Isenberg Accounting Alumnus of the Year: Dan Newton '90

With a quarter century of tax experience in public accounting and industry, and in domestic and international taxation, Dan Newton ’90—this year’s Accounting Alumnus of the Year—has continuously extended his horizons. Following a nine-year stint in industry, Dan joined the public accounting firm BDO USA in 2016 as a national director in its tax office in Boston. In September 2019, he was promoted to partner, including becoming the firm’s Technical Practice Leader for ASC 740, which focuses on balance sheet (i.e., assets and liabilities) accounting for income taxes. His work, he notes, involves marrying elements of U.S. General Accepted Accounting Principles with tax laws. He adds, “I also work to minimize risk on our side in response to regulations from the SEC and Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.”

Before working at BDO, Dan was senior director of tax accounting and tax planning with the medical devices company Covidien, and the company that acquired it, Medtronic. In that role, he worked on tax planning and strategy for 20-plus mergers and acquisitions in the domestic and international arenas. He also handled financial accounting tax matters for Covidien’s spinoffs. Dan joined Covidien after ten years as a senior tax manager with KPMG. That called for expertise with overseas and U.S. tax systems, including three years in the firm’s international practice in Paris. Before that, Dan managed the Perini Corporation’s corporate tax department. Perini (now Tutor Perini) is one of the nation’s largest general contractors.

“I have extremely fond memories of my years at UMass,” recalls Dan, who lives in Boston with his husband, Chris Flynn. “It remains a destination for students who are first in their families to go to college.” His long-standing commitment to Isenberg includes support for the school’s Business Innovation Hub, a scholarship to promote diversity and inclusion, and prospective scholarships (via his estate) for accounting students. He also catalyzes BDO’s support for the school, including the firm’s  recruitment at Isenberg. To that end, he periodically visits campus. “I thoroughly enjoyed being a student here and I always enjoy coming back,” he remarks.