People: Heidi Walker, CPA/ABV, ASA, is now with GreatBanc Trust Co. as senior vice president, financial analyst in the Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOP) Client Services group; she formerly served as managing director of the ESOP Advisory Practice for Marcum LLP … Andrew Probert has joined Duff & Phelps as a managing director in the Transaction Advisory Services (TAS) practice, based in London; he was formerly with Ernst & Young, where he focused on designing optimal deal structures … Olivia Kirtley, former chair of the American Institute of CPAs and president of the International Federation of Accountants, has been named the first recipient of the ASWCPA Lifetime Achievement Award, which recognizes women who have demonstrated leadership and a strong record of accomplishment in furthering the advancement of women in the accounting profession.

Firms: Portland, Maine-based Baker Newman Noyes expands, with new offices in Woburn, Mass., to increase its presence in the Boston area; the firm will add 15 to 20 employees in the new office over the next 12 to 24 months … New York-based Marcum LLP received top rankings for valuation, forensics, and litigation support services in three leading regional legal journals: Connecticut Law Tribune, The Legal Intelligencer, and the New York Law Journal; the firm received nine top rankings in total, including three in first place, one of which was in the “Litigation Valuation Provider” category … Chicago-based BDO Alliance USA has added three new firms as members: Moody & O’Neal CPAs (Mount Pleasant, S.C.); Spoor Bunch Franz (St. Petersburg, Fla.); and Stockman Kast Ryan + Co. (Colorado Springs, Colo.); BDO Alliance USA now has 214 member firms in more than 500 locations nationwide … Two Miami firms, Ravan & Co. CPAs and Blanco + Co., have merged; the combined firm has 12 employees and will operate under the name Ravan + Blanco LLP … Canfield, Ohio-based Hill Barth & King (HBK) has announced that a subsidiary, HBK IT, has acquired Unicom Solutions Group of Mountainside, N.J., a technology consulting firm to small and midsize private companies, nonprofits, and government agencies.

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