Press Release / Business / MBAF Expands Regulatory Risk Solutions Practice with Addition of Heidy Duarte as Director in Audit Department

MBAF Expands Regulatory Risk Solutions Practice with Addition of Heidy Duarte as Director in Audit Department

MIAMI (March 11, 2019) – Heidy Duarte, CPA, CAMS, CFE, CFS, AMLCA, has joined nationally recognized public accounting firm, MBAF, as a director in the Audit Department and will help lead the firm’s growing Regulatory Risk Solutions practice. She will be based in MBAF’s Miami office. The announcement was made by Frank Gonzalez, Managing Principal of Miami and head of the firm’s Financial Institutions and SEC practices.

Duarte brings more than 12 years of experience in the financial services industry with a focus in assessing risks for clients. She has extensive experience with BSA/AML/OFAC, IFRS, COSO, GAAP, GAAS, FDICIA and SOX (“Sarbanes-Oxley”). Her knowledge in forensic accounting has enabled her to develop and strengthen fraud prevention and detection procedures for a wide variety of clients. Her experience includes helping domestic and international financial institutions prepare for and respond to regulatory examinations including compliance with remediation requirements of regulatory enforcement actions and monitoring activities.

“Heidy will play a large role in advancing our Regulatory Risk Solutions practice and will be instrumental in guiding clients through the evolving and increasingly complex regulatory expectations that we are seeing here in the U.S. and abroad,” said Argiz. “Her expertise in risk management and internal control will be a significant asset for clients and will further strengthen our suite of offerings.”

Prior to MBAF, Duarte was the BSA/AML/OFAC Officer and the head of Corporate Financial Fraud of a national bank, where she was responsible for promoting and implementing compliance standards and internal controls throughout the institution as well as minimizing fraud exposure through the implementation of prevention controls. Additionally, she previously worked in a Big Four firm where she performed assurance work for several financial institutions and participated in multiple compliance and financial statement audits for public and private companies.

Duarte is committed to the advancement of the profession, speaking at many key industry events including the Asociacion de Bancos de Puerto Rico’s 16th Puerto Rican Symposium of Anti-Money Laundering, Florida International Bankers Association’s (FIBA) AML Compliance Conference and the IX Jornadas Internacionales de Compliance in Madrid. She is also active in civic organizations, including the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), American Banking Association (ABA), Florida International Bankers Association (FIBA), Association of Anti-Money Laundering Specialist (ACAMS) and more.

She earned a B.A. in Accounting and Master of Accounting from Florida International University and participated in Harvard Business School’s Risk Management for Corporate Leaders program in 2018.

About MBAF

Now in its 50th year of operation, MBAF is ranked nationally as a Top 40 accounting and advisory firm by Accounting Today and has been named one of the Best of the Best firms in the country by INSIDE Public Accounting for the past 17 years consecutively, being chosen for demonstrating long-term consistency and exceptional performance, regardless of outside factors. Named a 2019, 2018, and 2017 South Florida Business Journal Best Places to Work finalist and a 2018 and 2017 Accounting Today Best Accounting Firm to Work For, MBAF is committed to creating an engaging and supportive workplace for its more than 600 highly qualified principals and employees. The MBAF team serves domestic and international clients across a broad range of industries and practices in more than 55 countries and all 50 states. Its offices are located in New York, Valhalla (Westchester, NY), Miami, Coral Gables, Naples, Las Vegas, Baltimore, Boca Raton, Boulder, Fort Lauderdale, Palm Beach, Orlando, and India.