Joe passed the November 1984 CPA exam with one of the highest scores in the nation, garnering honors at both the state (J.H. Cohn Award nominee) and national level (Elijah Watt Sells Award). He received a Baccalaureate in Economics/Accounting and a minor in statistics from Rutgers University, graduating summa cum laude as the class salutatorian. Joe also received his MBA with honors from Seton Hall University earning a Certificate of Achievement in International Business. Joe initiated his career at Deloitte & Touche (formerly Deloitte, Haskins + Sells) in the tax department as a Senior Tax Accountant. Later, Joe moved to AT&T in the CFO organization as a Senior Financial Analyst before starting his public accounting practice.