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60 Seconds with Lisa Cines ’81
 Lisa Cines ’81 is a true-blue Smith Terp. She’s married to Smith Terp Larry
Cines ’82, and her son Corey is a Smith sophomore. Both of her brothers
graduated from the Smith School as well. But she doesn’t just have a family
connection to the school. Cines has been back to speak to students almost every
year since she graduated, and the accounting firm of which she is the managing
partner, Aronson & Company, has 60 Maryland alumni on staff—eight of them
partners.
As managing partner she handles strategy and visibility for her firm, works
with practice leaders to develop vision and direction, and engages with leaders
of other firms to understand what is happening in the industry. Cines, who until
recently was the only woman serving as managing partner of a top 50 accounting
firm, is also highly knowledgeable about the issues affecting her industry. She
serves on the board of the AICPA, the industry trade organization, is the
current chair of North America for Praxity International, as well as some local
boards and committees.
Bringing international resources to her clients is a new but developing need
for Cines’ firm. “Our clients don’t have large global operations, but they might
have an office in China, so there’s a need for them to have local support. So
we’re seeing an uptick in that client need,” says Cines.
Cines brings her expertise to the school on a regular basis, speaking
frequently at the school’s Business Ethics Lecture series. Last fall she was a
panelist at one of the school’s town hall meetings that helped the Smith
community make sense of the financial crisis. One of the reasons Cines loves
talking with students, she says, is that she believes that accounting firms are
crucial to a business’s success. “What happened with WorldCom and Enron was an
important eye-opener for my profession. It helped us realize that we have a
responsibility to play an active role in setting a course for the future,” says
Cines. She thinks the industry is moving towards global standards and more
consistent licensing procedures in the U.S. as a result.
Cines lives in the Rockville, Md., area with husband Larry Cines ’82, son
Corey and daughter Brittany.
Get in Touch! Contact information for Lisa Cines is available on the Alumni
Network
www.alumninetwork.rhsmith.umd.edu.
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