March 27, 2014

The NASBA Center for the Public Trust (CPT) supports and promotes ethical behavior, actions and activities within the business and professional communities. Each year, the CPT honors individuals who positively impact business with strong, ethical leadership.

Through the Being a Difference Award, the CPT recognizes individuals practicing high standards of ethical, business leadership. Being a Difference Award recipients do not simply aspire to make a difference – they are Being a Difference in their careers and other endeavors by embodying the very best in principled behavior and integrity.

Here are brief highlights of each of the 2012-13 Being a Difference Award recipients:

Beth Bialy
Plante & Moran, PLLC

Beth Bialy is the firm leader of Plante & Moran’s Governmental Group in Southfield, Mich. At Plante Moran, amongst other accomplishments, she developed a pilot program to establish career mentorship for female associates in the firm. Ms. Bialy has 25 years of experience with the firm and specializes in local government auditing and consulting.

Read Ms. Bialy’s Being a Difference Award Press Release

Alan R. Ziegler
Futures Funding Corporation

Alan R. Ziegler is a successful business leader who runs the Futures Funding Corporation in Rochester, N.Y. Additionally, over the past decade, he has volunteered countless hours to develop and manage the Rochester Area Business Ethics Foundation (RABEF) an organization which provides an avenue for formally recognizing and encouraging ethical practices in local businesses.

Read Mr. Ziegler’s Being a Difference Award Press Release

James (Jim) P. Owen
Center for Cowboy Ethics & Leadership

In 2004, James (Jim) P. Owen, founder of the Center for Cowboy Ethics & Leadership and 35-year veteran of the financial services industry, wrote Cowboy Ethics: What Wall Street Can Learn from the Code of the West, in response to the rise of corporate scandals surfacing across the country. He is also the author of TRY, which highlights the qualities of character necessary to succeed against the odds.

Read Mr. Owen’s Being a Difference Award Press Release

Robert C. McChesney
McChesney Martin Saghorn, P.C.

Robert C. McChesney, CPA is an owner and managing partner of McChesney Martin Saghorn, P.C., of North Platte, Neb. As a 40-plus year veteran of the accounting profession and former chair of both the Nebraska Society of CPAs and Nebraska Board of Public Accountancy, he came highly recommended due to his strong adherence to ethical principles, unwavering leadership and service to the community.

Read Mr. McChesney’s Being a Difference Award Press Release