CHICAGO (BUSINESS WIRE) – BDO USA, LLP, one of the nation’s leading accounting and advisory firms, today announced that Maria Karalis, Karen Stone and Ted Vaughan have each been elected to three-year terms to the firm’s board of directors. Ms. Karalis is a new director, replacing Joe Johnson who completed the maximum two consecutive terms, while Ms. Stone and Mr. Vaughan were re-elected to new terms of service. These changes are effective November 1.

“I want to welcome Maria to the board and look forward to the valuable insight she will bring to the governance process. Karen and Ted have already made valuable contributions in their previous board service and we are pleased that they will continue to do so in the future,” said Wayne Berson, CEO of BDO USA. “I’m proud to see that women now comprise nearly 40 percent of our board. This represents clear evidence of our firm’s commitment to inclusion by providing leadership paths for all professionals.”

Maria Karalis is the managing partner for assurance services in BDO’s Stamford, Connecticut office. She also serves as the leader of the firm’s Cyprus, Greece and U.K. country desks. Maria began her career with the firm in 1994, providing audit and business advisory services to domestic and multinational private and publicly held companies that operate in a variety of industries. During her tenure at BDO, she has been involved with companies undergoing initial public offerings and private placements as well as domestic and international mergers and acquisitions. Maria was admitted into the partnership in 2001.

Karen Stone is a partner in the Charlotte office and serves as the managing partner for tax services in the Atlantic region. During her more than 25-year career in public accounting, she has served clients in multiple industries with a focus on the tax consulting and reporting needs of real estate, manufacturing, consumer business and healthcare companies. Karen has extensive experience in all areas of taxation working with closely held businesses, large publicly traded companies, portfolio companies of private equity firms, as well as high-net worth individuals. She regularly assists her clients with an array of tax specialty areas including merger and acquisition issues. Karen previously served as co-chair of BDO USA’s Women’s Inclusion Strategy Group.

Ted Vaughan is the managing partner for assurance services in BDO’s Dallas office. With more than 25 years of public accounting experience, Ted provides assurance and consulting services to numerous retail, e-commerce and consumer products companies. Vaughan serves both privately held and publicly held companies, assisting with private offerings, initial public offerings, public debt offerings, and merger and acquisition transactions. As a national leader for the firm’s Retail & Consumer Products practice and an integral member of the firm’s Natural Resources practice, he focuses on the accounting and reporting issues facing companies in these industries.

About BDO USA

BDO is the brand name for BDO USA, LLP, a U.S. professional services firm providing assurance, tax, and advisory services to a wide range of publicly traded and privately held companies. For more than 100 years, BDO has provided quality service through the active involvement of experienced and committed professionals. The firm serves clients through more than 60 offices and over 650 independent alliance firm locations nationwide. As an independent Member Firm of BDO International Limited, BDO serves multi-national clients through a global network of more than 73,000 people working out of 1,500 offices across 162 countries.

BDO USA, LLP, a Delaware limited liability partnership, is the U.S. member of BDO International Limited, a UK company limited by guarantee, and forms part of the international BDO network of independent member firms. BDO is the brand name for the BDO network and for each of the BDO Member Firms. For more information please visit: www.bdo.com.