar serves on the board for the UAlbany School of Business and had previously been an adjunct professor and received his Master of Science in Accounting at the university. He heard about the ReserveAid program and knew there were accounting students at the university who had served in the military. He thought this would be a great opportunity for TBC to bring on an additional intern and to provide a local UAlbany veteran with meaningful work experience.

Lazar, also a former Marine, said that he was proud that TBC could support local veterans in this special way and hopes more businesses can do the same. UAlbany director of business development Bill Roller applauded Lazar for his efforts to connect Lischak with TBC for summer employment saying that “Bob also created a scholarship at UAlbany for people who work full-time and go to school part-time. Bob is a true believer in the non-traditional student.” UAlbany currently has more than 300 veterans on campus that are hopeful to be paired with companies for work. “The first success was with Jennifer at TBC,” Roller said.

Serving clients in the areas of accounting, auditing, tax, and advisory services, TBC was ranked the area’s largest CPA firm in the Capital Region by the Albany Business Review in 2016. The Firm was founded in 1971 and offers specialty services such as trusts and estates administration, business advisory, business valuation, litigation support services, fraud investigation, forensic accounting, economic damage calculations, and pension services. The traditional accounting and tax services are provided to a diverse clientele in six primary markets: commercial businesses, governmental, employee benefit plans, labor organizations, not-for-profit organizations, and individuals.