Sikich Expands Employee Benefit Plan Audit Team with Addition of Cassie Crist as Partner, CPA

CHICAGO – March 20, 2023 – Professional services company Sikich today announced that Cassie Crist joins the accounting and consulting services team as a partner. Crist brings considerable experience to the company’s growing employee benefit plan audit team and she will help clients identify risks, maintain compliance and address complex business challenges.

“Welcoming Cassie to Sikich is proof of our approach to building a team of dynamic, innovative and transformative leaders,” said Tom Krehbiel, partner-in-charge of Sikich’s CPA services. “A strong team of highly qualified professionals is critical to not only helping our clients meet financial reporting requirements, but also adds value to the audit process. Cassie has an established track record and the drive to achieve excellence, and I’m confident she will make significant contributions to the company, clients and her teams.”

Crist joins Sikich from Grant Thornton LLP where she was a leader in the national Employee Benefit Plan Center for Excellence and co-led the Chicago employee benefit plan audit practice. Previously, as a former partner at Holtzman Partners, LLC she helped grow the firm’s employee benefit plan audit practice and served a variety of private attest clients in the technology sector. With more than 20 years of experience auditing qualified employee benefit plans, Crist’s expertise encompasses 401(k) profit sharing, defined benefit pension, health and welfare, money purchase, and employee stock ownership plans. She earned a bachelor of business management science from Indiana University, Purdue University Fort Wayne. Crist is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and an active participant in affiliation committees, including the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Enforcement Subcommittee and the Illinois CPA Society (ICPA) Employee Benefit Plan Conference planning committee.

“I’m excited to apply my extensive experience to the work of an incredibly knowledgeable team with great clients who clearly value the solutions Sikich brings to the table,” said Crist. “The employee benefits plan audit team has experienced impressive growth during the past several years and I look forward to building momentum in this critical area of service, and to driving further innovation and client satisfaction.”

Crist joins the organization amidst significant organizational growth and the appointment of several senior subject matter experts who have signed on to or are advancing their careers at Sikich in recent months. This includes Dimitri Wilder as head of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging (DEIB), John Iwanski as partner in Transaction Advisory Services and the promotion of 18 team members to partner in December. Sikich now serves more than 15,000 clients and employs approximately 1,600 people across the U.S., Canada, U.K. and India.

About Sikich LLP 

Sikich LLP is a global company specializing in technology-enabled professional services. With more than 1,500 employees, Sikich draws on a diverse portfolio of technology solutions to deliver transformative digital strategies and ranks as one of the largest CPA firms in the United States. From corporations and not-for-profits to state and local governments and federal agencies, Sikich clients utilize a broad spectrum of services* and products to help them improve performance and achieve long-term, strategic goals.

*Securities offered through Sikich Corporate Finance LLC, member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Sikich Financial, an SEC Registered Investment Advisor.